Where to find hay?

[Moonlightbunny66]

I live in an area with farms and I went to a farm feed store and they said they had no hay… I asked my mom to post to Facebook asking for hay, and to message her friends. One of her friends told her that hay is really hard to get this year in my area. ): I’m looking on Kijiji right now and I see one that says they have a mix of Timothy, orchard grass, and brome grasses for $5. It’s an hour and a half away from me, though. It’s also first cut so I don’t even know the the bunnies will like it. I’m getting the bunnies next week the day after they’re neutered. Is brome grass safe for rabbits? By the way, I live in Canada. Buying hay from pet stores and online is so expensive. Especially because they sell in smaller bags compared to bales, and the bag would probably be eaten in one day. Does anyone know how to get hay that’s not so expensive?

[Moonlightbunny66]

(I asked my mom because I don’t have Facebook and I don’t know anyone who buys hay)

[Bam]

Brome grass is fine. Any grass hay is fine for rabbits. Young rabbits can also have alfalfa hay, which is a legume hay with more protein and calcium than grass hays. Here is a hay chart with nutritional values for many types of hay. (It’s a guinea pig site but rabbits and guinea pigs eat the same types of hay):

https://www.guinealynx.info/hay_chart.html

Rabbits can eat horse hay. My rabbit gets hay from a farmer who grows hay for his own horses. He prefers that hay over Oxbow, but some rabbits are the other way around. Rabbits can undoubtedly be very finicky about their hay, but if your buns are young when you get them, your chances of weaning them onto good hay eating habits are good.

[Moonlightbunny66]

@Bam Thank you! One bun is about 1 year 5 months and the other is about 5 years old. The animal rescue told me that the 1 year old didn’t wanna eat the Timothy hay until they mixed in orchard grass and other buns came into the shelter. Thanks for the chart!! Most of the listings said horse hay, but are a little far from me.

[Bam]

Horse hay has the same nutritional profile as rabbit hay – in fact  horses and rabbits are very much alike. Both animals are hind gut fermenters, whereas cows and sheep are fore gut fermenters. Both rabbits and horses need skinny, high fibre food.

Rabbits can have certain preferences where hay is concerned. Some prefer soft, third cut hay, some prefer crunchy hay. It doesn’t really matter what type of hay they prefer as long as they eat it. Ideally a rabbit should eat a pile of hay the size of the bun itself (or more) every day. It keeps the gut in good order and wears the teeth appropriately (rabbit teeth grow all rhe rabbit’s life, so they must be kept in check by daily wear).

[Bam]

Horse hay has the same nutritional profile as rabbit hay – in fact  horses and rabbits are very much alike. Both animals are hind gut fermenters, whereas cows and sheep are fore gut fermenters. Both rabbits and horses need skinny, high fibre food.

Rabbits can have certain preferences where hay is concerned. Some prefer soft, third cut hay, some prefer crunchy hay. It doesn’t really matter what type of hay they prefer as long as they eat it. Ideally a rabbit should eat a pile of hay the size of the bun itself (or more) every day. It keeps the gut in good order and wears the teeth appropriately (rabbit teeth grow all rhe rabbit’s life, so they must be kept in check by daily wear).

[DanaNM]

You might ask the rescue where they get their hay. At minimum they can prob point you to some local sources, and some rescues also sell hay for pretty cheap. 🙂

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Louiethebunny]

I second contacting rescues near you. The woman running the rescue I adopted Lola from also sells hay, $10 US for a large bag, and she sources it from a farm that provides it for horses. Rescues need large quantities for fairly inexpensive, so calling and asking could definitely be helpful.

[Moonlightbunny66]

@DanaNM @Louiethebunny I think the animal rescue here mostly relies on donations. I don’t have any rabbit rescues near me either. I could maybe ask about the hay, but I feel like I’ve bugged them enough with my millions of questions about the bunnies I’m adopting lol!

@Bam Good to know about the horse hay. Thank you. It’s all I can see on Kijiji, but it’s a little too far. ):

Thank you guys!

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