Hayless

[qtipthebun]

The little, local pet store I use has run out of Timothy Hay. They'll be getting a new shipment in Friday morning. Qtip is running dangerously low on it right now. I can probably make it last her through tomorrow afternoon (man, that creature eats a ton of hay). Is it okay if she goes a day without? I will double up on her timothy hay pellets....

Should I switch her to oat hay for a day? Or just let her nibble the dregs at the bottom of the bag?

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

With hay, you don't really need to switch it slowly like with pellet. Most rabbits will tolerate the change well. Issues can come from the rabbit being sensitive already to diet changes.
So feeding oat hay (or another kind) for a few days should be fine. Some rabbits might not like the taste or texture of different hays, but it won't hurt to try it.
You may want to see if there is another store that you can get hay just in case you even need it and the store you prefer doesn't have any. Some stores may even be willing to order hay or keep some on hand for you, this will vary from store to store.

 

[Piglet II]

Hello!

There are a lot of places online to buy your bunny hay! We sell hay grown just for bunnies, but it is primarily an orchard grass with some timothy. But if you do a search for timothy hay on Yahoo, it will show you lots of great places to get your hay for your bunny. I know I switch mine between several different types of hay, and oat hay is very tasty to them! It has more calories than timothy and higher calcium levels. So if your bunny has a tendency to have a sludgy bladder, then you are better switching temporarily to orchard grass. the other option is alfalfa hay. It also is higher in calories, but temporarily, it is just fine. I would not let mine go a single day without hay. I hope this is helpful.

Nose bonks,
Piglet II

 

[Ape337]

I feed Timothy, orchard, and oat on occasion. My bunnies have no probs. with changing up. :biggrin:

 

[qtipthebun]

Okay, cool. Didn't know if she'd tolerate a day's worth of changing....she's not picky but she likes things her way. I'll head over to the pet store tomorrow before class and grab her a little thing of oat hay to last until Friday morning when I can get her Timothy hay again.

 

[Sweetie]

Why not buy your hay online? It is cheaper and it will last you roughly a year depending on how much your bunny eats each month. Then you can stock up on hay each month so if you run out on the hay you bought online you have some until you can order more.

I buy hay online and it is so much cheaper than the pet stores hay, better quality too.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

I buy hay by the bale. It's cheaper and much fresher and less dusty than anything you'd find at the pet store (unless they're selling flakes from a bale, like a store around here does). I buy it from a tack and feed. For one rabbit, a bale lasts about a year, so even if you have to drive a bit to find a feed store, it's not like you're doing it every month!

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

It really won't hurt q-tip to go a day without hay. Just give her extra pellets and some fresh greens.

 

[ZRabbits]

Q-Tip can make it without hay for a few days, with no problem. Or a small bag of Orchard Hay could be a treat until you get your Timothy Hay.

Rue has a really good idea. I've thought of that myself getting a bale of hay to store. Now that my rabbitry is growing I think that's the best way to do it than buying from a Pet Store. I've got a few TSC and tack stores South of me that I can buy a good bale. The farmers we know will give us a heads up to let us know when the FRESH bales will be out. That's the only thing you have to watch. That there is no mold inside these bales because they sat so long.

Also on-line hay is good to buy. Jim D gave a good website where you can go and look at their supplies.

K

 

[qtipthebun]

When I'm living out in the country, I'll look into bales, but here, I really buy from this pet store only because they're an amazing local business that is extremely exotic-pet friendly, and I like to support them. I never buy from large chain pet stores, so once I move back out to the country, I'll be asking for bale advice.

 

[Jacki-Small-Pet-Select]

Online is definitely one of the easiest places to purchase. It comes direct to your door and of course you have consumer rights should it not be up to quality. Plus you can buy hay specifically produced for rabbits.

I'd try not to let your rabbit go without hay. Even a few hours without fiber can be dangerous - so you'd be better off providing her with the oat hay rather than nothing at all. You could mix the remaining timothy with some oat hay - that way it'll bulk out over an extra day or so.

Cheers,
Jacki - Small Pet Select