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redigrass as a substitute for hay

binkyCodie

Mama Doe
as per thread title..

Luna really doesn't like any hay she's offered, or we start off well and then she goes off of it after a few months. she seriously dislikes timothy and will go as far to drag it out and pee on it if she is offered it, meadow she isn't keen on but eats it so she won't starve. she did love ings hay, but I can't afford the price.

I've been mixing and matching, timothy mixed with meadow, different meadow hays mixed together. its getting a bit expensive for such little progrss and her not improving.

I was looking for oat hay but they're also out of my budget range.

I understand that it may not be the best, but I'm running out of options and we've been fighting this battle for a few years now. I've mixed in forage too but she just picks the forage out. I've tried mixing up her feeding times so she never knows when her pellet will come, but it doesn't make much of a difference :(

her teeth have been checked many times including x-rays, they're perfectly healthy.

any ideas?
 
as per thread title..

Luna really doesn't like any hay she's offered, or we start off well and then she goes off of it after a few months. she seriously dislikes timothy and will go as far to drag it out and pee on it if she is offered it, meadow she isn't keen on but eats it so she won't starve. she did love ings hay, but I can't afford the price.

I've been mixing and matching, timothy mixed with meadow, different meadow hays mixed together. its getting a bit expensive for such little progrss and her not improving.

I was looking for oat hay but they're also out of my budget range.

I understand that it may not be the best, but I'm running out of options and we've been fighting this battle for a few years now. I've mixed in forage too but she just picks the forage out. I've tried mixing up her feeding times so she never knows when her pellet will come, but it doesn't make much of a difference :(

her teeth have been checked many times including x-rays, they're perfectly healthy.

any ideas?

So she will eat Readigrass ?? If she's never had it before you would need to introduce it gradually. Most Rabbits are fine with it, but I have known a few for whom it has caused bloat. Also, you'd probably need to cut down on her pellets if she just has Readigrass as it has a higher protein content than other hay types and if free fed with too many pellets may cause unwanted weight gain.
 
as per thread title..

Luna really doesn't like any hay she's offered, or we start off well and then she goes off of it after a few months. she seriously dislikes timothy and will go as far to drag it out and pee on it if she is offered it, meadow she isn't keen on but eats it so she won't starve. she did love ings hay, but I can't afford the price.

I've been mixing and matching, timothy mixed with meadow, different meadow hays mixed together. its getting a bit expensive for such little progrss and her not improving.

I was looking for oat hay but they're also out of my budget range.

I understand that it may not be the best, but I'm running out of options and we've been fighting this battle for a few years now. I've mixed in forage too but she just picks the forage out. I've tried mixing up her feeding times so she never knows when her pellet will come, but it doesn't make much of a difference :(

her teeth have been checked many times including x-rays, they're perfectly healthy.

any ideas?


I have used it as a hay substitute for rabbits for 25+ years and never had any gas, overweight rabbits or other problem with it :D
 
honestly, I don't know if she does like it. I guess I was just asking if it would be a route I could go down, if it was I'll be picking up some tomorrow when I drop Orion off at the vets. if she does then like it, I'll be planning to buy in bulk. I just didn't want to go ahead with my little plan to find that it would be bad for her in the long term or wasn't a viable option. apologies, I didn't explain myself too well.

she does enjoy grass to an extent. the other rabbits I have had have been lawn mowers all year round, but she only enjoys spring/summer time grass. so of a winter, it makes it more difficult to give her grass as I guess it doesn't taste as nice? :?

its why I was wondering if just literal dried grass would work over actual hays.

I would introduce slowly as I do with anything new into their diet, and I'll make sure to cut down her pellets. she gets roughly 10g of SS pellet a day, with a small handful of herbs.

I've been told that its too rich and high in calcium to use as a substitute for hay, what are others thoughts on that?
 
I’ve had issues with my first ever rabbit being a hay hater instead of a hay eater. I feel partly to blame as way back at the beginning I never understood the importance of hay and when he didn’t eat it I didn’t really worry, I also fed more pellets then I probably should of done which also resulted in him never being bothered about eating hay.

Once ide become educated by the internet and forums like this one I searched high and low for a solution.
I’d literally tried every type of hay I could find - cheap, expensive, I even tried spraying it with apple juice but he really wasn’t fussed. One day I came across 2 different bags of hay that I found he would graze on for small periods of time throughout the day. One was a £1.99 bag from b&m think it has marigold in it and is quite a green looking hay. The other is a £2.99 bag of hay from The Range called ‘5 a day hay’ with lots of herbs and flowers inside.

Now he never really turned into a full on hay monster like the 4 I have now but his poops improved a lot and from gradually decreasing his pellets and adding variety to his diet he would eat the hay I put out for him daily
 
I guess I'm a little picky as I like to buy in bulk. its all well and great if she likes something from a 500g bag of hay, but I need a bigger pack to cut down the cost as it gets very expensive :( I know Luna's poops are very dark, but she's always been this way. I've never seen golden poops from her.

she never really had the solid foundations for hay eating considering she was locked away, starved and forgotten about, so I guess this makes it all the more difficult.

