Mischief and Lillabelle's new diet plan

Super that Lillabelle has stopped weeing on the hay. Regarding the Readigrass I think that it seems for Lillabelle to be a choice between giving her some or giving her pellets. As she likes it so much and it seems to suit her digestion, personally I would opt to give her a small amount of Readigrass. You are an expert at adjusting her diet according to her weight, so that's what I would do.
 
Yes I wonder if the Readigrass is a good hay for Lillabelle or not? I know it is given in the winter when there is no grass. I wouldn't give Chief much and maybe not any (unless it was healthier for them than a few pellets) but if it means Lils eats more hay then maybe it is good for her? I would definitely wean her off pellets and on to Readigrass if I did that.

Yes the table was a bit stressful 🤣
Yes I think with bunnies it is a bit trial and error on their diet but having found a good hay they love (Omi helped us a lot) we had a base to build on.

We put all the treats away in a cupboard (also away from the rabbit stuff) and gave them healthy treats instead. I still have them. I do give them a treat when we do things to them like cut their nails but they get just as excited over a dandelion root.

I wouldn't say I'm an expert in anything to do with bunnies 🤣 However having everybun on RU to help with advice means I have a lot of rabbit experts to ask so my buns hopefully have QOL x
 
Well, I have learnt a lot this afternoon about Readigrass :D I have fed it previously, but many years ago. At that time I fed what I thought to be Readigrass, never wondering what type of grass this was (!) and also occasionally the Green Oat Readigrass.

I have always thought that Readigrass was of a higher protein content to hay and indeed fresh grass, mainly from what I've read on here. But have a look at their website https://www.friendshipestates.co.uk/friendly They now sell various different species of grass and the protein content is listed for each. It still doesn't specify what species of grass the product called Readigrass is and also, looking at the website it seems that this isn't specifically listed as being for small animals, but for horses. Protein content for the various grasses varies, but not really dramatically and I doubt whether each batch can be consistently accurately measured.

So, it appears that you can now get Timothy Readigrass (possibly not widely available and maybe only on their website), which is a lower protein content than the other species according to the website.

Compare their measurements of protein content also to that of the Hayshed https://thehayshed.co.uk/shop-hay-all-products/ They seem to be similar.

So what have I learnt? Well that Readigrass has now increased the number of different grasses that they offer. But importantly, I think it seems that Readigrass is not that much (if at all with some species) higher protein content than other hays or indeed freshly cut grass.

So for Lillabelle........ What is the actual Readigrass that she has been having? Maybe consider trying her with Timothy Readigrass (if it's easily obtainable). But I don't think I would be too concerned about her munching away on any of the various species. Any of them have got to be more beneficial than pellets for her digestion and teeth. If Mr Chief happily eats Timothy hay then I would let him continue with that, but not be too concerned if he had a small amount of Readigrass.

I am quite pleased with what I've learnt, as I never could work out why Readigrass would be so much higher protein content than grass or hay. It seems to suggest it's more to do with the species of grass than the Readigrass process per se.
 
Well, I have learnt a lot this afternoon about Readigrass :D I have fed it previously, but many years ago. At that time I fed what I thought to be Readigrass, never wondering what type of grass this was (!) and also occasionally the Green Oat Readigrass.

I have always thought that Readigrass was of a higher protein content to hay and indeed fresh grass, mainly from what I've read on here. But have a look at their website https://www.friendshipestates.co.uk/friendly They now sell various different species of grass and the protein content is listed for each. It still doesn't specify what species of grass the product called Readigrass is and also, looking at the website it seems that this isn't specifically listed as being for small animals, but for horses. Protein content for the various grasses varies, but not really dramatically and I doubt whether each batch can be consistently accurately measured.

So, it appears that you can now get Timothy Readigrass (possibly not widely available and maybe only on their website), which is a lower protein content than the other species according to the website.

Compare their measurements of protein content also to that of the Hayshed https://thehayshed.co.uk/shop-hay-all-products/ They seem to be similar.

So what have I learnt? Well that Readigrass has now increased the number of different grasses that they offer. But importantly, I think it seems that Readigrass is not that much (if at all with some species) higher protein content than other hays or indeed freshly cut grass.

So for Lillabelle........ What is the actual Readigrass that she has been having? Maybe consider trying her with Timothy Readigrass (if it's easily obtainable). But I don't think I would be too concerned about her munching away on any of the various species. Any of them have got to be more beneficial than pellets for her digestion and teeth. If Mr Chief happily eats Timothy hay then I would let him continue with that, but not be too concerned if he had a small amount of Readigrass.

