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!!