# Orchard Grass or Bemuda Grass?



## KimandCocoa (Aug 23, 2007)

I currently give Cocoa two types of hay - timothy and orchard grass. I was at the store and saw the bermuda grass so I thought I would give that a try, since the orchard is running out.

Is either one better for rabbits? If you could give your bunny just one of those, which would you pick?


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## Butterfinger (Aug 23, 2007)

If I could give my bunny just one type of hay, I'd give him timothy, because that's the best for them  And I do. Is there any particular reason why you're giving more than one type of hay?

I've also noticed that while orchard and bermuda grass comes in smaller packages, it's also quite a bit more expensive than the timothy :?

Well, there's my opinion  I'm sure other members here are more knowledgeable about it and can go into more detail than I can


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## missyscove (Aug 23, 2007)

It is good to give a different variety of grass hays. Not only does the variety encourage buns to eat more hay, the different shapes and textures wear down their teeth in different ways which is great. 

I've heard that all grass hays (timothy, orchard, bermuda, oat) have the same nutritional benefits. It all comes down to what your buns will eat the most of. 

Yes, the others are more expensive in stores, but I believe they can be ordered in larger quantities, for instance from oxbow's website.


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## AngelnSnuffy (Aug 23, 2007)

Here's also a post by Randy, a Mod of ours, he's so good with this stuff. Kudos-Randy! It goes in depth a bit, but you get the idea, it's great. I thought it was especially great because I love the idea that horses are like rabbits, etc. But I also like that they can have a variety of grasses, like horses can. Interesting.

_Just a thought on this thread....any hay a horse can eat, so can a rabbit. Find the equine community. I buy lots of hay from a grower that grows and bales his own hay for his show horses that are worth tens of thousands of dollars each. I have no worries about the quality of hay. I routinely buy hay from him at less than $5 per bale. And his quality rivals the "brand name" hays at many times the cost. And if someone feeds it to his horse, you can be assured that it is good hay. A horse and rabbit gut are almost identical and both are very sensitive to mold.

And you do want a mix of hays. I have no idea where the thing saying "timothy" is the only or the best. Hay does several things. First, lots of hay keeps the GI tract in good working order. High fiber keeps things flowing thru nicely. Second, hay is the primary way to keep those teeth worn down. Contrary to popular belief, it's not how hard something is, it's how chewy it is. Wood blocks and pumice stones are cute and they are profitable for the pet stores....but they really don't do anything for the teeth. It's the tooth to tooth contact that wears the teeth down....and also why proper occulcion is necessary. Hay is very chewy and takes a lot of effort to chew....keeps the bunny busy too. If you watch, they don't really chew up and down in a crushing motion.....it's a side to side motion in which they are actually folding the hay stems into something that looks like an accordian. By using different types and textures of hays, it requires different chewing mechanics and works the teeth in a different motion for each type of hay. There is a difference in first and second cut timothy hay. Orchard grass, bermuda, brome, etc all have different textures and work the teeth differently. And stemmy hay is much better than leafy hay. And honestly.....wouldn't you get tired of eating the same old bland stuff your entire life? It's sorta like the rice only diet....and variety (safely) is the spice of life.

And the thing about alfalfa, it is true that alfalfa should be offered only as a treat to most adult house rabbits...but the bottom line in this thought.....alfalfa hay is better than no hay at all.

My buns have all sorts of different hays available to them. We even mix the hays to allow them to "forage" as they would in nature. They have a ball with a big pile of hay....I have "tumbleweed" bunnies.

Randy
_


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## MyBabyBunnies (Aug 23, 2007)

It's kind of an odd thing how people do say Timothy is the best, really it's almost any grass hay is good for an adult bunny! To me, it's the obvious choice only becauseTimothy is pretty much one of the only pure types of grass hay you can get here from farmers. Timothy is big here, I'm not sure about else where though but if it's a fairly common hay throughout most of Canada/US, that's why most people suggest it. There is no reason a rabbit can't have Orchard or Bermuda hay, it's almost as good if not as good as Timothy hay is.

And the others are right, mixing hay is a good thing, it provides a little bit of a varying diet and some rabbits prefer certain types of hay to others so offering different kinds can often times encourage eating hay.


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## Butterfinger (Aug 23, 2007)

Wow, informative  
Didn't know that~ That 'horse insides = rabbit insides' thing was really interesting. 

Haha, you guys sure put me in my place, lol! :embarrassed:

Nooo more trying to answer questions for me :tongue


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## MyBabyBunnies (Aug 23, 2007)

Don't feel bad, I can see why you might think that, after all it is really common to see people typing 'feed Timothy' nearly every place you look on here. We're all here to learn after all. 