I am quite pleased with what I've learnt, as I never could work out why Readigrass would be so much higher protein content than grass or hay. It seems to suggest it's more to do with the species of grass than the Readigrass process per se.
Thank you for this Omi it is fantastic help! 🤩

This is extra useful as we are waiting for their timothy hay to be delivered. I forgot to order their hay early so it arrives before it gets too low and only realised I'd forgot when I could touch the bottom of the box on Thursday! My memory is shocking now but I don't want it affecting our bunnies.That would make me very anxious. After talking to my OH about this I am going to order a white board to hang on the wall in our bedroom. Then I can write down what I need to order and my OH can ask me if it has been done.

Anyway back on track....I have decided to stop getting the meadow hay as they never eat it so seems such a waste of money. As this hay will be at the ends of their litter trays I thought it best to get them a good quality soft hay they will eat like the Timothy hay if possible.

I looked at getting a meadow hay from The Hay Shed however the minimum spend is £35 and we needed to get their usual timothy hay as well. I also thought maybe they don't really like meadow hay anyway especially now they have their lovely Timothy hay 😍 I know little about types of hay. I really should read up on this as it is the most important food for them and 80% of their daily diet. This thread about diet has made me so interested to know more actually.

I then looked at timothyhay.co.uk and they have a soft timothy hay too so I just ordered them both. I will let everybun know if they like this hay as much as the stalky one! Really excited about this new hay coming Omi! Have you tried it on yours at all? So now we are getting low on both hays at once and needed some more quickly...

My OH kindly went to the local horse feed shop to get a bag of Readigrass timothy hay and another bag of soft hay like meadow hay and came back with a bag of Readigrass and a bag of meadow hay. Unfortunately they had no timothy only usual Readigrass and the Green oat but he has broken his phone screen so could not ring me.

So would it be possible to give them both the meadow hay we have sprinkled with Readigrass twice a day do you think? I thought a handful size would do which I measure out to be one full little green bowl that I have. The reason I ask that I give them both some Readigrass is that they turn their noses up on the meadow hay but when I sprinkle some Readigrass over it they eat both the meadow and Readigrass hay. As it drops through the meadow hay I just scoop up the Readigrass underneath and sprinkle it back over the hay. And they eat it again.

Originally I gave them 3 green bowls full instead of forage daily for about a week. Lillabelle had put on 200 g extra weight but we had not weighed them for 2 weeks so it could have been due to lots of Readigrass as well as her pellets maybe? Chief only 50 g extra which I did think was odd as he is a little piggy with all food and he seemed to readily eat the Readigrass just like Lillabelle. I thought maybe he eats more timothy hay than Lillabelle which is lower in calories than the Readigrass. But now you say they are similar in protein so I just don't know now. As far as the amount to feed Lillabelle I was going to ask you that 😂

Lillabelle has 25 pellets a day. When we drop them down she loses weight quite quickly. She does love the Timothy hay but maybe she doesn't eat enough hay to balance out the pellets being dropped down perhaps? So maybe she prefers the Readigrass and eats more of it? I don't know actually for sure.

Either....I can sprinkle some on their hay for both of them or just give it to Lillabelle in a bowl on the bed when Chief is snoozing somewhere which is most of the time really 😍

I thought we should weigh her now before giving her any more Readigrass and then maybe drop her down by 5 pellets and give her half my green bowl full a day. And then weigh her again in 2-3 days to see any changes. Does that seem ok on amounts? I am thinking it would be best to start slowly as bunny tummies are delicate. I would happily hear your more experienced advice please Omi?🥰
 
Wow, you are a very dedicated hay & forage provider. Some years ago timothyhay.co.uk had this soft hay from 2018...it was brown & didn't smell fantastic (not bad, just not lush) & all my bunnies were obsessed with it. It can't have sold that well generally as I was buying it for years. When it ran out & I bought their new batch soft hay they were much less interested & I had to convert to haybox soft hay. Boo has stopped eating hay now but she'll eat fresh grass & loves alfalfa.

I remember someone asking Frances Harcourt-Brown (that retired rabbit specialist I'm always going on about) "What hay is best" to which she replied "any hay they will eat". Just important to have them eating as much of it as possible. She showed us this study she'd done of some barren landscape (in Europe but I forget where). there were just dry old grasses for the wild rabbits to eat. She examined bodies of deceased wildies & compared them to pet rabbits. The wildies were very healthy with great bone formation / density...the pet rabbit skulls were paper thin (she had them on display for us).

