Prickly Hay

[Sso2016]

Hi I was just wondering whether a new hay I bought was okay to put in my bunny's litter tray. I typically use p@h Timothy hay but I was reading an article and watched some video which promoted that Timothy hay should be green so I bought the burgess Timothy hay with dandelion but I noticed it's really sharp in my hand. Would you still use this for the litter tray or should I just use it for treats? I don't know whether it will be okay on her paws

 

[Sarahbun]

Hello and welcome to the forum :wave:
I has something similar recently when I got a 'paper cut' from handling hay due to the sharp edges - I think this is what you mean?

Under a microscope you can see that hay actually has jagged edges.

I don't think the prickly hay you have will be a problem for your bunny. I used mine in the litter tray as normal (but started wearing gloves so I don't get any more cuts) and my rabbits had no problems.

 

[MightyMax]

Hi I was just wondering whether a new hay I bought was okay to put in my bunny's litter tray. I typically use p@h Timothy hay but I was reading an article and watched some video which promoted that Timothy hay should be green so I bought the burgess Timothy hay with dandelion but I noticed it's really sharp in my hand. Would you still use this for the litter tray or should I just use it for treats? I don't know whether it will be okay on her paws

Given that rabbits can happily eat roses and brambles, thorns and all, there is usually no problem with hay.

However, it is possible, as with anything like that, for a rabbit to tear the inside of his mouth on these things. That's just unlucky though.

 

[TheThreeB's]

I've actually had hay splinters before when I've grabbed a handful out, can be very sharp x

P.s welcome to the forum

 

[Sso2016]

Thanks

Thank you very much for the welcomes to the forums it's given me so much helpful advice already. I love it And the advice you've all is so helpful. I'm a little paranoid when I comes to her. I was just worried because I didn't want Sprinkles (my bunny) to be put off her litter tray if the hay hurt her paws. But you all think it'll be okay to put it in her litter tray?

 

[TheThreeB's]

I use Timothy hay, but haven't tried it with dandelion in, is it a lot more spiky?

If it was me I probably wouldn't put it in the litter tray just in case, but would still feed them small amounts separately. I'm no expert though as I'm new to rabbit ownership.

(Btw I regularly buy the same hay, but it can often look different, sometimes greener than other times.) x

 

[Angie B]

She'll be fine, her paws are a lot tougher than you think

 

[beckie20]

My last bale was really prickly, I ended up with several splinters out of it but all of my bunnies have happily parked their bums on it and munched away