And in many ways, rabbits are like a horse. A little different in dietary requirements but overall they are very similar.


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## Gordon (Aug 23, 2007)

My guys did a taste test awhile back among the different hays and they really dug the Timmie and brome the best. They liked the oat, too. In general, I keep a variety on hand, but Timmie is a standby.



Check out Peter and Bugs judging the hay here:



http://gordonsbunnies2.blogspot.com/


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## AngelnSnuffy (Aug 23, 2007)

I have been giving mine oat hay lately, they like it alot. This is also good if you have a bun that isn't a big hay eater, give oat hay a try.


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## MyBabyBunnies (Aug 23, 2007)

Seriously? Not a single one of my rabbits will eat oat hay. They act like I'm trying to kill them with it, LOL. I've never had a problem getting even picky rabbits to eat orchard grass, I find as long as it's leafy, they will eat it.


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## AngelnSnuffy (Aug 23, 2007)

*MyBabyBunnies wrote: *


> Seriously? Not a single one of my rabbits will eat oat hay. They act like I'm trying to kill them with it, LOL. I've never had a problem getting even picky rabbits to eat orchard grass, I find as long as it's leafy, they will eat it.


Yep, according to Randy. My Angel isn't a big, big hay eater, so this is working out well for her. I have been giving mine both Timothy and Oat, it's nice to be able to give them a bit of variety.


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## MyBabyBunnies (Aug 23, 2007)

I find that strange. I can't get any of my 4 to eat it and it was definitely good/nice hay.


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## Wabbitdad12 (Aug 23, 2007)

I use to give my rabbits Timothy hay, but I found it broke into small pieces and became airborne creating a nice dust. I tried Orchard grass and they seem to like it very well. Its tougher then Timothy had and better for their teeth. At least thats been my experience.


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## MyBabyBunnies (Aug 23, 2007)

I find Timothy to be very stalky and tough (though there is differences between the buts of hay and how much leaf there is in the hay). Orchard grass on the other hand, is quite leafy. So I'd assume the opposite to be true. :?


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## MsBinky (Aug 23, 2007)

I would looove to give mine a mix but we only have Timothy or alfalfa here in Montreal :X


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## ra7751 (Aug 23, 2007)

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to make a comment on hay. All hay is not created equal. We get a major brand name and find that it is very dusty. We also buy from a grower in New England and one in the western mountains of Virginia and never have a problem with dust.

As far as being tough or stalky....that is what you are looking for. The stalks/stems are the best part of the hay...from a health stand point anyway. Rabbits usually prefer the seed heads....they are soft, easy to chew and tasty. So are the flat blades. But the stems are really where the most benefit come from. Listen to the noise the teeth make as a bunny is eating stemmy hay. Working those teeth like nature intended.And the stems produce a higher fiber ratio than the leaf or seed heads. And even the leaves...don't break them up. The longer, the better as far as health issues. Keep the hay going all the time.

Randy


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## MyBabyBunnies (Aug 23, 2007)

While yes the stems are the most benficial part of the hay, no need to skip the rest. The difference between nutrient values in different parts of the same hay type are not all that different. There may be a few percentage differences but not much.

And yes the stalks are the best for a rabbits teeth, many many rabbits go without hay their entire lives and never have a problem. But if it came down to it, I'd buy more leafy hay and skip the stems if that would get my rabbits to eat more hay after all, leafy hay is better than no hay at all.


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## ra7751 (Aug 23, 2007)

Leafy hay is better than no hay at all....so very true. That also can apply to the alfalfa-grass hay debate. While alfalfa is not the preferred hay, it is better than no hay at all. The bottom line in my opinion in all of this....is to feed unlimited hay be it bermuda, timothy, orchard grass, brome...whatever your bun will eat. But feed unlimited hay.

Randy


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## MyBabyBunnies (Aug 23, 2007)

Well personally if I had my rabbits on Alfalfa pellets, I'd choose to go without hay rather than with Alfalfa hay. That amount of calcium in the diet could be a major problem. So I don't necessarily agree that any hay is better than none. But I agree with the rest.

A personreally has to look at it more quantity wise than percent wise. Say a leaf hay contains 25% fiber, and the Timothy contains 30% fiber but the rabbit eats 10 grams of Timothy or 20 grams of leaf hay. Then overall your rabbit is getting2 grams more fiber with the leaf hay than with the Timothy just because of the quantity the rabbit is eating. I don't like to look at things as if the percentage is everything, it really has to be taken into account the quantity as well.


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