Best orchard grass hay?

[Peneloppythebun]

No she isn’t spayed, her previous owner didn’t spray her she’s already turning three in June and the vet is booked til may so I have to wait

 

[JBun]

I would say orchard is better than meadow, particularly for helping keep sharp points from developing on their molars, as it has a high silica content which promotes tooth wear.

Oat hay might be ok as a treat hay if there are a lot of seed heads in it (high in carbs). If there aren't many mature seed heads that would be better.

 

[Blue eyes]

Would you prefer meadow grass over orchard grass? She still eats the orchard grass. I’m just not sure if it’s fresh or how long the bag of orchard grass was on the pet store shelf. I can’t really get a big bale because of storage issues because I live with my parents and family issues. My only option is to leave it in my room. so that’s why I had to get bagged or boxed. Which sucks but yeah.

Any grass hay is fine. Timothy, orchard, meadow, Bermuda, brome are all varieties of grass hay and you can take your pick from among them. If you have to get it by the bag, then look for bags that contain nicely green hay and that don't have extra add-ins. I've seen some bagged hay that has added dried fruit which is not great because you can't control how much of the sugary stuff they eat.

There are some other grass hays that are the "cereal" hays: wheat, rye, oat and barley. These are mostly grown for their seeds and are very starchy -- not so good for rabbits. BUT if they are harvested before they set seed, then they are just as good as the other grass hays. If they have already set seed, then the starchy seeds should be shaken off before feeding. What remains of the stalk will have lower nutrient value. I believe Oxbow harvests their oat hay before it sets seed.

 

[Peneloppythebun]

I would say orchard is better than meadow, particularly for helping keep sharp points from developing on their molars, as it has a high silica content which promotes tooth wear.

Oat hay might be ok as a treat hay if there are a lot of seed heads in it (high in carbs). If there aren't many mature seed heads that would be better.

Thank you for the Info

 

[Peneloppythebun]

Any grass hay is fine. Timothy, orchard, meadow, Bermuda, brome are all varieties of grass hay and you can take your pick from among them. If you have to get it by the bag, then look for bags that contain nicely green hay and that don't have extra add-ins. I've seen some bagged hay that has added dried fruit which is not great because you can't control how much of the sugary stuff they eat.

There are some other grass hays that are the "cereal" hays: wheat, rye, oat and barley. These are mostly grown for their seeds and are very starchy -- not so good for rabbits. BUT if they are harvested before they set seed, then they are just as good as the other grass hays. If they have already set seed, then the starchy seeds should be shaken off before feeding. What remains of the stalk will have lower nutrient value. I believe Oxbow harvests their oat hay before it sets seed.

I’ll try to look for orchard grass hay by half a bale, the local feeds are pretty far from me so I might have to get it online

 

[Morgan223]

I've gotten orchard from amazon from oxbow and some like specialty grower--my bunny ate both

 

[Peneloppythebun]

I've gotten orchard from amazon from oxbow and some like specialty grower--my bunny ate both

That’s good to hear my bun is currently eating oxbow to and she eats it fine. I notice she is a lot happier and is oinking when she wakes up from her sleep she’s playing a lot more then she did before which I’m happy