# I'm looking for a less dusty hay source...



## kirbyultra (Sep 5, 2009)

I'm trying to make the apartment more bearable for my hubby. Ever since we switched to a 50lb box of oxbow in Feb/March he's been suffering. I feel really bad but I couldn't throw out the whole box of 50lbs. The buns love the hay so that is not the problem. It's just very dusty and has coated the whole rabbit room in a thin layer of green dust over the months (it was gross cleaning up the place). I vaccuum like a nut (big Dyson floor vac and small Dyson handvac almost daily...) and it just doesn't help that much. We got a hepa air filter in the bedroom that seems to help at night so he can sleep soundly, but the rabbit room is also our computer room and he works a lot at home. He can't sit in the room for more than an hour without getting completely congested!

I'm trying to look for some suggestions of hay that is less dusty. The last time I had a hay related thread Randy, Ali and some others loved Sweet Meadow, BunnyBale and Kleenmama for their quality and bun-testiments. I just ordered a 5 lb sampler of bluegrass and 2nd cut tim from Kleenmama to try. I remember seeing Sweet Meadow hay and thinking it was kind of choppy (not long strands) and therefore naturally afraid of it being equally dusty as oxbow. I may try them next, and then BunnyBale.com. Anyone have any promising recommendations on clean, quality hay? leaseplease:

Side note - My husband would never deprive our bunners of their hay because of his discomfort (he's a keeper for this reason alone!) so we would not turn to hay cakes or hay cubes as a substitute. Myself, I am definitely allergic to hay to some degree but it is manageable for me. The two of us slaves are pretty much at the mercy of Kirby and Toby. (my eyes water and nose gets runny if I hang out in the rabbit room; my skin reacts in patches of rashes if I handle timothy and don't wash any skin in contact with it immediately!)

Sorry for the long post!


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## Gordon (Sep 5, 2009)

I see you mentioned both Kleenmama and Bunny Bales, which I think are great. Very little dust, and high quality hay.  http://www.bunnybale.com/  http://www.kmshayloft.com/  I'm curious to see what other suppliers are out there. I'm always looking for high quality hay, and willing to pay the price.


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## kirbyultra (Sep 5, 2009)

*Gordon wrote: *


> I see you mentioned both Kleenmama and Bunny Bales, which I think are great. Very little dust, and high quality hay.
> 
> http://www.bunnybale.com/


Based on that, I may try BunnyBale next! They have a free sample package so that is perfect.


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## JeffS (Sep 5, 2009)

If you call around to places that sell products for goats and horses etc, you can probably find someone who has bales of timothy or a timothy mix for just a few dollars. Bales weight a LOT. I'm shocked now when I see how expensive specialty brands of hay are. I pay $0.10 per pound of hay compared to like $2.5 or more per pound from something like oxbow or kaytee. I have my supplier (Soldan's in Okemos, MI) put it in a giant garbage bag.

You need to inspect it though. Once I bought hay and it smelled a bit sour and all the grass had deteriorated into dust. I ended up throwing most of it out.


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## kirbyultra (Sep 5, 2009)

If I buy 30+lbs with shipping it's about $1 to $1.25 a lb which isn't too bad. It's not 10 cents a pound  But I don't live near farms. I live in New York City. It's quite a trek in itself to go out to farm areas I think.


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## Gordon (Sep 5, 2009)

JeffS wrote:


> If you call around to places that sell products for goats and horses etc, you can probably find someone who has bales of timothy or a timothy mix for just a few dollars. Bales weight a LOT. I'm shocked now when I see how expensive specialty brands of hay are. I pay $0.10 per pound of hay compared to like $2.5 or more per pound from something like oxbow or kaytee. I have my supplier (Soldan's in Okemos, MI) put it in a giant garbage bag.  You need to inspect it though. Once I bought hay and it smelled a bit sour and all the grass had deteriorated into dust. I ended up throwing most of it out.


  One of the reasons i'm willing to pay a premium for rabbit-specific hay is because I've tried dealing with a more local hay supplier, and he was rather lackadaisical about it all, and I figure that was because I only wanted a very small amount, compared to his usual shipments.  I can only reiterate my support of Bunny Bales and Kleen Mama. If anyone has any other online hay merchants in mind, please post them, here.


