Bunnies love oat grass – is this okay?

[sarahthegemini]

My bunnies have never been fantastic hay eaters, they’d never eat a bale the size of their body  – though Buttercup became a bit of a hay fiend after her spay. I was feeding them Alfalfa King Timothy Hay which I thought they liked. However, since trying them on Friendly Green Oat Readigrass – oh my word they love it! They definitely eat a bale the size of their body now or close to! What’s even better is I don’t have to ‘freshen up’ the grass to encourage them to eat it. I can put a big bunch down and they keep coming back to it until it gets so low I have to refill. They do get excited when I refill it though. 

Of course I don’t want them to get bored of it so I bought a couple of other hays with the intentions of alternating – Burgess Excel Timothy Hay with Dandelion and Marigold which they turned their noses up at and Alfalfa King Oat Wheat and Barley Hay which they appear to be picking at. I wonder if they’re fishing out the oat pieces?! As these two weren’t particularly successful, I’m planning on trying Oxbow Orchard Grass next. I’d like them to have some variety! And I’d like a couple of options that they get equally excited about. 

I plan to donate the hays my bunnies don’t like to an animal shelter so at least it isn’t money wasted! Also going to donate a few other things so we’ll be making s trip soon!

I suppose I’m just looking for clarification that oat grass is okay as a permanent solution? As well as possibly the orchard grass. Does anyone else’s bunnies have grass rather than hay?

[Joeythenethie]

The purpose of giving hay to a rabbit is to wear down their teeth, provide fiber, and keep their GI tract moving. I personally have never given anything other than timothy hay. Theoretically, if all those criteria are met, your bun should be fine. I’d ask you vet if it’s advisable to have a diet like this for a bun, but in the meantime let’s wait and see if anyone has had any first-hand experience.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Joeythenethie on 12/13/2016 3:08 PM

The purpose of giving hay to a rabbit is to wear down their teeth, provide fiber, and keep their GI tract moving. I personally have never given anything other than timothy hay. Theoretically, if all those criteria are met, your bun should be fine. I’d ask you vet if it’s advisable to have a diet like this for a bun, but in the meantime let’s wait and see if anyone has had any first-hand experience.

My bunnies will eat Timothy but not in huge quantities, I suppose they just sort of tolerate it? They always had normal poops but I never felt that they ate enough of the hay. The oat grass though, good grief they are unstoppable.

[Bam]

I looked up the oat grass from The Hay Experts. It has a bit more protein and fat than grass hay often has (11% protein, 2.5% fat as compared to 7% and 1,5% for Oxbow oat hay (happen to have that here), for but that’s fine because your bunnies are young and they are both recuperating from their surgeries. Calcium seems like normal calcium for grass hay, not as high as alfalfa has. That’s good.

Sugars are not declared on hay for bunnies, perhaps because it varies such a lot between hays from different farmers. Hay is never uniform, because so many factors play a role. Soil quality, weather (amount of rain/sunshine, temperature) and at what time (stage of growth) the hay was harvested in, curing etc.

I’d let them eat the oat grass. If they get fat, cut back. To eat lots of grass/hay is very species-appropriate for rabbits.

[sarahthegemini]

Okay I’ll keep them on it and just monitor their weight. I think they’ve still got a bit of growing to do anyway. I’m glad to have found something they think is so yummy!

[Bam]

It’s really great that they find something so healthy so yummy

[Author]

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