Hay frustrated and need opinions

[Doodler]

I know the topic of hay comes up a lot but I thought I would describe what I am dealing with and see what other people might do if they were in my situation. 

My buck was raised on a specific brand of 2nd cut Timothy Hay.  He didn’t start out as a great hay eater but he was on a pellet that was good for buns that aren’t great hay eaters.  Of course I understand that this type of pellet won’t help with teeth so I knew I should do something to see if I could increase his hay intake. 

I ordered a sample box from a company and it had four different types of hay.  When I opened the box he hoped in and the clear winner of the box was Oat Hay.  He would only eat the heads so I knew that wouldn’t work as a long term solution.  I also read that Oat Hay can cause them to become overweight anyway.  His second choice was the 3rd cut Timothy and he would nibble the 2nd cut.  He wouldn’t even think about touching the Orchard Hay.  I ordered a box of 2nd and 3rd cut.  He refused to eat the 2nd cut (even though it was gorgeous hay without one speck of brown, however if it was 2nd cut I couldn’t imagine how course a 1st cut would be) but would devour the 3rd cut.   I wasn’t happy with a box of 3rd cut because it was so short and dusty and I ended up throwing about half away.   I ended up going back to the original hay company to get their 2nd cut again.  The hay I received was terrible even though it is the most expensive hay I have seen so far.  (I am still waiting to see if this company will make it right, even though they said they would) .

 I decided to reach out to the second company to see if they might have any nice 3rd cut and they were so great and offered to replace the dusty 3rd cut when I didn’t even ask them to.  I now have a beautiful box of 3rd cut and both buns are loving it.    I have tried to mix in the 2nd cut and they are barely even searching for the 3rd cut when I do that, meaning they won’t eat hay much at all.  When I put only 3rd cut, they eat it very well. 

The problem: It appears that 3rd cut isn’t great as it has low fiber and high protein.  I knew the fiber would be lower but figured it was better that they were eating it well as opposed to a 2nd cut that they didn’t eat so well.   When I reached out to the second company they told me that there is a nationwide shortage of hay, especially 2nd cut.  They explained the East had too much rain and this prevented harvest of 2018 2nd cut hay and the West had a drought and this prevented growth of both 1st and 2nd cut hay.  They said their supply of 2nd cut is limited and they’ll soon stop selling it.  I decided it wasn’t worth having them send out another 2nd cut because it’s probably going to be the same.  The issue is their 2nd cut from previous years had a similar texture to the 3rd cut from the other company but now they are very different.  My buns clearly don’t like anything that is too course and I am starting to worry that allowing them to eat the 3rd cut is the wrong thing to do.  I have bought botanical hay and a orchard medley and they didn’t like either of those. 

At this point they seem to be doing really well on 3rd cut but I am worried about issues in the long run.  I just found out that this hay is good for weight gain and I had no idea!   I don’t want to be tied to one type of hay that isn’t the best for them to begin with.  I am now really worried that in any given year I might have issues finding hay they’ll eat if I can’t convince them to not be so darn picky.  Does anyone here have perfectly healthy buns that have been on 3rd cut long term?  Any stories on how you might have convinced your bunny to eat courser hay?  Obviously I have tried mixing and I even have tried herbs mixed in before.   I’ve considering cutting back on their pellets and greens to try and force them to eat course stuff but I’m worried about stasis and little broken bunny hearts.  Any suggestions or opinions would be appreciated!     I will also add that my doe can’t really stand to lose any weight.  I wouldn’t mind actually if she put on a little weight.  My buck seems to be exactly where he should be. 

If you got this far…Thank you!!

 

[DarthVadar]

Hay in a bunny’s diet serves two basic purposes: wearing the teeth down and providing fiber to keep the GI tract moving. I know of people who give their rabbits alfalfa hay (which has lower fiber and higher protein) and have had no trouble with stasis or overgrown teeth. 3rd cut timothy is better than alfalfa in those aspects, so should work fine. Especially since he won’t eat the other hay; if he won’t eat it, how good for him it is does not matter. Any hay is better than no hay. Its great that so many hay choices exist, but the huge variety can make feeding hay harder.