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## SOOOSKA (Sep 5, 2009)

Helen, what do you store your hay in? 

I bought a a Bale Bag for my hay, it keeps it nice and fresh and is much neater except when I end up spilling some of the hay when I put it in smaller bags to transport to the bunny rooms.

I wish we could get some of the hays in Canada :Canada small:that you guys get in the States:USA: . I pay quite a bit for my bale especially compared to some of our members out in western Canada but it's still alot cheaper then buying the 96 ounce bag of Kay Tee with all of our bunnies.

Susan


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## JimD (Sep 5, 2009)

The SweetMeadow hay I ordered was virtually dust free.
It is very aromatic and the whole bunny room reminds me of chamomile tea...don't know if that would irritate hubby's allergies or not.
SweetMeadows is on the east coast, Sherborn, MA.
They ship Fed Ex.
A 30 lb carton of classic timothy was $33.00 including shipping, and I got it in 3 days.
http://www.sweetmeadowfarm.com

Kleenmamas third cut timothy is by far my favorite....and the buns too!!
It's also virtually dust free and the buns eat every little piece I give them.
However, the harvest is usually late in the summer and a limited one at that.
It should be available in the next couple of weeks.
I usually order some to see how it is and then stock up if it's good.
They're located on the west coast, Reardan, WA
They ship UPS and it takes over a week to get.
A 45 lb carton of third cut timothy was $66.00 including shipping.
http://www.kmshayloft.com


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## JimD (Sep 5, 2009)

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> If I buy 30+lbs with shipping it's about $1 to $1.25 a lb which isn't too bad. It's not 10 cents a pound  But I don't live near farms. I live in New York City. It's quite a trek in itself to go out to farm areas I think.



I'm in Northern NJ....about 15 minutes from the Geo. Wash. Bridge 

Any farms are at least a 45 minute drive.... more toward central Jersey and PA.

I *have* found a few distributors in the area that provide hay for the local riding stables and horse race track, but haven't checked them out yet.


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## Pet_Bunny (Sep 5, 2009)

*Gordon wrote: *


> I've tried dealing with a more local hay supplier, and he was rather lackadaisical about it all, and I figure that was because I only wanted a very small amount, compared to his usual shipments.


A bunch of us went out and bought over 15 bales of hay a few weeks ago. Because we got that many, the farmer gave us a better price. I am quite pleased with this hay, and I was able to see it before I bought it.

Isave large boxes that can hold a bale of hay. Then I use smaller boxes that I can move hay from room to room without getting hay all over the place.

Susan, the bale of hay was about 55 lbs and it cost less than $10, andI was able to taketheminmy van. The farm was about 20 minutes from my place.


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## kirbyultra (Sep 5, 2009)

*JimD wrote: *


> I'm in Northern NJ....about 15 minutes from the Geo. Wash. Bridge
> 
> Any farms are at least a 45 minute drive.... more toward central Jersey and PA.
> 
> I *have* found a few distributors in the area that provide hay for the local riding stables and horse race track, but haven't checked them out yet.


Yep,add in another 30 minutes to go cross the tunnels and I'm looking at an hour each way, at least. I think by that time the shipping cost about paid for my car fuel lol I live in Manhattan.


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## kirbyultra (Sep 5, 2009)

JimD* wrote: *


> The SweetMeadow hay I ordered was virtually dust free.
> It is very aromatic and the whole bunny room reminds me of chamomile tea...don't know if that would irritate hubby's allergies or not.
> SweetMeadows is on the east coast, Sherborn, MA.
> They ship Fed Ex.
> ...


That settles it then - I am going to try Sweet meadow too. I love how they are so close by, I hear they ship really fast and for me, the shipping is less hefty.

