Pelleted hay?

[rhianna]

My bunny is pretty bad about eating his hay – he’d sooner eat cardboard than hay. He does nibble on it a bit throughout the day but he’s definitely not getting enough. However I’ve been entertaining the idea of pelleted timothy hay. He absolutely loves his pellets and any pellet-like treats, so I think he’d be great about eating hay pellets. Here’s what I’m talking about: http://standleeforage.com/product-f…ss-pellets

Would these be anywhere near as good as him eating the actual hay? I know that hay is the best of all, but since I can’t get him to eat it, are these good enough? Of course I’d still give him plenty of “real” hay as well. They’re just 100% timothy grass compacted into pellets.

If these are a good thing to give him, should they be unlimited like regular hay, or should I give him a certain amount each day like with regular pellets? They’re meant for horses so they come in a huge bag, so giving them unlimited wouldn’t be any problem if it would help him. 

[MoveDiagonally]

There is no substitute for hay. They need the long strands to wear down their teeth and pellet only diets notoriously lead to dental problems. Have you tried different types of hay? Sometimes bunnies aren’t fond of certain cuts of Timothy Hay. Or prefer Orchard, Oat, Bermuda, ect… Hays.

[Deleted User]

Hey rhianna, my Henry is exactly the same (I thought I wrote your forum? he he he), and yes as MD said the ‘hay’ is what helps keep their teeth under control, why I have been so concerned (and still am). But in the mean time to help keep his gut healthy I bought a packet of hay based pellets which I mix with Henry’s Oxbow pellets only giving him 1/4 cup daily in total for both (half and half). If I’m wrong – please correct me BBer’s! Something we did just out of fun, not giving it much thought at the time – we put his hay into stuff. For eg., a hollowed out log, a very small cane basket (candle holder), and he eats it from there? Got me buggered, but he’s eating it…. give that a try. He’s still not eating the amount he should, but it’s a start. I totally get your worry – I am too! Cheers rhianna.

[rhianna]

I’ve only tried a few types of timothy hay so far. I’ve had him just under 2 months and he wasn’t fed hay before I got him so I think he’s a bit wary of it. The vet said he’s surprisingly healthy considering he didn’t get hay for the first year of his life, though he has had a few digestion issues. His teeth were a little overgrown when I brought him to the vet a week after I got him, but she said not enough to cut them. He hasn’t been to the vet since but shows no issues with his teeth. He’ll be getting neutered soon and I’ll make sure they check them again then.

I’ve tried 2 brands of timothy hay with him as well as cattle hay from a local farmer. He didn’t like the cattle hay but it’s all I could find as it’s not currently horse season (I live in a seasonal horse town, they come in the spring for shows and leave in the fall). I currently have him somewhat eating Zupreem Nature’s Promise timothy hay. I was advised to try other types of hay with him, so I’m waiting for Oxbow Orchard Grass to go on sale at my local Petsmart just so we can try it (not prepared to pay $6.99 for a tiny bag that he may not even like). I also heard that Bluegrass is usually well-liked with bunnies. I’m also going to get a bale of show horse quality hay as soon as spring rolls around (they sell it cheap at the local arena).

I give him hay in all different ways, I’ve got a hay rack, one of those hanging hay balls, a few toys stuffed with hay, it’s in his litterbox, in some toilet roll tubes, etc. The only place he’ll really eat it from is the hay ball. At first I thought it was where the ball was placed so I switched its spot with the hay rack’s spot and he just started eating from the ball where I moved it. Since he seems to like these I’m going to pick up a few more of them and place them all around his cage to encourage him to eat it more often.

I like the idea of mixing some pelleted hay with his regular pellets to help with the digestive benefits of hay. I might do this to sort of trick him into thinking it’s not hay so he’ll still eat the regular hay as much as possible.

[MoveDiagonally]

Cattle hay is actually not recommended for bunnies so I’m not surprised he didn’t like it. Generally you want to get “Horse Quality” hay. How much are you feeding him pellet wise? I would try different varieties before giving up on hay. You may find one that he likes and will eat. I don’t think offering a lot of pelleted hay is a good idea at this point. If he fills up on pellets and pelleted hay he will be less inclined to eat any “real” hay you offer. 

Do you have feed stores that sell hay for horses nearby? Usually you can buy a flake for a lot less money than the brand name bags (and you get a lot more). Orchard is usually really popular among bunny folk.

[rhianna]

I’m definitely not giving up on hay, I just thought that the pellets would help him get some of the fiber he’s missing out on. He currently gets 1/8 cup per day of Oxbow, he’s (estimated) 14 months old and 3.6 pounds. The vet recommended feeding him 1/8 cup until he gets better about eating his hay, then I can up it to 1/4 cup. I do have a feed store about a mile up the road, they were the first place I checked and strangely enough they don’t sell it. As I said before, horse hay is really not available around here throughout the colder months because we only get seasonal show horses. I’ve checked with local farmers and the only hay that’s in season currently is cattle hay (I’ve specifically asked for horse hay and no one had any). The only pet store around is Petsmart and it’s a good 20 minute drive but I’ll be going there in a week-ish, so I’ll probably pick up some orchard grass while I’m there since the website says it’s on sale. Any ideas where I could find it online for less than pet store price? I know a lot of sites sell nice hay such as Klean Mama’s and Small Pet Select but shipping is just outrageous.

[bunnnnnnie!]

For what it’s worth, I used to offer Zeus the timothy pellets from Standlee. They’re safe to feed. He liked to nibble on them for awhile, then lost interest. I’ve noticed with Zeus, the key to getting him to eat enough hay was variety. Each time I get hay I get a different brand or type. E.g., Kaytee timothy, then Oxbow Orchardgrass, then horse hay from the barn, then Oxbow Timothy, etc.

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