cheap rabbit hay

[manda]

well, im jobless. In general my rabbits dont cost much to care for. there pellets last for a looong time, and i grow my own veggies. I know a place where i can get FREE hay. however its never just timothy. its timothy/frecuse or timothy/clover or timothy/alfalfa. and none of my bunnies get alfalfa. i am wondering if those first two hays i mention sound mine. this is horse quility hay, but is quit a bit more browner and stiffer than the oxbow they are getting.

does anyone know actually how much money i would save getting oxbow in a 9lb box rather than serval 40 ounce bags?

well, since i cant go out and buy veggies like i once could wild grasses might play a larger part. in my rabbit garden i have two types of mint, paresly, green leaf lettuce, and cucumbers. i know thats not much selection. so is giving more grasses and diffrent types okay?

 

[naturestee]

Giving more grass/hay and different types is fine. I'd go for the timothy/fescue mix and maybe some timothy/alfalfa in smaller amounts. I don't recommend feeding clover because it's more likely to have mold on it than any other hay and it's difficult to see. It's also rich like alfalfa.

Is anyone selling other mixed grass types or oat/rye/wheat hay? Those are other good options, and you can get a bale that will last you months for just a few dollars.

 

[rubysmom]

I would definitely check around with some local farmers if looking for other options. I switched from Oxbow when I found a great local farmer who gives me a bale for about $4. He offers all timothy as well as tim/alfalfa which I don't buy because my guys are adults and LOVE the timmy hay. I also think it is much fresher especially when they've just baled them and my guys devour it. Oxbow just became way too expensive...about $40 for a 50 pound box. You would save quite a bit if you jumped from the 40 oz bags to the 9 pound box and even more so if you jumped up to the 25 or 50 pound size. It is always cheaper per pound as you go up in size unless you are calculating shipping costs which may change that. Good luck!

 

[manda]

thanks for the advice. yup shipping cost would kill me on a huge box like that. i have been searching for local farm hay for about a year now. and with no luck! and its such a suprise to me, because i live in kentucky. horse kingdom! but actually all the horses are in northren ky, and im in southren.

 

[rubysmom]

I choose not to calculate the cost difference which I have spent on Oxbow hay compared to my local famer. Don't get me wrong, Oxbow's product is excellent...my guys eat their pellets. But the cost is staggering. Luckily, we now have a distributor in the area and a few local stores that carry their products so I can get my pellets at a normal price. I do recall that some time ago the ferretstore dot com had free shipping. Not sure if that is still happening.

 

[Pet_Bunny]

I am lucky enough to know several breeders, to ask them for hay.
One black garbage bag will last Pebbles a long time.

Why don't you do what Pipp did. She split the cost of hay with another member.

Rainbows!