For Kleenmama's hay, I can't get a terribly good price per lb unless I buy 45 lbs, and I can't buy anything more than 25 or 30 lbs at a time anymore. My husband got _really_ fed up with the Oxbow 50 lb eyesore (literally LOL) sitting in our small Manhattan closet. So my wallet's going to have to suck it up and I have to buy in less quantities. I decided against trying Kleenmama's a while ago because they are so far and shipping is so much from ocean to ocean, but since thenI heard tons of great things about their 3rd cut. That's why I am trying them out for 5 lbs now, also to join their newsletter and hopefully get an email when their 3rd cut is for sale. My bunnies have never been picky about the brand of their hay but they sure know how to pick out the soft stuff, especially King Kirby. I bet he'll love 3rd cut!


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## kirbyultra (Sep 5, 2009)

*SOOOSKA wrote: *


> Helen, what do you store your hay in?



I keep the hay in big plastic snap-shut bins. I kept what I could in those and the rest I kept in the big cardboard box it came in with the plastic bag inside. I open up the bins every so often for airflow. But all the boxes are inside of a closet so they are as put-away as they can conveniently be. My 50lb purchase has kept very well for 6 months now. 

I think I must have thrown out about 5 lbs of dust at the bottom of the box though. And there were many big old, short, dusty, brown chunks in the Oxbow that I broke up to use as sort of litter box filler. I found them mostly in the corners of the "blocks" of hay and was not at all happy about it. Between the blocks of hay was also always a layer of pure green dust, completely unusable. I bought masks to go over my nose and mouth just to scoop that stuff out in order to get to the next block in the box! Is this common of Oxbow or hay in general? Or am I in for a pleasant upgrade going to Kleenmama/Sweet Meadow/Bunny Bale?


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## JimD (Sep 5, 2009)

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> That settles it then - I am going to try Sweet meadow too. I love how they are so close by, I hear they ship really fast and for me, the shipping is less hefty.
> 
> For Kleenmama's hay, I can't get a terribly good price per lb unless I buy 45 lbs, and I can't buy anything more than 25 or 30 lbs at a time anymore. My husband got _really_ fed up with the Oxbow 50 lb eyesore (literally LOL) sitting in our small Manhattan closet. So my wallet's going to have to suck it up and I have to buy in less quantities. I decided against trying Kleenmama's a while ago because they are so far and shipping is so much from ocean to ocean, but since thenI heard tons of great things about their 3rd cut. That's why I am trying them out for 5 lbs now, also to join their newsletter and hopefully get an email when their 3rd cut is for sale. My bunnies have never been picky about the brand of their hay but they sure know how to pick out the soft stuff, especially King Kirby. I bet he'll love 3rd cut!



The major difference between the SweetMeadow and KleenMamas, is that Sweet meadows is the actual farm and KleenMamas is more of a distributor that purchases their hay from farms.

SweetMeadows is a typical farm hay and often has other field plants mixed in.

KleenMamas hay is mostly straight up hay without anything else mixed in.

It's kind of hard to weigh the two in comparison.

My buns LOVE to dig through the SweetMeadow and pick out their favorite morsels such as the errant clover and/or grasses! 
And then they use the rest for extra bedding.

On the other hand, they eat every little bit of the KleenMamas.....which makes for less waste/leftovers and cleanup.

Soooo......
I buy the third cut KleenMamas when available, and SweetMeadows the rest of the time.


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## JimD (Sep 5, 2009)

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> I keep the hay in big plastic snap-shut bins. I kept what I could in those and the rest I kept in the big cardboard box it came in with the plastic bag inside. I open up the bins every so often for airflow. But all the boxes are inside of a closet so they are as put-away as they can conveniently be. My 50lb purchase has kept very well for 6 months now.
> 
> I think I must have thrown out about 5 lbs of dust at the bottom of the box though. And there were many big old, short, dusty, brown chunks in the Oxbow that I broke up to use as sort of litter box filler. I found them mostly in the corners of the "blocks" of hay and was not at all happy about it. Between the blocks of hay was also always a layer of pure green dust, completely unusable. I bought masks to go over my nose and mouth just to scoop that stuff out in order to get to the next block in the box! Is this common of Oxbow or hay in general? Or am I in for a pleasant upgrade going to Kleenmama/Sweet Meadow/Bunny Bale?



Hay stores best if it gets good airflow....promotes less chance of mold.