That said I too get excited about trying new hays & I'm obsessed with forage. I would consider myself no better or worse a bunny owner if i had rabbits just eating one hay as their main diet, so long as they loved that one hay. With forage & herbs too of course - for the variety, enrich & tne love of it as much as the nutrition.

I've done that thing when I'd forgotten hay was so low until I hit cardboard several times
 
I also get very low on hay sometimes. It usually happens towards the end of a week, when ordering and delivering takes a bit longer too. Yes, my bunnies have had the soft timothy hay from timothyhay.co.uk. They ate very little of it, but then I know from experience that they just don't like soft hay. They even won't eat the soft hay we harvest from the garden. All bunnies are different in their preferences though, so it will be very interesting to see what your two think of it. As j&b said though, it's perfectly OK to feed just one type of hay. It's what I do most of the time. It just needs to be a hay that they will eat lots of.

Yes, I think it's fine to sprinkle the readigrass on the meadow hay. Regarding quantities, I think as long as you weigh them regularly, you will get to know how different quantities are affecting their weight. I would definitely opt for giving any sort of hay/readigrass in preference to pellets, as it has to be better for teeth and digestion. I think you'll get to a point when you've balanced it all perfectly, both are eating a lot of hay and their weight is remaining stable.

It's all sounding very positive ❤️
 
Wow, you are a very dedicated hay & forage provider. Some years ago timothyhay.co.uk had this soft hay from 2018...it was brown & didn't smell fantastic (not bad, just not lush) & all my bunnies were obsessed with it. It can't have sold that well generally as I was buying it for years. When it ran out & I bought their new batch soft hay they were much less interested & I had to convert to haybox soft hay. Boo has stopped eating hay now but she'll eat fresh grass & loves alfalfa.

I remember someone asking Frances Harcourt-Brown (that retired rabbit specialist I'm always going on about) "What hay is best" to which she replied "any hay they will eat". Just important to have them eating as much of it as possible. She showed us this study she'd done of some barren landscape (in Europe but I forget where). there were just dry old grasses for the wild rabbits to eat. She examined bodies of deceased wildies & compared them to pet rabbits. The wildies were very healthy with great bone formation / density...the pet rabbit skulls were paper thin (she had them on display for us).

That said I too get excited about trying new hays & I'm obsessed with forage. I would consider myself no better or worse a bunny owner if i had rabbits just eating one hay as their main diet, so long as they loved that one hay. With forage & herbs too of course - for the variety, enrich & tne love of it as much as the nutrition.

I've done that thing when I'd forgotten hay was so low until I hit cardboard several times
Thank you for your post Joey&boo. It is a work in progress still as Omi and Inspector Morse have been helping me on their diet. Actually it was yourself that got me interested in forage with the book you sent me. I have read that book several times. My other half and I have looked for forage to eat around here but unfortunately as it by the sea there are very few parks. The one that is near here is run by the council and is just green grass really. Plus dogs would pee on anything there.

My OH can't walk far either as he is due for a hip replacement on the 3rd of September. He is usually MY carer and I will have to care for him for around 2 months and I am really anxious about it as I get so muddled now hence the need for the white board even more so. If I don't come on RU for a while it is only because I am running about like a headless chicken 😂

I remember when I went for my COVID jab and saw these lovely wild flowers areas that our council had been growing in an industrial park. I was so excited and went around collecting all these flowers until I remembered that the forage can't be near roads so I had to throw it all away. I was so disappointed.

Inspector Morse introduced me to Nature's grub so I now order from there. It is dried forage not fresh but my buns gets very excited when it is forage time and jump on the bed accosting us like little gangsters until I get up and then they sit by the lounge doorway (where I keep it) waiting. It is definitely their favourite meal although they get excited about any food really.

Yes I do think the key to a successful diet for bunnies is finding a good quality hay they will eat loads of. I have tried a few different hays and they eat some but the timothy hay Omi suggested is a winner. They both eats lots of it. Chief more than Lil's but you still see her munching on it a few times a day. It is the best feeling seeing both of them eat hay together ❤️

I have never heard of Frances Harcourt-Brown tbh. I will have to read some of her articles. So why did she think domestic rabbits have paper thin skulls then? Is it because of their diet? And I guess their breeding? Due to the breeders trying to get the bunnies to be aesthetically pleasing maybe?

