Orchard grass from Timothyhay.co uk - too rich??

Hi all,

I order my hay from Timothyhay.co.uk and so far my bunnies have had the soft timothy hay (which they like, it's from 2018) and the regular timothy hay (which they weren't as fussed about, maybe as its from 2020 and we had rubbish weather so it isn't as tasty?).

I'm still trying to find a hay they go mad for, since hay needs to make up 85-90% of their diet, so in my last order I had samples of the oat hay and orchard grass. My buns weren't fussed over the oat hay but they really liked the orchard grass. Went straight for it and had a binge!

Is orchard grass OK to use as their sole hay or is it too rich? It seems much greener than the timothy so wondered if it was very rich. If so, should I mix it half and half with the soft timothy hay they also like? I believe Timothyhay.co.uk can do 50:50 bales if you request it.

Thanks in advance!

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To add, this website seems to suggest orchard is OK being the main hay source and Google seems to suggest it has a similar fibre, calcium and protein level as Timothy:

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

Just interested in other people's thoughts in here too

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It sometimes is a case of trial and error to find a hay, which bunnies prefer. This is Orchard Grass:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dactylis_glomerata

We have small sections of it growing here, as well as Timothy. The Orchard Grass (or C o c k's Foot) is a much taller, more robust plant than the Timothy.

The same species of hay will vary, even in the same year, depending on whether it is first or second cut and the weather conditions during its growth. Individual bunnies will have preferences, which are hard to predict. They also sometimes will go mad for a certain hay and then suddenly decide it's not quite so desirable after all

If your bunnies are liking the Orchard hay, then I suggest you make that their main hay. As you have established there is no problem with doing this. Just watch their consumption of it and be prepared to change if necessary.

Omi said:

It sometimes is a case of trial and error to find a hay, which bunnies prefer. This is Orchard Grass:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dactylis_glomerata

We have small sections of it growing here, as well as Timothy. The Orchard Grass (or ****'s Foot) is a much taller, more robust plant than the Timothy.

The same species of hay will vary, even in the same year, depending on whether it is first or second cut and the weather conditions during its growth. Individual bunnies will have preferences, which are hard to predict. They also sometimes will go mad for a certain hay and then suddenly decide it's not quite so desirable after all

If your bunnies are liking the Orchard hay, then I suggest you make that their main hay. As you have established there is no problem with doing this. Just watch their consumption of it and be prepared to change if necessary.

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Brilliant, thanks so much

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I never bought a second batch of Orchard & can't for the life of me remember why. It will have been that they weren't fussed or did inferior poo on it - I supsect the latter. Every so often I tried the oat hay & amazed they don't like it cos it looks & smells fab. They love the most unimpressive looking one - 2018 soft & brown :lol:

Recently bought Burns green oat hay - Mouse adores it

joey&boo said:

I never bought a second batch of Orchard & can't for the life of me remember why. It will have been that they weren't fussed or did inferior poo on it - I supsect the latter. Every so often I tried the oat hay & amazed they don't like it cos it looks & smells fab. They love the most unimpressive looking one - 2018 soft & brown [emoji38]

Recently bought Burns green oat hay - Mouse adores it

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Haha mine are the same - they like the 2018 soft brown one!! But they do seem to like the orchard from the sample I had, so will maybe buy a 50:50 bag of orchard and the 2018 soft next time to give them a mixture and double check they do like the orchard!!

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Hay advice needed.

A friend gave me some field hay (that’s what she calls it). They use it for their goats. It has Timothy,rye,clover and orchard grass. Will this be ok for the rabbits and guinea pigs also. The piggies are going nuts over it. I try to pull the large clover leaves out but I do miss some

Pjbalough said:

A friend gave me some field hay (that’s what she calls it). They use it for their goats. It has Timothy,rye,clover and orchard grass. Will this be ok for the rabbits and guinea pigs also. The piggies are going nuts over it. I try to pull the large clover leaves out but I do miss some

Click to expand...

welcome. That sounds like a great find. I'd feed it but continue to pull the excess clover out. It is a rabbit approved (safe) food in moderaton

Pjbalough said:

A friend gave me some field hay (that’s what she calls it). They use it for their goats. It has Timothy,rye,clover and orchard grass. Will this be ok for the rabbits and guinea pigs also. The piggies are going nuts over it. I try to pull the large clover leaves out but I do miss some

Click to expand...

Yes, it will be fine