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Hay

O

Omi

Wise Old Thumper
I was very loathe to start yet another hay thread. It seems to me so wrong that I fuss so much about different hay. I also get hugely frustrated that once I find hay that both I and the bunnies think is super, the company stops providing it. I know this is unreasonable, as it is a natural product and therefore different batches will vary. It is after all only dried grass and I never fail to be shocked at how much preference is shown for different hay by my two bunnies.

So, my favourite hay supplier has always been timothyhay.co.uk. We always used to buy the normal timothy, ie not the extra stalky, because I did find it quite stalky with long strands. Bunnies were always satisfied. Order before last I found that it was shorter strands than normal and looked more 'chopped', so I contacted the company. Their advice was that if the bunnies like stalky, then give the extra stalky a try, which we did. It seemed to be ideal, nice long stalky strands, and actually similar to how the normal timothy used to be. Happy bunnies and happy me :)

I'm now getting to the point when I'll need to re-order, but I see there is now no extra stalky on the website :roll: The normal timothy is now 2023 cut though and I have a feeling that the batch I thought was chopped was 2022. I know that when I have tried other companies, I and/or the bunnies haven't liked it as much.

So it looks as though I will be going back to normal timothy, unless anyone can persuade me of a better option?
 
All I can add is my bunnies like the hay that hurts me most: usually the most stalky, but they are VERY enthusiastic about the older bale I have, because it contains dried thistles and they absolutely love them. My hands do not. I have to remember to wear gloves and I hate it :lol: It's a very eclectic mix of meadow plants. I have established one bale lasts my two about 9mths though!
 
keletkezes said:
All I can add is my bunnies like the hay that hurts me most: usually the most stalky, but they are VERY enthusiastic about the older bale I have, because it contains dried thistles and they absolutely love them. My hands do not. I have to remember to wear gloves and I hate it :lol: It's a very eclectic mix of meadow plants. I have established one bale lasts my two about 9mths though!
Click to expand...

Yes, there's a lot of hay in a bale isn't there :) I like the idea of getting hay that has wild meadow plants mixed in with it. It also shows that it hasn't been treated with a herbicide. We have actually got a hay farmer, whose hayfields are opposite our house. He doesn't treat his ground and so everything is included. Whilst the base product seems to be very good though, he's not that careful about how he cuts and bales it up. We bought a couple of bales from him when we first moved here, but there were clods of earth amongst one bale and the other had mould in the middle of it, so we haven't used him since. It's also dried standing in the field, whereas I think some of the specialist online hay companies dry the hay in barns. I imagine the more quickly it's dried the more tasty it probably is.
 
InspectorMorse said:
None of my Rabbits like stalky hay at all. As well as the baled hay I buy from a farm in Guildford I also buy hay from The Little Hay Company. It seems to be very popular here. They like the Cotswold Sweet hay the best.

https://littlehayco.com/?gad=1&gcli...S3epwg3Z-9X6rHhmcBhLGlvxYxxVyxiwaAjWREALw_wcB

But as I have said before, the much cheaper baled meadow hay is always their favourite.
Click to expand...

You wouldn't think that bunnies would be so different in their taste would you. My two much prefer stalky. Especially Froe, the bunny who had to be encouraged by the rescue to eat any hay. He will usually eat hay in preference to anything else and for a tiny bunny, gets through an enormous amount.

I looked at that company, but it doesn't look as though any of their options are very stalky.
 
InspectorMorse said:
None of my Rabbits like stalky hay at all. As well as the baled hay I buy from a farm in Guildford I also buy hay from The Little Hay Company. It seems to be very popular here. They like the Cotswold Sweet hay the best.

https://littlehayco.com/?gad=1&gcli...S3epwg3Z-9X6rHhmcBhLGlvxYxxVyxiwaAjWREALw_wcB

But as I have said before, the much cheaper baled meadow hay is always their favourite.
Click to expand...
I got timothy hay from the Happy Hay Co and they don't like it at all. They only eat the bale of meadow hay I mix with it.