Yes if they eat a lot of one particular hay then that is job done really to an extent. The only reason I am looking for another one I guess is that I would like to see Lillabelle's poops looking bigger and fluffier just like Chief's poops which are huge and fluffy when you break them open. And it would be for their litter tray and the timothy hay they have does not stack very well at the front of their trays so I thought a soft hay may be better. Hopefullynthey will eat the soft Timothy hay as well

Yes I now get them forage every day plus they always have fresh dill, parsley and coriander (the only ones we can get locally) for their tea and they argue over them every time and steal herbs from each others mouths. I sometimes have to be referee to make sure Lils gets some as Chief can be a right bully but Lillabelle is very quick and gets her own back eventually.

That makes me feel l better knowing I am not the only one to forget to order their hay 🤣
 
I also get very low on hay sometimes. It usually happens towards the end of a week, when ordering and delivering takes a bit longer too. Yes, my bunnies have had the soft timothy hay from timothyhay.co.uk. They ate very little of it, but then I know from experience that they just don't like soft hay. They even won't eat the soft hay we harvest from the garden. All bunnies are different in their preferences though, so it will be very interesting to see what your two think of it. As j&b said though, it's perfectly OK to feed just one type of hay. It's what I do most of the time. It just needs to be a hay that they will eat lots of.

Yes, I think it's fine to sprinkle the readigrass on the meadow hay. Regarding quantities, I think as long as you weigh them regularly, you will get to know how different quantities are affecting their weight. I would definitely opt for giving any sort of hay/readigrass in preference to pellets, as it has to be better for teeth and digestion. I think you'll get to a point when you've balanced it all perfectly, both are eating a lot of hay and their weight is remaining stable.

It's all sounding very positive ❤️
Thank you Omi for your reply. Yes it always happens on a Thursday or Friday and then the order is not necessarily processed before the weekend and sent on delivery. Hopefully my white board will help me remember.

Yes I realise it is trial and error finding a hay they will both eat lots of and one bun could love it and another doesn't touch it. Mischief has eaten enough of any hay we offer him to have a reasonably healthy diet. He loves anything edible to rabbits really! (He has also eaten things that are not supposed to be edible to rabbits though like my phone charger leads (too numerous to count), my pens, jotter pads, ruler, a candle, tablet case, cardis, bedclothes, the water pipe in the bathroom! In the 6 years we have had him that is, not as part of a balanced diet 🤦🏻 Just to say that this paragraph is mainly for humourous effect and your things such as a charger lead should be kept safely away from your bun at all times. We try our best to but my bunnies are devilish creatures that pounce as soon as my back is turned.

Seriously though, we give them many more willow and other chew toys than before and now the fresh willow too!! And the apple twigs I bought from Binky Bunny! They had sold them all along and I have scrolled past them every month when I picked out what forage to order but I had only tried our two with the pear twigs from there. Not apple. Plus they have two chewable tunnels and they do chew them but not like they used to. A giant size willow tunnel used to last 2 days when it was just Mischief here. He didn't have his beautiful model bunny Lillabelle here then to keep him occupied 😞 Now he has an even slimmer healthier model girlfriend. That makes me so happy. I think the Timothy hay has helped loads actually thinking about it....

Mischief's poops have always been big and fluffy but now they are huge with the new coarser timothy hay! Being as he is a big bunny as well they might seem massive to another bunny owner who only had teeny bunnies such as lionheads. Although teeny in size I am almost certain that they are massive in personality though. I have seen a video of a little lionhead running and leaping about with so much energy. My bunnies are very lazy in comparison but laid back is their nature being french lops. I say to my OH that I want some teeny bunnies. We have room as they could have the lounge I say. But really they couldn't as my grandchildren are in that room sometimes. Far too loud by far for a little lionhead's ears. And my OH also says no they would be too much excitement for us. And he would be right. I couldn't catch one to take to a vet appointment or whatever. They are far too quick for me and he is not much better with his hip osteoarthritis 🤣

Lillabelle is a fussier eater than Chief but she still absolutely loves her food. Her poops with the coarser timothy hay are bigger and fluffier although a black colour. With the Readigrass as well they are bigger and light in colour than that so I am glad you showed me that it is not much more in protein than other hay.
We have run out of timothy hay completely now. It shows already in their poop. Instead of being big and fluffy, Chief's poops have shrunk quite a lot already and instead of being light coloured they are almost black 😞