I saved my old Oxbow cartons and store my hay in them.
It's best to take the hay out of the plastic bag and store it in the plain carton.
I think there's even a blurb about that on the KleenMamas site.

KleenMamas is compressed and comes in a much smaller carton than the SweetMeadows. I found it stores best if I break the flakes up a bit and put it in a larger carton for storage.

My experience with Oxbow resulted in a lot of dust and clumps, too.
I've found some clumps and root material in the other hays, but at a much lesser amount.


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## JimD (Sep 5, 2009)

Maybe we could put together a metropolitan area hay co-op.


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## slavetoabunny (Sep 5, 2009)

I'm a big fan of Kleenmama's. Their 3rd cut is supposed to be available around the beginning of October. I'm definately getting a 45 lb. box. I got some last year and it was a huge hit with the bunners.


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## BethM (Sep 6, 2009)

I am also allergic to the hay dust. I get American Pet Diner hay. I've heard so many great things about Kleenmama and Sweet Meadow, but my rescue group gets the APD by the pallet, and sells it, so a portion of the sale goes to support the group.

I have found some boxes are more dusty than others. (I buy it by the 25lb box.) I do "sift" out the smaller pieces in the bottom, and use the big-enough pieces as litter box filler. I find that my bunnies do actually snack on these when they're in their boxes, so it's not too much of a waste for me. I have never had a box dusty enough to coat the room in it, though.

Because I'm allergic to pretty much every airborne allergen out there, I take allergy medicine daily for it, which helps a lot with my hay allergy.


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## Gordon (Sep 6, 2009)

I'm going to buy some of Kleenmama's 3rd cut if it becomes available. We've never tried it. All we've had is her 2nd cut stuff, and it is wonderful.   I'm also going to try some APD and Sweet Meadow. Diversity is good.  I don't like depending on one supplier.  And as far as cuts go, I read something on Kleenmama's site, that indicated she didn't offer 1st cut anymore, because it's often so coarse as to cause possible eye injuries, from accidental poking, as well as throat injuries.   I do however, believe the higher fiber and thickness of the 2nd and 1st cut is good for our bunnies' digestion and teeth, so don't go too wild with the 3rd cut stuff. I'm ordering it, mainly as a supplemental treat.   Regarding storage, I use the snap-top style plastic storage bins. Keep in mind, I only purchase 5 pounds or so at a time, and split that up into two bins. Given the fact I buy from multiple sources, I may have 4 to 6 plastic bins in rotation; but I also keep the containers in a very clean and climate-controlled atmosphere, in the pantry closet of my kitchen. I agree hay needs to breathe, and I do open the containers, to check on things, but the indoor dry air and clean conditions of my storage area keep it all good, for me. The big huge bales of hay some of you buy are unmanageable for me, and I can see how those are more susceptible to mold and going bad.


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## kirbyultra (Sep 16, 2009)

I got my Kleenmama's bluegrass and 2nd cut timmy. It looks very clean and crisp indeed. I'll have to ask my husband what he thinks of it. I am very impressed with the bluegrass. It looks beautiful! It's Kleenmama's version of orchard grass - is it ok to feed this as a staple hay like orchard?


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## slavetoabunny (Sep 16, 2009)

Yep, you can free-feed bluegrass. I'm about ready for a new order just in time for 3rd cut! My guys went nuts over last years 3rd cut - supposed to be available early October.


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## Jenk (Sep 16, 2009)

*JimD wrote: *


> The SweetMeadow hay I ordered was virtually dust free.
> It is very aromatic and the whole bunny room reminds me of chamomile tea...don't know if that would irritate hubby's allergies or not.


I, too, have been very happy with Sweet Meadow Farms' products. We typically buy the 1st-cut timothy hay, which is nearly dust-free. And two of my sweet-toothed bunners _love_ their sweet meadow hay (which does contain more dust particles than does 1st-cut timothy, I'll admit).

As an added compliment to the company: I once placed a first-time order for a box of apple chew sticks. Someone crossed off the "1" on the amount line of our order form and hand-wrote "3" in its place; so we got three boxes of the sticks for the price of one (a savings of over $6). The next day, I made sure that I e-mailed a sincere thank-you to the farm's owner, Al.