[JackRabbit]

Just eating 3rd cut is better than not eating hay at all. You can try transitioning like you would pellets (mostly 3rd cut with coarser hay mixed in and slowly increase the amount of the coarser hay). As far as availability goes, there’s a new online distributor selling on Amazon and their 2nd cut tim is an “early” 2nd cutting so it is all leaf, very green. Company is Hay Rabbit and I believe they are currently only selling on Amazon.

[Doodler]

Thank you for the responses. It’s just frustrating when you have picky buns and the hay crops are so variable. I was happy with the 3rd cut until I found a section on the second company’s website that says it’s more of a treat hay. I wish it said that on the product description page!

The first company has given me a refund so I guess I’ll use that money to try and find a softer 2nd cut. I’m just worried that even if I find one now the next batch might be different and I’ll go through this all over again.

The orchard hay in the sample box was so soft but didn’t smell great so I think that’s why he wouldn’t try it. The orchard medley is really course and this was my hope to try and get them to eat some orchard. I understand there’s a small amount of other things in it but the overall courseness is so different than the sample box. If I can get a soft orchard they’d eat that could be a perfect solution.

I had no idea hay could be such a pain.

[DarthVadar]

I sometimes wonder why all these types of hay even exist if the best hay for rabbits is just plain first cut timothy or orchard hay. All it does really is cause problems when the bun gets picky and won’t eat what’s good for him.

[DanaNM]

So, I get my hay locally, and it is variable from bale to bale (as it likely is different cuttings). I do notice the buns love the short crunchy pieces that actually look worse to me, but they still eat the softer cuts (maybe with a bit less gusto).

I imagine if buns were to be eating wild grasses, they would naturally get different types of grass seasonally. I can also imagine that if you offer different hays, they will of course eat selectively and pick out their favorites.

I think in your case I would go with the one that they seem to like the best and that is the best quality at the time, and that might rotate from month to month. I wouldn’t worry too much about fiber and protein, as long as it’s a grass hay.

My personal opinion is to feed them whatever they will eat the most of, as long as it’s a grass hay.

Sometimes overfeeding veggies can also reduce hay consumption as they get too full, so you might play with reducing greens a bit and see if that helps as well.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Doodler]

Thanks DanaNM! I guess I just got overly worried when I read that 3rd cut is a treat type hay. I should be grateful they at least eat hay.

I know I’ve seen plenty of review videos of 2nd cut with much softer hay than what I’ve been receiving so I’ll keep up hope that the hay will get better.

When I got the 2nd and 3rd cut, the 3rd didn’t look nearly as good. Clearly they didn’t care how it looked. The Orchard Hay was also the best looking hay in the sample box but clearly that didn’t matter either. I have definitely learned that looks aren’t everything.

[Wick & Fable]

It’s really valuable to be observant about what your rabbit’s hay preferences are! There are definitely plenty of times where I think to myself, “This hay looks so good!”, but Wick strongly disagrees. It’s frustrating at times, but you’re taking a lot of care and consideration to make sure he’s healthy I’ve found is helpful to literally sit by Wick and watch what hay pieces he chooses when presented with a new batch. From this, I’ve learned that Wick prefers stems over leaves (1st cut), which I never would have guessed unless I observed his eating habits.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Doodler]

Thanks Wick! I am trying but it would be so much easier if bunnies would just be a little more flexible with their demands . I am wondering if I should rethink my whole set up and give them hay differently. I like the idea of putting hay in their box but like having a grate that prevents them from standing in any of their own waste. I’m wondering if I fed it in the box if I’d have better results. With that said I have feed hay on a greens plate before and they still left the cuts they didn’t like so it probably won’t. Both of my buns are picky about the hay but it appears they have the same taste. It’s sad when I see them hop from rack because they can’t find what they like. I will watch them to see what they go for first.

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