Purina alfalfa hay

[Loopsy]

I was at the feed store and saw that they had square bales on alfalfa hay listed on the board so I bought some. When I picked it up it was wrapped in plastic wrap and from Purina. Once we started feeding it to the buns I discovered it's really powdery, like it's been ground. I did a google search on Purina alfalfa hay and found a few references to molasses, but couldn't find anything for sure about it having molasses in it.

Does anyone know about the Purina alfalfa hay? I'm not impressed by the consistency and not sure about it having added sweeteners in it. But buying the little bags of hay (only other way I can find it locally) is becoming prohibitively expensive. Would it be bad to wean them onto timothy hay at 4 months? They're eating Timothy pellets, too.

Of course, if I discontinue using this I now have 40# of unused hay to find a use for.

 

[mochajoe]

Does it look like hay that has been chopped up into small (like 2-3 inch) pieces? If so, it is packaged that way on purpose...as it is easier for older horses or horses with teeth problems to chew and digest. Again, if in fact that is what it is (Blue Seal/Kent also has versions of this) it is not doing to hurt your bunny in anyway. It is just alfalfa hay that has been chopped up. I don't think the brand I am familiar with has molasses or anything like that added to it. What does the packaging say? I would also suggest asking the dealer where you bought it.

 

[Loopsy]

Does it look like hay that has been chopped up into small (like 2-3 inch) pieces? If so, it is packaged that way on purpose...as it is easier for older horses or horses with teeth problems to chew and digest. Again, if in fact that is what it is (Blue Seal/Kent also has versions of this) it is not doing to hurt your bunny in anyway. It is just alfalfa hay that has been chopped up. I don't think the brand I am familiar with has molasses or anything like that added to it. What does the packaging say? I would also suggest asking the dealer where you bought it.

Some of the pieces are a couple of inches long, but a lot of it just looks like it's been ground up. It runs out of the hay rack, and I've started putting it into a basket for them. I guess my main concern is if it's sweetened, but I'm also not loving the mess. The rabbits are messy enough as it is without ground up hay getting everywhere. ;-) They don't seem to like it as much as the hay that wasn't chopped up, either. They've taken to getting into the guinea pig's hay when they're out of their cage.

ETA the packaging just says the brand name and that it's alfalfa.

 

[mochajoe]

My guess it is that it is Purina's version of the chopped hay like I said...so yes, I am sure that it is messy. However, it is wonderful for some horses you could try posting it on Craigslist partial bag etc... Worth a try!

 

[erinmoveit]

www.purinamills.com is the website that Purina uses for non-cat/dog feed. From what I can see, they don't add molasses to their hay. That might have been referring to any compact pellets they make. I know a lot of pellets use molasses to keep pellets uniform.