Jenk


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## JadeIcing (Sep 16, 2009)

The owner of SweetMeadow Al does a LOT for local rescues. :biggrin2:


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## Jenk (Sep 16, 2009)

*JadeIcing wrote: *


> The owner of SweetMeadow Al does a LOT for local rescues. :biggrin2:



I did not know that (until now, of course :biggrin2. I think that's so wonderful!


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## petitlapin (Sep 16, 2009)

We love the Sweet Meadow's Organic Timothy Hay with Herbs. I am prone to sneezey allergies, but this has not aggravated mine in anyway. The chamomile smells so good too.


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## Jenk (Sep 16, 2009)

*petitlapin wrote: *


> We love the Sweet Meadow's Organic Timothy Hay with Herbs. I am prone to sneezey allergies, but this has not aggravated mine in anyway. The chamomile smells so good too.



_Oooohh_...Now you're making me want to order that haynext. My DH is going to strangle me for gettingideas here. (Just last night, he started griping about hay costs. Admittedly, it does get pricey to feed shipped hay to three buns, including one who's about 9 lbs.)

:biggrin2:


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## kirbyultra (Sep 18, 2009)

Is the Sweet Meadow 1st cut very course and sharp? I am always sticking my hands with hay bits when handling hay. Pokes straight through gloves even - I'm currently feeding Oxbow's Western timothy.

So I started feeding Kleenmama's timothy and it doesn't seem to be any different to the buns. They are eating it the same as their usual Oxbow. The hay itself looks a little less green, kind of more course, but less dusty... The fuzzy bits in the Oxbow look like green cotton swabs. They look like yellow brushes from Kleenmama. Anyone notice? Are they the same "heads" from timothy?


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## Jenk (Sep 19, 2009)

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> Is the Sweet Meadow 1st cut very course and sharp? I am always sticking my hands with hay bits when handling hay. Pokes straight through gloves even - I'm currently feeding Oxbow's Western timothy.


Yes, Sweet Meadow's 1st-cut timothy is pretty coarse and sharp; you need to handle it with care. I once grabbed it without thinking and wound up with a 1"-long hay sliver in the skin between my thumb and forefinger. (It hurt going in; it hurt more pulling it out.)


> So I started feeding Kleenmama's timothy and it doesn't seem to be any different to the buns. They are eating it the same as their usual Oxbow. The hay itself looks a little less green, kind of more course, but less dusty... The fuzzy bits in the Oxbow look like green cotton swabs. They look like yellow brushes from Kleenmama. Anyone notice? Are they the same "heads" from timothy?


What you're likely seeing in Kleenmama's hay is water weed. (At least, that's what the owner once told me it's commonly called.) I'm fairly certain that's what you're seeing because timothy seed heads pretty much look the same, regardless of hay brands.

I've ordered Kleenmama's hay once. I was _very_ impressed with it. Unfortunately, only one of our two girls ate it. Now that we have three buns, I'd hate to have two of them refuse it. (Believe it or not, our tiniest girl likes the toughest 1st-cut timothy hay. Sweet Meadow is her current fav.)

Jenk


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## kirbyultra (Sep 19, 2009)

*Jenk wrote: *


> *kirbyultra wrote: *
> 
> 
> > Is the Sweet Meadow 1st cut very course and sharp? I am always sticking my hands with hay bits when handling hay. Pokes straight through gloves even - I'm currently feeding Oxbow's Western timothy.
> ...



Water weed?! What is that? Is it harmful to buns?

But it had a piece of what looked like timothy grass blade grown in with it towards the base of the stem...that's why I thought originally it was a piece of the fuzzy heads.


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## Jenk (Sep 19, 2009)

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> Water weed?! What is that? Is it harmful to buns?
> 
> But it had a piece of what looked like timothy grass blade grown in with it towards the base of the stem...that's why I thought originally it was a piece of the fuzzy heads.



Kleenmama's owner assured me that it's safe for bun. Admittedly, I picked it out whenever I found it (and my hubby and I did find a lot of it in our particular box of hay). But I'm guessing it truly is harmless to buns--much like hay that contains certain dried flowers, dried flower leaves, and tiny twigs.


