Local Hay from Farm?? Should I try this?

[Crashley]

So, there is this farm 5 mins from me. That sells hay in bundles for really cheap, they state that its natural and chemical free hay. Has anyone ever bought hay from any where other then the pet store? I would really like to try to it out, cause its really cheap. Maybe my buns would like it. I will post a picture of what they are selling. Here is theyre add “””Fresh all-natural chemical-free hay for small animals. Make your critters happy by giving them what they’d be eating in the wild. Locally grown in Copley, Ohio. Small brown (lunch bag size) bags of hay for $1 each or larger (grocery size) brown bags for $5 at Jacobs Heritage Farm: http://www.JacobsHeritageFarm.com Contact us and tell us how much you need and we will pack your order for you. Thanks and feel free to contact us with any questions.”””” and here is the picture

[Boymom4]

I grew up on a farm and spent many summers in hay fields. The hay coming from farms is essentially the same things that the pet stores are selling you for highly inflated prices. I would definitely go this route, but because different fields have different qualities of grasses I would ask the farmer a few questions.
1. What kinds of grass is in the hay. If it is alfalfa, I would pass because bunnies process too much calcium from that. If they can’t tell you an exact breed or two of grass then it is probably just a meadow variety (not seed planted for quality) and while it’s still probably good enough for your rabbits teeth, it may contain a percentage of weeds which may or may not actually be healthy for them. You would want to physically inspect the bale before purchasing to make sure it’s just grass or that an odd weed or two could easily be picked out.
2. What cutting is it. First cutting is best because it is courser and more leafy grasses.
3. Is it this years cutting. Do not buy anything from another year.
4. How is it stored. (This you may need to determine for yourself on site) The bale should be in a completely dry, enclosed space. It should be nice and pale or bright green (yellowish, pass) and not dusty. It should smell fresh and not at all musty. Don’t be afraid to dig into a stack a little for the brightest and most healthy looking bale. Stuff on the outside of the stack spends to fade faster.
5. When you buy, make sure you store it in a dark, dry space and maybe even wrap it up to keep humidity, dust, mold and mice out.

[Boymom4]

From the picture I would guess it is meadow variety but looks like all grass. Maybe try a bag. Sometimes the bunnies don’t like a certain texture of grass. If they do like it however, I would just go the whole bale route if small bales are available. Generally you can get a 60lb bale for $5-7. Even if half goes to waste, you still come out ahead.

[Crashley]

I will certainly ask. Yeah i pay an outrageous amount of money on hay at the pet store and there have been times I have bought bad bags of hay from the pet stores and buns wont touch it. I would still buy bags from the pet store cause they need that first cut timothy hay for there teeths. but this could be different good little snack for them. I will certainly inspect the hay. But times when im running low on cash(like now lol) $1 hay seems pretty good

[Crashley]

Thanks boymom 4, this was realllyyyy informative about farm hay

[Bam]

I’d like to thank you too, boymom 4, really great info about hay!

[Q8bunny]

I would try (and I plan to once we’ve moved). As for cutting, I would just decide in person – some buns (like mine) hate first cutting de to al the stems, so it depends on your bun’s preferences.

[joea64]

I get most of my hay from Friends of Rabbits, which has arrangements with local farms that sell the organizations bales of mixed hay. The prices are really good, $24 for a whole bale on down (I customarily buy 1/2 bale for $12, which lasts Panda and Fernando about five weeks or so; there’s quite a bit of wastage but I haven’t been able to figure out what to do about that). I don’t know what cutting it is or exactly which types of grass are in it, but Panda and Fernando enjoy it – in fact, Fernando is sometimes much more interested in eating the new helping of hay at suppertime than the bowl of greens I just set down in their condo (Panda makes up for that, though, because she always goes straight for the salad).

[LittlePuffyTail]

I used to try, once in a while, bringing home some of the hay my horse ate, and they always refused it. It was really good Timothy Hay that was freshly grown at the stable I boarded at. I could get a whole bale for $2 (as opposed to the $42 Oxbow bags that have much less than a bale). Frustrating little buggers. They want me to spend lots of money. In their defense, though, the hay was more coarse than the Orchard Grass they are used to.

