is it okay to feed orchard and oat hay rather than timothy?

Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS. SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED. We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best.

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time.

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about? Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules.

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 8sd replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 10 months ago by luna1243.

Viewing 8 reply threads

Author

Messages
- 06/16/2015 at 7:34 PM
  luna1243
  Participant
  25 posts
  My bunny is picky when it comes to hay. I’ve only had her for a little over 2 weeks. The first week I had her on timothy hay and she barely touched it. When I switched her to orchard and oat she ate much more of it. I recently saw a picture comparing the poop of a rabbit eating timothy compared to the poop of a rabbit eating orchard. the orchard poop was darker in color compared to the timothy. It said if your rabbit’s poop is dark in color (like my rabbit’s) that it means the rabbit is getting too much protein in their diet. My bunny poops quite a bit and seems to have a healthy appetite, is it okay to feed orchard and oat hay?
- 06/16/2015 at 7:51 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Yes…it just has to be a grass hay.
- 06/16/2015 at 8:03 PM
  Kokaneeandkahlua
  Participant
  12067 posts
  Yup totally good!
- 06/16/2015 at 8:14 PM
  JackRabbit
  Participant
  5451 posts
  The most important thing is that she’s eating plenty of grass hay, whatever kind she chooses to eat. The more hay she eats, the lighter the poops tend to get. My lops are hay monsters and they tend to eat mostly orchard hay right now but they eat tons of it and they have great poops!
- 06/16/2015 at 8:28 PM
  Shannon
  Participant
  158 posts
  We feed only orchard grass. I have an extreme allergy to timothy hay. Our bunny has been doing just fine on it. He poops from what I remember compared to my other bunnies the normal amount. He doesn’t seem to have any issues.
- 06/16/2015 at 9:10 PM
  {Alli}
  Participant
  187 posts
  I heard oat hay is kinda fatty though so maybe be a bit more sparing with that?
- 06/16/2015 at 10:15 PM
  JackRabbit
  Participant
  5451 posts
  I’m pretty sure its only the oat hay tops (seedheads) that are high in calories (we use the tops as treats). The rest of the oat hay is almost all stalk with a little leaf covering some parts of the stalk.
- 06/16/2015 at 10:28 PM
  Eepster
  Participant
  1236 posts
  Yes, my husband is allergic to timothy hay, so we only use alternatives. Just avoid alfalfa hay, it’s very high protein.
- 06/17/2015 at 7:56 PM
  luna1243
  Participant
  25 posts
  Thank you for your responses, much appreciated!
Author

Messages

Viewing 8 reply threads

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.