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## kirbyultra (Sep 19, 2009)

Thanks Jenk. That's a relief.


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## kirbyultra (Sep 25, 2009)

I've been feeding the Kleenmama timothy hay (I assume it's 2nd cut) and I have to say the "look" of it is not too great. It's not the lush green that I am used to with Oxbow. But Kirby seems to love it especially. He will eat all of what I give him in the morning by the time I get home. So there's no question about it's yumminess to the bunnies. I find it to be much better to handle than the Oxbow in terms of dust. *Timothy to Timothy I think Kleenmama is less dusty*. 

But about that water weed... Does it look like this, Jenk? Because the ones I saw before were sort of dried out and yellow. In the last couple of days when I dug deeper into the bag I got tons of these things which are sort of purple. 







Purple kind of worries me... I don't know why. I pick them out where I can. But it also looks like there is some green timothy hay attached to it at the stem so I am not sure if it is just the tops of the hay or if it's some other plant. Should I email Linda?

I haven't fed the bluegrass yet as I'm trying to ease the hay changes into their diet, but I am excited about it.


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## JimD (Sep 25, 2009)

Hi Helen,

I would email Linda with a pic of what you've found and ask her what she knows about it.
She's probably got a good knowledge of the diffent field plants and might be able to identify it and let you know if it's safe or not.


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## Jenk (Sep 25, 2009)

We had no purple flowers in our KM's hay order. We had the dried-out yellowish looking things that you've mentioned (i.e.,the "water weed"). I can't identify the purple flowers. Hopefully, Linda can shed some light on what they are.

When we order Sweet Meadow Farms' hay, the non-1st-cut (which seems to mostly be 3rd-cut) contains some meadow hay. And that means that it has a certain type of dried flower included, which our bunnies _love_. If I remember, I'll take a photo of one of them to show you. 

Question: Does your bun crew love and eat Oxbow without hesitation? If they love it as much as KM's, and you can handle the dust quantity of it, maybe you should consider going back to it. When it came to our one KM order, our one bunny wouldn't eat it, and my hubby got tired of plucking water weed from it. (There was too much of it in there for his liking. )

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> But about that water weed... Does it look like this, Jenk? Because the ones I saw before were sort of dried out and yellow. In the last couple of days when I dug deeper into the bag I got tons of these things which are sort of purple.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## kirbyultra (Sep 25, 2009)

Jim, I have emailed Linda a copy of this picture. Hope she can tell us what it is. I picked out these really long stringy pieces but there is bound to be some I missed and I don't see any when I go to refill the hay basket so I'm sure Kirby ate it  

Jenk - Both buns seem to take it well. Toby is not picky at all (so far) and Kirby is picky, but he seems to polish it off. With the box of Oxbow I got last March, I think it was somewhere between first and 2nd cut mixed together because it was a lush green, some of it was very soft and some of it was so sharp that it stuck me in the palm more than a few times. Kirby would eat very selectively from the Oxbow, i.e. all of the soft "blade" parts, and the stems only if there was a nice blade still attached  He would just chop up the long, hard stems and leave them in 2 inch long pieces fo rme to pick up after him... sigh. I think he likes the KM better so this could be a possibility for me going forward. 

:bunnydance:


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## JimD (Sep 25, 2009)

*Jenk wrote: *


> When we order Sweet Meadow Farms' hay, the non-1st-cut (which seems to mostly be 3rd-cut) contains some meadow hay. And that means that it has a certain type of dried flower included, which our bunnies _love_. If I remember, I'll take a photo of one of them to show you.



Hi JenK!

I'm just finishing up my last order from Sweet Meadow....30 lbs of classic timothy.
My buns all loved to dig through it to find the errant clover.
There were some other broad-leaf plants that I couldn't identify so I pulled them out for the most....and If I missed some, the buns would leave them to the side anyways.

Last year's harvest of 3rd cut from Kleenmamas was definitely the best hay I've ever gotten ...just ask the bunnies .
I hope this year's harvest is as good!!

I'm most probably going to have to order something before KM get their 3rd cut....I'll probably get some Sweet Meadow classic timothy to tide the buns over.