Regarding the soft hay, I thought what if I am doing the wrong thing and they eat the soft hay instead of the lovely coarse timothy hay which is good for their teeth? Why order the soft hay at all? (OMG I've just realized that I can use my voice to write my posts on here now! I just have to say this because I'm excited. It is so much easier with Google voice as it takes me a long time to write a post now especially as they are usually long ones. I think the voice way needs tweaking as I am writing some bizarre sentences though 🤣 )

Back to the subject, the reason I am looking for a soft hay is because Lillabelle is still chucking the hay out of the litter trays and the timothy hay makes such a mess, especially as they are giant rabbits and need hay enough for them both in size daily. I thought I could just put a little of the soft hay at the end of the two litter trays just in the corners maybe? I will be careful to keep the amounts small but soft hay is easier to pile together and it stays in shape. By the way I forgot to mention, the reason Mischief was getting brown back feet is because Lillabelle was not only peeing on the tray near their hay but also pooping as well. ,

So I have been putting a sprinkle of Readigrass over their hay and it does encourage them to eat it even though it is just meadow hay. I did give Lillabelle half a bowl of it earlier before she's due her pellets and she did not even ask for her pellets. She is usually jumping up on the bed constantly an hour before they are due. She loved her half bowl of Readigrass. She ate all of it including the little amount on the floor which had spilled over. My OH gave her five pellets less to start with and we will see how her weight goes from there.

Chief was the one asking for his pellets. He had been lying next to the meadow hay but not eating it. I think he was waiting for his timothy hay :(We saw this but thought if we hold out maybe he will eat more hay? But when we gave him his pellets he was ravenous. He nearly had my hand where he was eating so keenly. Not having the timothy hay is actually tipping the apple cart over as far as their diet is concerned. We are reliant on that to fill them up. I did offer him some Readigrass after his pellets as I was worried he could still be hungry. He ate a couple of mouthfuls out of the heavy china bowl I had hold of on the bed without conviction and he kept looking at me as if to say..but Mum! He then shoved the bowl away with both front feet violently and then tried to throw with his teeth! Perhaps not then. Mischief has always made it very clear when he likes or dislikes something by his actions 😂

Yes I agree it is all going very well now and I'm excited to see how the Readigrass and the soft hay go as well. It is mad to think that only a few months ago these two bunnies were really obese and I was really worried about their health for the future.
 
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The colour of poo really doesn’t matter unless it were to be bloodied. It is a myth that only golden poo is good poo. As long as the fecal poo is a good size and quantity, round and fibrous when broken up it’s fine.
I am glad you posted this. I never had a bunny with golden poo.
If poo is tar like and sticky it may contain occult blood, however brown poo is fine.
 
We have two bunnies, both seemingly on exactly the same diet. Both have large poo, but one is always golden and one is darker. I've never been concerned by that.

It's a very interesting question you have asked about the difference in benefit to rabbits' teeth between different types of hay/grass, in particular whether stalky is better than soft :) It's not something I've ever considered as an issue before and thought, as FHB says, that the hay that the bunny eats most of is the best. Even after thinking about it, I still think the same. My view is that in terms of teeth benefit there will be no large variation. I have searched online, where it's mostly old forum threads which come up. Where those threads have given an opinion, they have stated that the coarser stalky hay is better. I'm not sure that that is reliable though.

Hay and obviously grass contain silica, which are responsible for the abrasive action on teeth. See here http://www.therabbithouse.com/blog/2011/10/07/grass-hay-tooth-wear/ In my view that will be the case for all types of hay/grass, but I would welcome any views from members who have a different opinion.
 
The colour of poo really doesn’t matter unless it were to be bloodied. It is a myth that only golden poo is good poo. As long as the fecal poo is a good size and quantity, round and fibrous when broken up it’s fine.
Thank you IM that is helpful as I was worried that his poop have changed from a golden colour to almost black. His poops are still round but smaller because he only eats this new meadow hay from the pet shop if I sprinkle it with Readigrass. When he then eats the Readigrass he eats some hay with it but nowhere as much as the timothy hay x
 
When bunnies eat hay they make a side to side movement with their teeth, so in addition to abrasion from the hay, the lower teeth are sliding across the surface of the upper teeth to provide additional wear of the surface of the teeth. Pellets are eaten with an up and down motion, so there is less rubbing and therefore less abrasion.
This is why bunnies with dental malocclusion cannot always be managed by diet alone.

.
 