I feel like I have tried every type of hay, I'm at the point I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong. if I get hay with flowers etc mixed in, she just seems to pick out the flowers and ignore the hay. she just thinks its a game. I mix many different hays together, I try just one hay, I try forage mixed in, I try misting it with juice. she just isn't interested.

Orion loves hay and gets excited when I give him more, Luna gets excited, realises its hay, and turns her back on me in anger :lol:
 
I guess I'm a little picky as I like to buy in bulk. its all well and great if she likes something from a 500g bag of hay, but I need a bigger pack to cut down the cost as it gets very expensive :( I know Luna's poops are very dark, but she's always been this way. I've never seen golden poops from her.

she never really had the solid foundations for hay eating considering she was locked away, starved and forgotten about, so I guess this makes it all the more difficult.

I feel like I have tried every type of hay, I'm at the point I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong. if I get hay with flowers etc mixed in, she just seems to pick out the flowers and ignore the hay. she just thinks its a game. I mix many different hays together, I try just one hay, I try forage mixed in, I try misting it with juice. she just isn't interested.

Orion loves hay and gets excited when I give him more, Luna gets excited, realises its hay, and turns her back on me in anger :lol:

I can send you a few trial bags some of the hays I feed to my Rabbits. They all have some Readigrass daily, but I do not free feed it. If you want a few trial bags of hays just PM, I'll alter my 'Settings' so you can do that. I wont take offence if you dont !

Oh and as for the Calcium/Protein content of Readigrass :

A quote from Richard Saunders, the RWAF Veterinary Advisor :

''Dried grasses are convenient, good quality and palatable, and have a protein and calcium level towards the upper end of the range required by adult rabbits. They are great for rabbits who are growing, lactating, pregnant, underweight, and can be safely eaten by most other rabbits, but should not be given as a sole forage source to overweight rabbits, those not eating all their caecotrophs, or with a tendency towards “sludgy” urine, but given in equal proportions with hay or fresh grasses. ''


''Timothy (hay) is generally thought to have the best Calcium:phosphorus ratio, and is should probably form the majority of their diet.''


http://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/category/hay/


The 'Friendly Readigrass' has the correct Calcium:phosphorous ratio (2:1) for a Rabbit, but personally I would only free feed it to a Rabbit who specifically requires the higher nutrient levels or to a Rabbit who categorically refused to eat any other type of hay/fresh grass

https://fetch.co.uk/friendly-readigrass-1kg-97953011

More about various Hays here :

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/grass-hay.asp
 
thank you for the offer, but I will decline :)

I decided to pick up some redigrass and mix it in rather than just feed her it. I'm hoping perhaps this makes a difference, so now she has forage and redigrass mixed in. its hard to tell what she thinks as she's on edge right now.

she utterly hates timothy hay and always has done, nothing seems to encourage her on that side. I'm guessing if she doesn't like it, but has a healthy diet of other hays that shouldn't matter too much?

daphne she likes grass, but only spring/summer grass. I guess autumn/winter grass isn't as nice. all the other buns are all year around lawn mowers, but I guess she's only for summer fields.
 
thank you for the offer, but I will decline :)

I decided to pick up some redigrass and mix it in rather than just feed her it. I'm hoping perhaps this makes a difference, so now she has forage and redigrass mixed in. its hard to tell what she thinks as she's on edge right now.

she utterly hates timothy hay and always has done, nothing seems to encourage her on that side. I'm guessing if she doesn't like it, but has a healthy diet of other hays that shouldn't matter too much?

daphne she likes grass, but only spring/summer grass. I guess autumn/winter grass isn't as nice. all the other buns are all year around lawn mowers, but I guess she's only for summer fields.

Yes, it'll be fine for her not to have Timothy Hay if she will eat other hays :) To be honest Timothy Hay is not at the top of the list of favorites for my Rabbits. Despite having a variety of all of the more expensive hays my lot much prefer the baled farm hay that costs next to nothing !! Rabbits :roll:
 
thank you for the offer, but I will decline :)

I decided to pick up some redigrass and mix it in rather than just feed her it. I'm hoping perhaps this makes a difference, so now she has forage and redigrass mixed in. its hard to tell what she thinks as she's on edge right now.

she utterly hates timothy hay and always has done, nothing seems to encourage her on that side. I'm guessing if she doesn't like it, but has a healthy diet of other hays that shouldn't matter too much?

daphne she likes grass, but only spring/summer grass. I guess autumn/winter grass isn't as nice. all the other buns are all year around lawn mowers, but I guess she's only for summer fields.


Good idea - best of all worlds :)

Eating hays other than timothy is absolutely fine. Hay is hay and is good whatever :thumb:


http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/grass-hay.asp

http://www.friendshipestates.co.uk/horse-feeds/readigrass.html

http://www.therabbithouse.com/blog/2011/10/07/grass-hay-tooth-wear/


There's even a green oat readigrass now :)


http://www.friendshipestates.co.uk/green-oat-readigrass/view-all-products.html
 
I much prefer the green oat readigrass as do both mine and the rescues rabbits, I wish they sold it in the 15kg sacks though
 
I much prefer the green oat readigrass as do both mine and the rescues rabbits, I wish they sold it in the 15kg sacks though

You aren’t supposed to be eating it :shock:;):lol: grasstastic is the favourite here with both goats and frosty bunny
 
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