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Forum DIET & CARE Question about hay :3

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    • victoria nicole
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        Hii n____n i have a question about hay. I am new to the rabbit world and just recently got my 3 month old mini lionhead named fufsy. Shes eating fine & everything, but i noticed when she eats hay, she prefers the harder, light coloured pieces. I was wondering if there is a difference between these pieces and the more grassy like ones in the timmy hay? Like if the harder light pieces had more fiber than the grassy kind or if its all the same. Sorry if this question seems silly. I just wnna make sure she is getting all the fiber she needs :3 thank you!


      • RabbitPam
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          Not silly at all. There is a variety of hays because some bunnies prefer soft and grassy (Orchard Grass, 2nd cut Timothy) and some prefer the tougher stuff (Mature Oat Hay, Regular Timothy) for example. My Samantha won’t touch the soft, tender stuff but adores the really dry Mature Oat Hay. Devours it. Turns out my vet told me that there are little bits of dried flowers that have a burst of flavor and she finds those first. But she love the stuff and it looks like old vertical blinds to me. So when you find a kind of hay that your bunny really likes, give it to her!

          And all the hays are basically good for them – better than not eating it at all. So unlimited hay daily. They may reject day old hay, so top it off. Also, sometimes they get bored and change their minds, so be prepared to try a different one on occasion.


        • TriBun
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            My boy loves that hard yellow stuff too (it’s probably mature oat hay). I’m told it’s a little sweeter and my boy has a sweet tooth Rosyl,on the other hand, loves 2nd cut Timothy hay. It’s soft and green. I like to change their hay for variety. Right now they’re getting Western Timothy and Orchard Grass.

            Every bunny has a preference, but as long as they are eating hay they’re getting enough fiber. That mature oat is actually very high in fiber.


          • Kokaneeandkahlua
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              Welcome I agree-doesn’t matter what hay0-so long as your bunny enjoys hay that’s great


            • lashkay
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                Ditto. Welcome! How about a picture – or two – or three…. of Fufsy? If she’s as cute as her name, she must be adorable! I have two adorable lionheads too!


              • victoria nicole
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                  sorry guys, i forgot i made this topic D: but thank you all for your answers! i feel better now haha. right now i am giving her kaytee timmy hay (which i heard good and bad things about? what do you guys think?) and i put a mixture of oxbow timmy hay and oxbow oat hay with the kaytee timmy. i’d give her strictly oxbow, but its sooo expensive and the kaytee comes in a huuuuge bag. and for those of you asking for a picture, here is my little bun fufsy:

                   

                   

                   

                   


                • victoria nicole
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                    Posted By lashkay on 09/21/2011 10:11 PM
                    Ditto. Welcome! How about a picture – or two – or three…. of Fufsy? If she’s as cute as her name, she must be adorable! I have two adorable lionheads too!

                    awww you haaaave to show me your lionheads too! what are their names? :3

                     


                  • bwild
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                      She is such a beauty! I bet it’s fun combing her though! lol


                    • victoria nicole
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                        Posted By bwild on 09/22/2011 02:17 PM
                        She is such a beauty! I bet it’s fun combing her though! lol

                        oh yeah, haha. she always gets her bedding in her fur so i have to pick/comb it out multiple times a day D: she loves being brushed though. she thinks shes a beauty queen lol. but thank you! :3

                         


                      • bunnyfriend
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                          To be honest Kaytee hay isn’t best quality, but it also really depends on what kind you buy, I know they have timothy hays with stuff added, like Kaytee’s Timothy plus and complete, which isn’t always good (just like how you shouldn’t buy pellets with any other things added like seeds or dried fruit, ect.).

                          Here’s Kaytee’s regular timothy hay bale nutrition information:
                          Guaranteed Analysis:
                          Crude Protein (min.)………..6.0%
                          Crude Fat (min.)……………2.0%
                          Crude Fiber (max.)…………32.0%
                          Moisture (max.)……………12.0%
                          Calcium (min.)…………….0.25%
                          Calcium (max.)…………….0.75%

                          Oxbow timothy hay nutrition:
                          Crude Protein min 7.00%
                          Crude Fat min 1.50%
                          Crude Fiber max 32.00%
                          Moisture max 15.00%

                          So there isn’t much difference between the two. A really cheap way to get hay is locally, you just have to make sure it is “horse quality”, or at the BinkyBunny store (hale bales) also your state’s chapter of the House Rabbit Society might sell hay like my Wisconsin state chapter does, which you can definitely trust and you don’t have to be a member (:


