What kind of HAY do you all use? (POLL!!)

[LoveChaCha]

I am just curious!! What kind of hay do you fellow bun moms and dads use for your buns?

If other or combination, please specify

Since I am allergic to Timothy (learned the hard way by inhaling the bag while it was open), I tried Botanical. My allergies act up a little, but my bunny seems to enjoy it. I also use Orchard Grass. So a combination of  Botanical and Orchard.  It isn’t what I want (allergies, but not as bad with Timothy!) it is all what she wants

Thank you all!! 

[Elrohwen]

Ooops, I selected Timothy and Meadow, but I actually fead Timmy and Botanical.

I tried Oat once, and Otto refuses to eat it. I keep giving it to him and he keeps flinging it all over his cage. Won’t be buying that again!

[Beka27]

They are on Orchard exclusively now. We get the Oxbow 50 lb box of Orchard.

[Monkeybun]

My rabbit rescue I volunteer for sells hay, all profits going to the medical fund for the foster buns. Its a mix of timothy, orchard, and oat

[RabbitPam]

Sammy is so weird. She is indifferent to Orchard grass, ignored 3rd cut Timothy, nibbles at Timothy, and has been wolfing down Oat all month. She empties her hay holder daily! With Oat! I can’t wait until I get my next mini bale from BB. What a healthy hit.

[bunnytowne]

Ruby gets timothy    Cotton loves Mountain Hay .     He is starting to eat timothy again though.

They were on a mix of timmy and alfalfa and it is almost gone. 

[LoveChaCha]

Mountain Hay?

[BinkyBunny]

My bunnies get bored of even their favorite hay, so I mix and/or switch between several different hays Timothy 1st and second cut, Orchard, Teff and Oat.

[Monkeybun]

Monkey loooved the hay we got as the gift in the last order we did from BB… must remember what it was….

[BinkyBunny]

Monkey– each month we do something different —sort of like a “Themed Month” surprise gift with every order. I’ll be able to tell you what hay it was if you tell me what month you ordered. IF i don’t get back to this post, just message me.

[Monkeybun]

February I believe it was.

[BinkyBunny]

If it was February, then included in the free gift was Love Grass (AKA Teff Hay) along with some Oxbow Strawberry Treats.

[Monkeybun]

Yeah that was it! They loved that stuff.. must order some for treats.

[Binkles]

GREAT poll!!

I’ve had Little-Bit on Oxbow Oat Hay exclusively for over a year now, and I’ve gotta say EXCELLENT results!! Since she is a long-haired bun she tended to get GI problems a lot when she was on Timmy hay, even though she’s an avid hay-eater. When I switched to oat (which is higher in fiber content) not only did I immediately get better results, but she LOVES the stuff!! She goes completely nuts over it at every feeding. She eats it like it’s going out of fashion! Haven’t had a single GI problem with her since.

(Actually, that’s a lie. My store was out of oat hay once and I had to feed her Timothy for one day. She almost went into stasis that night, if that is any testament to the difference.)

BIG recommendations from me here for oat hay, especially for buns who tend to have GI issues.

[Catalina]

I use an orchard/timothy combination.
Too funny – I just noticed the the bag says the hay was grown in my town. Actually not too far from my house. I wonder if I can buy in bulk directly from them?

[Dust Bunny]

I’ve been feeding Dusty an alfafa and timothy mix. Is there much difference between brands? I’ve been buying the kaytee stuff, admittedly from walmart cause its super cheap.

[Monkeybun]

I have found a ton of difference betwen brands. The kaytee stuff is always harder and more stemmy than the oxbow I used to get, I’ve since moved to the mix the Rabbit Advocate group I volunteer with uses. But I much prefer Oxbow to the Kaytee quality wise.

[Dust Bunny]

Gotcha, Dusty seems to enjoy the kaytee stuff well enough but i’ll give the oxbow a try when i run out. There’s also a farmers market here starting up again next month and there’s a vendor who sells timothy hay which I’m excited to check out.

[MimzMum]

Mostly third cut timothy for Mimzy’s sensitive teeth. (and my impossible allergies) The other two loved it for awhile, but all three seem to be going on a timothy hay strike and only grudgingly finish it now, so I also add BB.com’s oat hay and a little of the rye blend for Mimz.
The oat is a great bowel cleaner for the shedding buns. I have little to no pearl strings with that. And if perpe’s are getting smallish, this fills them out nicely.

Pam…Aren’t you worried Sammy’s going to get huge just eating that hay all the time? 0_o It’s pretty caloric isn’t it? Or is it just Pip who seems incredibly round after a month of oat? >_<
All my bunnies are getting pudgy. Of course they are all over two years now, so…maybe it’s just age. They haven’t had as much exercise lately either, since the house has been so full of chaos for the last few months. But yeah, when they get a hay they like, it’s hard to keep is stocked.

[lashkay]

Buddie grazes on Oxbow timothy hay, has had sweet meadow hay which came in willow balls bought in the UK. I’m also giving him TEFF Love Grass which he couldn’t get enough of when it was offered as a free treat from BinkyBunny Store. I bought 2 bales of it, but he seems bored with it now. I also tried a bale of Oxbow orchard hay which he liked. Am looking forward to trying the Oxbow Oat.

[Binkles]

I don’t think oat hay is any more caloric than Timothy. It makes up 98% of Little-Bit’s diet and she’s slim and trim.

[allosamosaurus]

I am lucky enough to live in the garden part of the Garden State, so hay is really cheap– last summer I bought a square bale of orchard hay (2’x3’x2’ish) for three dollars from a local farmer. He was taken aback when I asked to buy a bale (“Just… one?) and I had to explain that I was only feeding two rabbits (and not a horse or cow or whole farm yard). It was beautiful hay, green and fresh and fragrant- and I still have half of the bale in the shed out back. The more I have been thinking about it though, the more I wonder if my fuzzbutts are getting enough. I bought the bale back in May or early June, and I still have half left. They have access to hay 24/7 and take about four to five days to eat through a shoe-box sized amount. How much hay should an “average” rabbit go through?

[Monkeybun]

Wow, a shoebox size amount? My Moose would eat that much in a day on his own He loooves his hay.

[Binkles]

Ohjeesus! Little-Bit goes through about that in a day as well. xD I’m not an expert on hay, but I might say that may be a little below average for two bunnies.

[allosamosaurus]

Hm… it’s a large-shoe box sized amount (it’s actually a green mesh organizing basket, but that’s even more vague)…. but even that sounds like a small amount if you guys have one bunny that eats a box-full in a day. I am not sure how to get them to eat more… they’re currently getting 1/4c pellets each and varying amounts of veggies and green depending what I have on hand that week. I’d hate to “starve” them in order to get them to eat more hay, ya know? They get so cranky when they get hungry. =D

[RabbitPam]

I had understood that Oat Hay wasn’t more fattening than Timothy, and is a good second choice if the Timmy isn’t popular, so I’ve been sticking with it. I think some of the other hays are the ones that are more caloric. And she eats so much of it that it, ahem, keeps her system moving right along! She has loads of litter to clean every morning. I’m just so thrilled to see a bunny eat a whole holder of hay – it’s sooooo good for her to love it.

But yes, she is getting quite LARGE. Not fat. But is growing…and growing…and growing.

I have concluded that she is all English Spot. Now that she’s full grown, she looks it, just not with a muzzle. But her body is shaped with that roundness going up, not out.

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