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## Jenk (Sep 25, 2009)

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> Kirby would eat very selectively from the Oxbow, i.e. all of the soft "blade" parts, and the stems only if there was a nice blade still attached  He would just chop up the long, hard stems and leave them in 2 inch long pieces fo rme to pick up after him... sigh.


It's funny how selective bunnies can be about hay.  Our Emma is mostpicky. And now that she's accustomed to Sweet Meadow's 1st-cut timothy (having loved it from the start), I can't get her toeatSM's softer-cut timothy. She'll gladly scarf SM's meadow hay, though. She and our two otherbunners also eat Oxbow's orchard grass and oat hay, when it's available.

*JimD wrote:*


> I'm just finishing up my last order from Sweet Meadow....30 lbs of classic timothy.
> My buns all loved to dig through it to find the errant clover.
> There were some other broad-leaf plants that I couldn't identify so I pulled them out for the most....and If I missed some, the buns would leave them to the side anyways.


Yeah, Emma manages to pluck out the clover, too. Sadly, both she and Pinkerton, after sucking down the clover, throw the rest of the hay out of their litter boxes.  Clearly, they both prefer 1st-cut timothy. I'm still trying to slowly sneak in softer cuts at times, so that they receive additional nutrients from it. So far, they've managed to foil my attempts. I imagine that they're mocking me, like so: :bunnydance:.


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## Orchid (Sep 26, 2009)

*JeffS wrote: *


> If you call around to places that sell products for goats and horses etc, you can probably find someone who has bales of timothy or a timothy mix for just a few dollars. Bales weight a LOT. I'm shocked now when I see how expensive specialty brands of hay are. I pay $0.10 per pound of hay compared to like $2.5 or more per pound from something like oxbow or kaytee. I have my supplier (Soldan's in Okemos, MI) put it in a giant garbage bag.
> 
> You need to inspect it though. Once I bought hay and it smelled a bit sour and all the grass had deteriorated into dust. I ended up throwing most of it out.



I think there are places here where I could do that, but how well could I keep it for a little bun who isn't even 4 lbs? Wouldn't it end up spoiling and what not before she could really eat it...and I also worry I wouldn't know if I had good or bad hay...I used to stare at like every bag of oxbox trying to figure out which was the best, the freshest etc..

How would I keep it....I couldn't fit a bale of hay in my house....and my shed seems to be infested with ants...I spray and they shift sides..lol


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## Orchid (Sep 26, 2009)

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> If I buy 30+lbs with shipping it's about $1 to $1.25 a lb which isn't too bad. It's not 10 cents a pound  But I don't live near farms. I live in New York City. It's quite a trek in itself to go out to farm areas I think.



Depending on where and at what hour you choose to drive..maybe lol

Rockland might have something but I know Orange County certainly would. I wouldn't see why Rockland County wouldn't have anything...Farm areas where still lurking when last I lived there...

From Orange County...by Newburgh, Goshen etc it took us an hour and half one way. Mostly with some sort of traffic. Heading into Manhatten that is... I always prefered the trains myself...


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## Orchid (Sep 26, 2009)

*petitlapin wrote: *


> We love the Sweet Meadow's Organic Timothy Hay with Herbs. I am prone to sneezey allergies, but this has not aggravated mine in anyway. The chamomile smells so good too.


My daughter and I both have dust allergies pretty bad...and I am allergic to like the rest of the world except for buns...I might have to try this!


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## kirbyultra (Sep 28, 2009)

Linda replied about the purple thing.
She says "This was a newly planted field, and I also have been finding some of those in the hay. My farmer assures me they are just other grasses that blew in, and they are safe to eat. He tells me the third cut timothy that I will be getting next month is much cleaner because it has gotten way more dense as it grew."
So it's some kind of grass.  
Looking forward to the 3rd cut!


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## JimD (Oct 1, 2009)

I just got my order from Sweet Meadows....
It's nicer than the last order.

It doesn't smell as sweet....but still smells nice.
Thequality it more like a third cut.
The bunsall dove right in, so it looks like they approve of it.
I may put in another order right away.


