Hay, hay, and more hay!!

Hay is very important for a bunnies diet. According to the rabbit food pyramid, it should make up about 80% of their diet, at least.  And the best kind of hay is Timothy hay.  Some other hays and grasses are good too including orchard grass, bermuda grass, brome hay.  Some hays add mint to help with digestion. Alfalfa hay is given to bunnies younger than 6 months to help them grow. Once they reach that age though, it should be slowly weaned off and used only as a treat hay because it is high in calories. And we don't want fat bunnies!

 My husband and I recently put ourselves on a budget and started looking for some areas in our finances where we could cut back on our spending, including the bunny stuff. In addition to cutting back on spending, I've also been thinking about finding a better quality hay for the bunnies. The stuff you get in the pet store is sufficient if you have nothing else available. But in reality, its not very good quality and it can get very expensive when you have to buy several bags every week or so. There must be a hay alternative thats better quality and less expensive.

hmm, where's that alfalfa hay? Oh here it is! Yumm!

I asked around the bunny community and lots of people recommended going to a farm supply store. Well, luckily I live in Loudoun County of Northern Virginia and we are surrounded by farms. Surely there must be a decent farm supply store within a half hour drive that I could look into. And sure enough, I located a Southern States just about a half hour from my house.

sharing hay with a friend is fun

We took a Saturday and drove out there. I asked a young girl there about their hay for bunnies. She laughed when I told her I had been using Kaytee brand hay from the pet store. And said, "would you like a bale?" Um, I think so! They showed me this huge bale of hay, probably about 50 pounds. My jaw dropped to the floor when she told me it was only $7!!!  At the pet store a 16oz bag of hay runs about $6-7. Um what?!  16oz=$7 vs. 50lbs=$7…wow.

I felt like a fool! WHY have we not done this SOONER?!?!  And let me tell you, that is a heck of a lot of hay!! Not only is that super cheap but its actually really great quality hay. First cut timothy hay mixed with orchard grass. I understand 2nd cut is slightly better but 1st cut is also very good. I've also heard from many other bunny owners that once you go to the bales, the buns will never eat store brand again.  We'll see…

this is the hay once I pulled it out of my 4runner...2 large totes, 1 small tote, and 2 yard bags

When I gave Hazel and Fiver a fresh pile of hay this afternoon, I mixed in a bit of the new hay with the old store bought hay to gradually introduce the new hay. Fiver immediately went to have a nibble and began digging through it. Usually he digs through his hay to find all the good bits. So he must've smelled some good bits somewhere in the middle. All I can say, they better like it because we have a ton of it!!

Grieving for Pets

I recently had a friend lose a beloved pet that they had for 15 years.  And it got me thinking about how different people deal with losing a pet in different ways. Some people just don't get it. Either they've never had a pet at all or they've never had a pet that they've bonded with. Having a pet that you love and then losing it, is one of those things that you just can't understand if you've never been through it.

 I have had the unfortunate experience of losing a pet I loved many times. I grew up always having some kind of pet in the house…dogs, cats, birds, rabbits. And part of having a pet is dealing with the inevitability of their death. Each time I've had a pet die, the experience has been a bit different. Some pets I bonded with and some I didn't. The ones I didn't bond with, I still cared about and it was sad to lose them but life went on pretty quickly. The ones I did bond with, it was very painful and devastating and there was a period of definite grieving.  

Every person grieves in different ways and in different time frames. None is right or wrong. However I think there are a few things to consider when you're dealing with pet grief.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people will have a pet die and the very next day they are out getting a new pet. I mean, if you were married to your spouse for 15, 20, 25+ years and they passed away, would you immediately run out the next week and get a new wife or husband? Let's say your best friend passed away…would you automatically say, "oh well, I'm so sad but I'll just move on to the next best friend." Most people would think thats ridiculous or even disrespectful to the deceased. Yet how many times do people do that with their pets? Why should our pets be treated or grieved any differently? 

Ragamuffin on the right, and in the top picture she is the one on the bottom left with her back to the camera. she is playing with her siblings.

For me, when I have truly bonded with a pet they become another member of the family. I don't have children of my own so my bunnies are like my babies. When my husband is not around, my rabbits become my listening ears when I've had a busy day. They are a friend to me when I'm sad. They are a comfort to me when I'm anxious. When I had my cat, Ragamuffin, she would greet me at the front door when I came home from school and was always happy to see me. She followed me everywhere I went. My bunny, Mr. Sparkle was a little ray of sunshine on cloudy days. He made the house not seem so empty when I was grieving over a miscarriage and later infertility. When I lost these two special pets, I grieved as though my best friend or a close family member had passed away. Because they were my best friends; they were my family.

When Mr. Sparkle passed over the Rainbow Bridge, I was so devastated that for a long time I thought I might never get another pet again. It took me about 5-6 years before I began to even consider getting another pet. And I looked into every other pet except a rabbit.  I really researched guinea pigs and even potbellied pigs. Finally I realized that nothing would make me happier than a rabbit. Then I had to convince my husband. He was more reluctant than I was. Mr. Sparkle was the only pet he had ever had and his loss affected him more than he first realized. 

Then in September 2014, a friend at church had a mama bunny with babies. I knew this was my chance. My husband eventually relented and we brought home our Hazel and Fiver to be part of our family that November. I know that some day it will come time for Hazel and Fiver to cross the Rainbow Bridge. I already cringe just thinking about it as I can't imagine life without them now. And hopefully that is a long way off as they are only 7 months old and they will live to the ripe old age of 13! But death is a part of life and it will be difficult and heartbreaking. And I will have to deal with my own grief when that time comes.

For me it took a long time to get past Sparkle's death. And there will always be a place in my heart for him. But I'm glad I took the time to grieve properly so that when the time came for me to open my heart to two new bunnies, I was able to do it freely, without hesitation, and wholeheartedly. While grieving hurts, you can't just shove your pain under the rug thinking if I get a new pet tomorrow magically all the pain will disappear and I can forget. I didn't want to forget. If I had to forget the pain of losing Sparkle, that meant I had to forget the reason it hurt so much…the love I had for him and the joy he brought to my life.

Again, everyone grieves in their own way and in their own time. There is no right or wrong way. One may grieve for years while someone else may grieve for a couple weeks. Either way it's important (and its healthy) to take that time to, not just grieve for your loss, but to remember the gift that animal was to your life. And when you're truly ready to open your heart to another pet, you can jump in with both feet ready to love unconditionally as they so do for us.