                        • victoria nicole
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                            okay! i will look into getting hay thats local. and yes, that is the kaytee timmy hay i use. i also never buy bunny stuff that looks appealing to humans D: like, its a shame that companys sell stuff that can kill buns in their food, etc. :c it makes me sad. i feed her kaytee forti diet pellets. i give her 1/8 a cup and it does have a few cereal pieces in it, but i pick them out before she eats D: i read the ingredients and saw it does have corn or other things, but i still wanna switch to oxbow pellets. should i mix the two for a while before i completely switch her to oxbow? or can i just go ahead and replace it?


                          • bunnyfriend
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                              I agree it is sad that pet supply companies make food and other products that they know isn’t good for rabbits and animals in general ): Rabbits shouldn’t eat corn so it’s a good thing you’re switching her food (: You should mix the new food with her old food when you put it in her bowl, gradually decreasing the amount of the old food. You might know this already but since your rabbit is young the Oxbow Bunny Basics Young Rabbit Food (which is an alfalfa based pellet, good for growth) should be given until she’s 1 year old, then you can switch to the Oxbow adult rabbit food (timothy based pellet). Also, you should allow your rabbit unlimited pellets until she’s 7 months old, then you can gradually reduce to 1/2 cup, and then when she’s 1 year old gradually reduce to 1/4 to 1/2 cup of pellets per 6 lbs body weight. And of course no matter what age, she should always have unlimited hay 24/7. 1/8 cup is just too small of an amount for any rabbit unless your rabbit savvy vet says otherwise, especially a growing baby. Don’t worry you won’t be overfeeding her (: Do you plan to get her spayed at 6 months?


                            • victoria nicole
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                                yes we’re planning on getting her spayed in decemeber or january. we take her to a vet that specializes in rabbits, so i hope he will make sure she is safe during surgery. im scared something might happen to her D: i will def start feeding her more pellets now. i was just worried shed get too much calcium in her urine and cause sludge er something. i give her unlimited hay and spring mix veggies. it has endive and raddichio in it. she loves it. im going to start giving her pineapple once a week so itll help her digest fur better too.

                                she seems to be a lot happier and healthier now. when we first got her, the vet said she had a tapeworm D: and he gave her a shot for it. he told us that the shot would take care of it unless she somehow became exposed again (she wasnt exposed through us, it was from where she came from, i assume?) but im still paranoid it could come back or i could get it somehow :b


                              • bunnyfriend
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                                  Awhhh poor bunny! Glad she’s okay now (: Yeah I have to get my rabbit spayed in 2 months (she’s 4 months now), I’m worried about that too. The calcium shouldn’t be a problem with the Oxbow pellets. Have you tried any other veggies? Here’s a list of recommended ones: http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html and they indicate which ones have high calcium in them (like spinach). Rabbit.org [House Rabbit Society] has great information on everything, including spays. Sorry if you knew that already. And papaya tablets are also good for their digestive systems.


                                • victoria nicole
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                                    thank you :3 i posted a thread asking bun owners if they had a rabbit with a tapeworm before, but no replied yet. i hope your rabbits surgery goes well. i read the females act so sad afterwards and sometimes wont drink :c should i get a hay rack after her surgery so hay wont poke her? and of course, have a clean cage for her to come home to? do you feed your bun papaya tablets? :o which brand do you recommend? my mom wants to give her a piece of banana as a treat occasionally. is this okay?


                                  • bunnyfriend
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                                      Thanks! I feed my bunny 1 Oxbow Papaya Fruit Plus tablet everyday. This is how much she LOVES them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Ilr3fjv18 heeehee ;P A hay rack might not be a bad idea, do you put hay in a corner of the litter box? Banana slices once in a while are fine bunnies love them! Sorry I haven’t had a rabbit with a tapeworm yet. My previous rabbit was a boy, but after the surgery making everything calm and quiet will help her and rabbits drink more from ceramic dishes in general, that may be easier.