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## Jenk (Oct 1, 2009)

*JimD wrote: *


> I just got my order from Sweet Meadows....
> It's nicer than the last order.
> 
> It doesn't smell as sweet....but still smells nice.
> ...



You're referring to SM's standard timothy hay, right? It's actually a mix between sweet meadow hay and timothy. But I suppose that the mix between the two differs between batches.

I'm glad that your crew loves it. My guys don't seem to like it; I wish that they did.


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## kirbyultra (Oct 1, 2009)

The KM bluegrass is amazingly clean. Kirby gobbles it up like crazy! Toby seems to be less excited... 
My question is - is bluegrass hard enough to wear down rabbit teeth? It seems to be much softer than the timothy stems. The bluegrass is definitely very long which is good for the gut, but what about teeth?


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## kherrmann3 (Oct 1, 2009)

Just adding my two cents... I love the Kleenmama's 2nd cut timothy. Very nice, not too dusty, and not gross and brown. Both bunnies attack their hay. They've started eating twice as much hay since they were switched to KM from Oxbow. It was funny to watch Sammi try KM when we first got her from the shelter. She nibbled a little, chowed down, then flopped on top of it (still eating). She was in heaven. I bought a big box, and although the shipping is high, it was worth it. Plus, it's funny to watch the delivery guy struggling with a 50# box. Then when he asks what it is, the look his face was priceless when I said it was hay!


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## slavetoabunny (Oct 2, 2009)

I am in total agreement about the quality of KM hay. I am about ready to order another 45# box and will either get bluegrass or 3rd cut. I just love to see the buns get excited about their hay!!


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## kherrmann3 (Oct 3, 2009)

Is that what you call it? Excited? I've gotten attacked over that hay! I've found Toby in the KM box, buried in hay (he jumped up on the box where I had been taking hay from, and he fell in the hole). He was in hog heaven!


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## Jenk (Oct 3, 2009)

*kherrmann3 wrote: *


> I've found Toby in the KM box, buried in hay (he jumped up on the box where I had been taking hay from, and he fell in the hole). He was in hog heaven!


:laugh:


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## kirbyultra (Oct 21, 2009)

Huff puff... 3 hours...I've been hunched over all the hay in my house for 3 hours and I am only HALF way done sorting everything out. BUT....

*Kleenmama's 3rd cut Timothy*: I got my 15 lbs of KM 3rd cut and 15 lbs of bluegrass... well I pulled out the bag of 3rd cut tim first and...I am in absolute awe. The quality of the hay, the lush green, the fresh, sweet aroma. The lack of my eyes watering, itchy throat and runny nose!! I am beyond thrilled with the 3rd cut. I have very sensitive skin and I handled the whole 15 lb bag with my bare hands without a single stick, poke, cut, scratch or skin break of any kind. Now that is what I call SOFT hay. But at the same time, it is very flexible, long and what I would term "chewy" for a bunny. It's not brittle and piece-y like I thought it might be. I think the bunnies will love love love it. (I am just integrating a little bit at a time, mixing it in with their current Oxbow hay)

The last 5-8 lbs of Oxbow I have took me about 90 minutes to pick through strand by strand to find the long stems worth keeping. Toby loves a crunchy piece of hay, so kept them for him. I salvaged a lot, tossed the rest of the horrible dust. Shockingly, 15lbs of uncompacted 3rd cut stuffed 2 large rubbermaid bins PLUS another small bin that I use to transport hay day to day. I have not even touched the 15lb bag of bluegrass yet - and because I literally have no space to put it in, I don't know WHEN I'm going to be able to crack it open to feed. 

There wasquite alot of "stuff" in the timothy though. Some woody stems with some pokey fuzzy things growing off it, and some weird looking grass mixed in. I picked them out, I figure I might as well do it all now instead of a little every single day at feeding time. 

In any case, my review of 3rd cut KM hay = dustless and amazing!:highfive:


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## slavetoabunny (Oct 21, 2009)

I agree! The 3rd cut is amazing this year. I can't wait to start feeding it - the buns need to finish their 2nd cut first.


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## Orchid (Nov 5, 2009)

:bunny18 bump


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