Hay question

My trainee at work has 2 horses. She took a black bag full of hay into work for me for Molly and Junior. If she is feeding it to her horses, is it safe to assume that it's ok to feed to the buns?

As long as it is hay and not haylage. It may not be as good quality as they would normally get either as horses seem to generally be less fussy. But then again no horse owner would pay the prices to get top quality Ings hay or timothy hay or they would all be bankrupt in a week.

Very true She gets this stuff for £2 a bale! Her family and the farmers family go back a long way, hence how cheap she gets it.

I don't even know the difference between hay and haylage. I'll look it up. Thanks

Haylage has some non-dried partially fermenting material in it that horses seem to be ok with and provides extra energy. But in rabbits it tends to cause bloat.

Smell it, if it's not nice hay it will smell a bit nasty like either sweaty feet or mouldy.

I use to have a horse and rabbits and I always took some hay home for the rabbits

It depends on what kind of hay it is. Molly and Junior should still be eating alfalfa hay until
7 months because it is higher in calcium than Timothy or orchardgrass hays. At 7 months
slowly switch them over because the higher calcium can cause kidney and bladder stones
in older bunnies.

Fresh hay smells and tastes sweet. And yes, I chew on the end of a stem of the hay to
make sure it is OK It should smell sweet like fresh mowed hay.

i get the cheap hay for the bedding and to cover the cage,then i get the ings hay for them to eat

cheryl'n'bruce'flo wrote:Haylage has some non-dried partially fermenting material in it that horses seem to be ok with and provides extra energy. But in rabbits it tends to cause bloat.

Eeewww!! That sounds rank

Tuckerbunnies wrote:Smell it, if it's not nice hay it will smell a bit nasty like either sweaty feet or mouldy.

I use to have a horse and rabbits and I always took some hay home for the rabbits

Thank Maysie, I will get OH to poke his nose in the bag. My sense of smell left with my voice

gentl wrote:It depends on what kind of hay it is. Molly and Junior should still be eating alfalfa hay until
7 months because it is higher in calcium than Timothy or orchardgrass hays. At 7 months
slowly switch them over because the higher calcium can cause kidney and bladder stones
in older bunnies.

Fresh hay smells and tastes sweet. And yes, I chew on the end of a stem of the hay to
make sure it is OK It should smell sweet like fresh mowed hay.

Molly and Junior are still getting alfalfa hay but I'm giving them other hay too. I don't want them eating just alfalfa because I don't think it's fair to do that and then take it away one day They have alfalfa king, excel Herbage and the oat hay I bought for Thumper. I give them different combinations to keep it interesting.

And of course they have their much loved alfalfa hay bales, which they could eat by the dozen

My vet has recommended a type of hay to me before which she gets from a farm and I believe is for horses. I think it's called Dodson and Horrell 'just grass', she has told me before that her bunnies love it and it's cheaper than other hay.

Just grass if the same as readigrass.

Rachel&Nibbler wrote:My vet has recommended a type of hay to me before which she gets from a farm and I believe is for horses. I think it's called Dodson and Horrell 'just grass', she has told me before that her bunnies love it and it's cheaper than other hay.

cheryl'n'bruce'flo wrote:Just grass if the same as readigrass.

And should not be fed as a hay substitute, but only in smallish quantities, I think?

I used to buy mine from an Equine store and the buns just loved the stuff. It should smell really nice. If it is dry and yellow - avoid it as it will be dusty and the buns won't eat it.