                                    • victoria nicole
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                                        aw she is sooo cute! i love her! haha i will def start buying these for fufsy :b and yes, i put the hay in a corner. she doesnt have a litter box. we bought one, but it was too big for her cage. but she does seem to pee in the same spot in her cage. were getting her a bigger one soon, so then we will put her potty in it. will she get enough hay with a hay bin? or can i just put some in a large bowl? bc she makes a huuuuge mess with the hay and i change it every day just in case it gets dirty and i dont wanna be wasting it. /:


                                      • bunnyfriend
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                                          Haha thanks! (: The hay bin or a bowl should be fine. Once you get her a litter box then putting the hay in the litter box or in a hay rack above the box it will encourage her to use the litter box. Rabbits like to use the bathroom while they eat, gross I know, that’s why I keep Wilbur’s food bowl in her litter box. Everything will be so much easier to clean (: then you won’t need bedding on the cage floor anymore. Does she get run time outside the cage? I keep Wilbur’s kennel open 24/7, I put up a baby gate in the doorway of my room which has been bunny proofed. I got her when she was 8-10 weeks old and she was 100% litter trained within 3 days, however that doesn’t happen with all bunnies. Oh and a large cat litter pan works best haha and since she’s peeing in the same spot then she will most likely be really easy to litter train since she naturally wants to keep things tidy.


                                        • victoria nicole
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                                            i will have to try the hay bin above the potty whenever we potty train her (: can i use the carefresh bedding as the litter too? bc its the only kind she wont eat since its soft and not hard like a pellet D: she also likes to burrow in the carefresh bedding i’ve noticed. i wish i could keep her out 24/7 ): we have a cat though. he is declawed, but sometimes he will nip at you. i’ve introduced them, and he hasnt done anything mean to her. he behaves well when around fufsy, but i wouldnt trust it without my supervision. not to mention she lives upstairs in my bedroom, and we have a balcony D: but i do bunny proof my bedroom and let her run around. she also plays on my bed and has binky time. i get her out everyday for 2-3 hrs on average, longer when i have the time from school n such. but as soon as i get my own place, she will def be a roaming rabbit. so, when you let yours out, she doesnt pee or poo on the floor or bed? she walks over to her potty? 😮 bc thats really cool haha


                                          • bunnyfriend
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                                              I actually use care fresh bedding, it works great! As long as it doesn’t have baking soda in it. Haha yeah I have a cat too, he’s too fat to make it over the baby gate haha ;P He’s actually really really scared of my bunny. Sounds like she’s getting enough exercise, a bedroom is enough space (: Yeah! She just hops over there whenever she needs to go to the bathroom, it’s soooo nice no accidents haha (: After her spay I’m going to open up more rooms to her and get rid of the kennel (I just keep in case she starts having bad habits, so far so good), I have to wait until I get my own place to let her completely have free run of the house too haha


                                            • victoria nicole
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                                                aw my kitty is also fat lol one time i caught him laying down like “petting” fufsy. i was like what are you doing? haha. and yesss that is great she has no accidents. i am always having to wash my sheets and wiping the floor down bc she pees on everything u____u but id rather her pee on things so i know shes at least peeing. i read that with lionheads and long haired buns, their fur can get matted around where they pee and can prevent them from doing so. im prolly going to take her to the vet soon to get her under side trimmed shorter just to be safe. has your rabbit ever had issues with this?


                                              • bunnyfriend
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                                                  Hahaha awhhh! I’ve heard about lion heads having issues with that, you could even trim her underside yourself, my previous rabbit had problems because he had cancer and couldn’t make it to the litter box always so I would have give him little baths :/


                                                • victoria nicole
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                                                    :c that makes me sad. im really sorry that happened to your rabbit. how did you find out he had it? 


                                                  • bunnyfriend
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                                                      Thanks ): he suddenly went from being a 7 1/2 pound rabbit to 5 1/2 pounds so I took him to the vet


                                                    • victoria nicole
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                                                        oh no ): im very sorry. my hamster had cancer. we paid for him to have surgery even, but he didnt make it ): what kind of rabbit do you have now? id like to get a giant lop. theyre so cute, but im scared itll crush fufsy D:


                                                      • bunnyfriend
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                                                          Awh I’m sorry ): I have some sort of lop, she’s 4 months old so I’m not sure what size she’s going to be but I am hoping she’s larger but it’s looking like she’s only going to be a couple pounds haha (: Haha how big do lion heads get?


                                                        • victoria nicole
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                                                            awww lops are so cute i love their ears (: and i think lionheads only get about 5 lbs max? im not too sure. fufsy just now is 1 lb and shes almost 4 months 😮

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                                                        Forum DIET & CARE Question about hay :3