Grass and hay.

Hi everyone! I have always fed my guinea/rabbits on fresh high quality hay. I fell into a discussion and a friend of mine says that she only feeds hers fresh grass from her garden, rinsed and carefully picked. Because "hay is just dried grass".
I was just wondering if this is okay to do? As I have constant access to grass and it is easier to obtain than good quality hay in my area!
Thoughts? Or is there something i'm completely missing out on and have to tell said friend about?
Thank you!

ButterflyLordette said:

Hi everyone! I have always fed my guinea/rabbits on fresh high quality hay. I fell into a discussion and a friend of mine says that she only feeds hers fresh grass from her garden, rinsed and carefully picked. Because "hay is just dried grass".
I was just wondering if this is okay to do? As I have constant access to grass and it is easier to obtain than good quality hay in my area!
Thoughts? Or is there something i'm completely missing out on and have to tell said friend about?
Thank you!

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Sounds good Fresh grass is great and usually very popular with rabbits and guinea pigs.

I never wash it, although I do pick it carefully.

Hay is just dried grass but I would never want to completely substitute hay for grass, for starters you would need to hand cut an insane amount of grass daily to meet the amount they need. If you think how much hay they need and then remember that when grass is turned into grass it is dried out and when you dry stuff it shrinks... I seem to remember someone had a bun who couldn't eat hay but could manage grass, she needed to fill a large tub (one that would hold a couple of litres of water) every few hours for him :shock:

Plus grass quality varies throughout the year, in spring it is very very rich and in winter it is very low in nutrients. Hay is dried grass cut in the summer and so hay doesn't tend to vary the same way grass does.

Buns are very appreciative of cut grass though, and it can lower the amount of hay they need

Hele said:

Hay is just dried grass but I would never want to completely substitute hay for grass, for starters you would need to hand cut an insane amount of grass daily to meet the amount they need. If you think how much hay they need and then remember that when grass is turned into grass it is dried out and when you dry stuff it shrinks... I seem to remember someone had a bun who couldn't eat hay but could manage grass, she needed to fill a large tub (one that would hold a couple of litres of water) every few hours for him :shock:

Plus grass quality varies throughout the year, in spring it is very very rich and in winter it is very low in nutrients. Hay is dried grass cut in the summer and so hay doesn't tend to vary the same way grass does.

Buns are very appreciative of cut grass though, and it can lower the amount of hay they need

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I have buns who can't manage hay but who are able to eat grass.
I cut a big tub for them every day - takes me about half an hour :lol::lol::lol:

It's absolutely fine to use grass instead of hay

The only reason for hay in the practical aspects - access, easy storage, convenience etc. I feed mainly grass in summer when it's growing rapidly and then more hay in winter as the grass doesn't grow fast enough to keep up. If you've got enough space to grow it that might not be an issue though.

It's handy to still have hay available as a back up but a lot of bunnies will pick grass over hay if they have the option. Build up the amount gradually though - a sudden switch can upset their tummies.

MightyMax said:

I have buns who can't manage hay but who are able to eat grass.
I cut a big tub for them every day - takes me about half an hour :lol::lol::lol:

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Blimey how long is your grass? :shock: I used to cut grass for my piggies and yeah you can get a huge pile in half an hour in summer. I wouldn't be able to get the amount a rabbit would need every single day out of my garden in winter once the darn stuff stops growing.

Plus 3 1/2 hours of grass cutting a week :shock:

Thanks everyone! I often hand pick/cut a lot of grass for them, would happily spend time getting the right amount! They also come out in their run almost every day which gets moved to where the best quality grass is ☺ I'll have hay backed up incase of a disaster or not enough time to pick, and will probably feed hay during the winter!

Hele said:

Blimey how long is your grass? :shock: I used to cut grass for my piggies and yeah you can get a huge pile in half an hour in summer. I wouldn't be able to get the amount a rabbit would need every single day out of my garden in winter once the darn stuff stops growing.

Plus 3 1/2 hours of grass cutting a week :shock:

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I don't use the lawn mower as often as I should do Yes it's a lot of cutting, and I have to make sure I don't cut any buttercups in there. Unfortunately my grass is often left long over winter too, though I have readigrass as well so they have a choice