I did look at the Little Hay co aswell last time and went with the cheaper option. Next time I will try ordering from these. They have lots of choice. I will probably buy one with Marigold and Rose. We used to buy a big chew toy filled with this and Mr Chief loved it so much! Unfortunately they stopped making them [emoji852]

But this will make my choosing new hay much easier and help with their much improved diet [emoji16]

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 
joey&boo said:
[/B]

Yes but the meadow & in Jan 2021. Going off ramblings on here I liked it but the the buns werent fussed
Click to expand...

Ah, that's great :) That tells me that the quality of it must have been reasonable and also delivery, packing etc. Nobody, including me, would be able to determine whether the bunnies would like it, but that's also similar for different batches of hay that they've had and enjoyed previously. If the organic stalky is like the pics, then it should be OK, but then of course the taste has to be right for them too haha.

I'll give them a try I think. It's also not as though I have to buy a year's supply if they aren't that keen on it.
 
Omi said:
Ah, that's great :) That tells me that the quality of it must have been reasonable and also delivery, packing etc. Nobody, including me, would be able to determine whether the bunnies would like it, but that's also similar for different batches of hay that they've had and enjoyed previously. If the organic stalky is like the pics, then it should be OK, but then of course the taste has to be right for them too haha.

I'll give them a try I think. It's also not as though I have to buy a year's supply if they aren't that keen on it.
Click to expand...

Jan 2021 I started a thread "a new hay for a new year". I recognised the brand name so tracked the thread down...but then got too bored to read it all

I'm doing an Omi (of old) atm & sticking with timothyhay.co.uk stalky. I'm v pleased, despite her age & frailty, Boo remains a good & unfussy hay eater. Eddy is obsessed with stalky.
 
joey&boo said:
Jan 2021 I started a thread "a new hay for a new year". I recognised the brand name so tracked the thread down...but then got too bored to read it all

I'm doing an Omi (of old) atm & sticking with timothyhay.co.uk stalky. I'm v pleased, despite her age & frailty, Boo remains a good & unfussy hay eater. Eddy is obsessed with stalky.
Click to expand...

Yes, Froe is the same. Perhaps it's a macho boy bunny thing :lol:
 
Omi said:
Yes, there's a lot of hay in a bale isn't there :) I like the idea of getting hay that has wild meadow plants mixed in with it. It also shows that it hasn't been treated with a herbicide. We have actually got a hay farmer, whose hayfields are opposite our house. He doesn't treat his ground and so everything is included. Whilst the base product seems to be very good though, he's not that careful about how he cuts and bales it up. We bought a couple of bales from him when we first moved here, but there were clods of earth amongst one bale and the other had mould in the middle of it, so we haven't used him since. It's also dried standing in the field, whereas I think some of the specialist online hay companies dry the hay in barns. I imagine the more quickly it's dried the more tasty it probably is.
Click to expand...
Like frozen veg! Yes, earth, stones and massive sticks (in our tasty batch) are par for the course. I've never had one go mouldy that I stored correctly, but the last few reams are always a little smellier. Not off but no longer sweet smelling. If it's actually off the buns won't eat it, proving they can be smart :lol:
 
Well it arrived this morning.

I wouldn't rate it as highly as timothyhay.co.uk's extra stalky, purely on the basis that it is less green in colour and has almost no smell. However, in other respects it's fine in that it seems dust-free, it's certainly stalky and it looks good quality. Bunnies surprised me by being incredibly wary of it and the sniffing before eating continued for quite a while. They have eaten lots of it though, so they must think it's OK. Early days with it though.
 
All my Buns love the stalky but this latest batch looks more like Meadow. I hope it improves. The Meadow hay is lovely though, imo! but they know what they like.
 
Mine all adore ings hay from hay and straw in Yorkshire. It is soft and smells good.

Would LOVE to be able to get baled hay but as a non driver it is rather tricky.
 
tulsi said:
Mine all adore ings hay from hay and straw in Yorkshire. It is soft and smells good.

Would LOVE to be able to get baled hay but as a non driver it is rather tricky.
Click to expand...

tulsi, how is the hay from Hay and Straw packed please? Is it bagged or boxed?
 
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