# What kind of hay to feed rabbit?



## mkw (May 7, 2010)

I was wondering what kind of hay I should feed my bunny. Right now, he is getting alfalfa for rabbits that I got at the store. He is about four months old. I was wondering what is the best hay to give him. Could he eat the hay I get for my horses at the feed store? Just curious. Please let me know!


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## renaelock (May 7, 2010)

from what I've learned - anyone correct me if I'm wrong - your bunny can have alfalfa hay and pellets until he is 1 year old. Then he cannot have alfalfa hay and timothy hay is the 1st choice - but I believe any grass hay is ok but stay away from alfalfa (too much something in the hay that is not the best for adult rabbits). As far as pellets go I think its split across the board but as long as the percentage nutrient list is in the required field for adult rabbits (you'd have to look online or maybe someone has it on the top of there head here) you can give alfalfa or timothy hay pellets. I think babys can have any hay as long as alfalfa is the main one - again anyone correct me if I am wrong.


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## elrohwen (May 7, 2010)

Alfalfa is fine since he is young. You will probably want to start transfering him to timothy and other grass hays somewhere between 6 months and a year. 

I actually like feeding baby buns some timothy so they get used to it. Alfalfa generally tastes better, and sometimes bunnies don't like to give it up and try timothy, so giving him longer to get used to it might help.


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## jcottonl02 (May 7, 2010)

I can't imagine why you can't get the same hay that your horses eat. It would grass hay, right? And would probably be must fresher than the stuff you buy in packets.

ETS- Sorry- I misread your post. I thought you got hay from a farm. In that case I can't comment because I don't know what kind of hay you buy your horses. It's not Haylage right? Def not but I just wanted to check LOL!!! 

I get bales of hay from a nearby farm (Â£5!! for a huge bale that I can't carry- the ones they stack u know lol?) for their bedding etc. and I buy Timothy Hay in packets for them, but do you know what? They ignore the packaged hay mostly, and just fall upon this fresh grass hay from the farm. It smells absolutely divine and they gobble it up 

Jen


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## Tweetiepy (May 7, 2010)

My 12 week old bunny got timothy hay at 8 weeks because I couldn't find anything else at that time. Now I found some Alfalfa hay and I mix it with her timothy hay but she'll dive for the timothy hay and will eat the alfalfa hay if it's her only choice - does she need the calcium of the alfalfa hay or can I just give her the timothy hay?

Also, she really likes this hay called "Prairie Timothy Hay" much more than the Kaytee brand (which looks better and greener than the Prairie brand.

Sorry to hyjack the thread. Regarding hay in bags: once you get the bulk of the hay out, is there supposed to be lots of "dust"?


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## elrohwen (May 7, 2010)

Baby bunnies don't *need* alfalfa in the sense that they'll be just fine without it. Especially if you are feeding unlimited alfalfa pellets, they probably don't need alfalfa hay at all.


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## ra7751 (May 7, 2010)

Rabbits are basically miniature horses....any hay that is safe for a horse is safe for a rabbit. And like a horse, rabbits have open rooted teeth so they need various types and cuts of hay in order to keep the teeth worn down. Many consider alfala too high in calcium...but that is based on old information. My primary concern with alfalfa is the calorie content....usually adds too much weight.

Randy


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## MikeScone (May 7, 2010)

Alfalfa's a legume, timothy is a grass. Although people tend to talk about transitioning the bun from alfalfa to timothy, it's really a matter of switching to grass hay of any sort. Nutritionally, they're pretty much of a muchness as far as I've ever been able to tell. 

I try to have a variety of grass hays on hand for Scone. He likes to explore, and see what sort of hay is in which basket. I find he eats more hay when he can look around and pick just the sort he's interested in at that moment. 







He won't eat timothy hay at all, in any form (not even in "botanical hay", which is timothy mixed with herbs). He loves orchard grass, oat hay, brome hay, bermuda grass, and Peter's Meadow Mix (a Marshall Pet Products mixture of different sorts of grass). 

Find the sort of grass hays that your bun will eat, and that's what's best for them.


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