That hay looks nice and soft, however. For $1, I would def try it. See how it smells and take a good look at it and if alls well, see if bunny likes it.

[Crashley]

Thanks everyone for the input. My opinion of the hay. It was lovely, smelled fresh and looked fresh. it was 3 rd cutting, which my bunnies primarily dont enjoy, they like coarser 1st or 2nd cutting of hay. My bunnies opinion of it.. mehhh! They sensed it was not theyre usual $15-$20 bag of hay. Pepe would munch on it here and there and Winifred of course -RE-FUSED. So, I’ve been using it to put over their yesterdays news litter. There is literally like 3 months worth of hay in the bag I got which is just incredible, especially for $1. **sigh** spoiled bunnies!

[Bam]

I swear our buns get on the Internet when we sleep and google the most expensive types of hay. Bam prefers Oxbow oat hay, and that’s only sold in the small pound bags. I have to go 60 km and pay 9,6 US dollars (8 Euros) for a bag.

[joea64]

Posted By bam on 11/15/2017 8:37 AM

I swear our buns get on the Internet when we sleep and google the most expensive types of hay. Bam prefers Oxbow oat hay, and that’s only sold in the small pound bags. I have to go 60 km and pay 9,6 US dollars (8 Euros) for a bag.

…so THAT’S the real reason Fernando has been jumping over the X-pen so much the last couple of days! That little rascal is trying to get at my desktop PC so he can look up deluxe super-premium hay, then sneak one of my credit cards out of my wallet and order a year’s supply of same.  

[Crashley]

Theyre so silly and spoiled. lol joea64 “deluxe super-premium hay” so funny. Apparently farm hay is for peasant bunnies and not domestic queen bunnies-according to the bunnies of course.

[Q8bunny]

“peasant bunnies”

[sarahthegemini]

Buttercup was so offended when I tried farm hay  She had a tantrum. 

[joea64]

Posted By sarahthegemini on 11/15/2017 9:32 AM

Buttercup was so offended when I tried farm hay  She had a tantrum. 

Panda and Fernando are buns of democratic tastes.  In fact, Fernando has been known to disregard a fresh bowl of salad of an evening in favor of attacking the fresh new pile of farm hay I’ve just set in their litterbox! (Uh…I think I already said that… &nbsp

[anilec]

Haha I’m glad my bunnies haven’t yet snuck away to see what the most expensive hay is! I live in a farming town and I get a 55-60lb bale of hay for only $5.

[Crashley]

Ohhh anilec . If you even give your buns a taste of store bought hay theres no turning around lol
Yeah, Winnie was not a fan. She got all excited cause she heard the bag crinkling, I laid it down and she just looked at me.. like..your joking right? she would not touch it.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Bam, you spoiled little stinker!!!

I don’t want to know how much I spend on hay in 3 months….I think I might freak out!!! Sterling just boggles my mind with how much hay he can eat. I blame Ricky for that….he told me to get a big bunny.

[Boymom4]

All these spoiled rabbits! LOL
Ours are the same except they cost me nothing besides back breaking labor all summer. All of our kids and my husband are horridly allergic to hay so, knowing how important it is to a rabbits diet I vowed when talking my husband into getting our bunnies that I would hand cut a whole years worth of grass specifically when it was not in pollen and cure it out in our yard in batches. It was a ton of work and I looked crazy to our neighbors, but it was worth it since they can live in our living room and no one is having an asthma attack

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Boymom4 on 11/16/2017 6:37 PM

All these spoiled rabbits! LOL
Ours are the same except they cost me nothing besides back breaking labor all summer. All of our kids and my husband are horridly allergic to hay so, knowing how important it is to a rabbits diet I vowed when talking my husband into getting our bunnies that I would hand cut a whole years worth of grass specifically when it was not in pollen and cure it out in our yard in batches. It was a ton of work and I looked crazy to our neighbors, but it was worth it since they can live in our living room and no one is having an asthma attack

That’s dedication! 

[Author]

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