We have two bunnies, both seemingly on exactly the same diet. Both have large poo, but one is always golden and one is darker. I've never been concerned by that.

It's a very interesting question you have asked about the difference in benefit to rabbits' teeth between different types of hay/grass, in particular whether stalky is better than soft :) It's not something I've ever considered as an issue before and thought, as FHB says, that the hay that the bunny eats most of is the best. Even after thinking about it, I still think the same. My view is that in terms of teeth benefit there will be no large variation. I have searched online, where it's mostly old forum threads which come up. Where those threads have given an opinion, they have stated that the coarser stalky hay is better. I'm not sure that that is reliable though.

Hay and obviously grass contain silica, which are responsible for the abrasive action on teeth. See here http://www.therabbithouse.com/blog/2011/10/07/grass-hay-tooth-wear/ In my view that will be the case for all types of hay/grass, but I would welcome any views from members who have a different opinion.
Thank you so much for finding this out. It is a really interesting article
about all hay types being good for their teeth because of those spikes. I know little about hay. I realise I need to read up on each type more. The problem for me is I don't really know the benefits of each type of hay for rabbits. The online hay sellers just talk about each type of hay. Not how it benefits a rabbit.

Knowing they are all beneficial for their teeth is great as then I can just experiment with the soft hay types to find one that both of them will eat when in their litter trays. If Lillabelle eats more of it than the coarse one it won't matter. In fact if they both eat both their coarser timothy hay AND the soft hay it will be fantastic as that may mean they eat more hay in total.

They are not liking the meadow hay much but Chief will eat a little of it with the Readigrass scattered over it. Lillabelle has not eaten any as far as I know. Both their poops are black now and shrunken in size. When you break them open they are a little damp sometimes but mostly fluffy still. Saying that Lillabelle's poops are sometimes elongated and also there are chains of poops connected by fur. Not long chains only 4 poops maximum. Something we haven't seen for a while and way before we got the timothy hay. Mischief is moulting fairly heavily though and his fur is long.

We are thinking that the hay won't be here until at least Wednesday because of the bank hols so maybe we could buy them some Readigrass Green Oat hay from the horse feed shop tomorrow but I wanted to check it is a hay they can both eat? Is their any reason why I can't give them oat hay please?


Saying that I have just watched them eating a little hay so I'm wondering whether to wait. We can always mix the different hays we to use them up though. I just hate the thought of them being hungry :(

Also Mischief is sneezing again due to dust from the Readigrass as well. Do I sieve that as well as their forage then please?
 
When bunnies eat hay they make a side to side movement with their teeth, so in addition to abrasion from the hay, the lower teeth are sliding across the surface of the upper teeth to provide additional wear of the surface of the teeth. Pellets are eaten with an up and down motion, so there is less rubbing and therefore less abrasion.
This is why bunnies with dental malocclusion cannot always be managed by diet alone.

.
I didn't know that either! I have so much to learn from everybun on RU and this education means I will understand bunnies more and can educate others too. That makes sense and that is why giving too many pellets to bunnies means they will eat less hay which is good for their teeth. Thank you Bunny Momma x
 
I purchased oat hay in the past to tempt bunnies. Mine ate the immature oat groats first yet did not seem to want much of the hay. It was cosrser than the timothy hay.I had in the past. I am not sure how green oat hay compares to mine.
 
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I purchased oat hay in the past to tempt bunnies. Mine ate the immature oat groats first yet did not seem to want much of the hay. It was cosrser than the timothy hay.I had in the past. I am not sure how green oat hay compares to mine.
I did worry after you said yours don't like it but we decided to get some green oat hay as they were hungry again last night. The were happy once they got their herbs (forage) but Chief was begging a couple of times and they came down the hall for their kitchen run (as we call it) three times so they had a sprig of herbs twice and then I didn't give them a treat after that.

When my OH came back with the green oat hay I gave Chief a small dish of it and he got stuck in to it straight away. He spilled some hay over the side of the bowl (it was a small bowl) and when I tried to pick up the spilled hay and put it back in the bowl Chief have quite a loud growl as if to say 'back off' so means he likes it which is good. Lils also got stuck in to the green oat hay and ate a fair bit aswell.

I got two emails both saying the hay was processed and will soon be out on delivery. Then I got an email from DPD saying our parcel has been cancelled which is strange. I checked and the money has gone out of our bank so I wrote to timothyhay.co.uk asking the guy to look into it and get back to me with dates.

Then I got an email that the other box was cancelled. I have no idea why and I sent the email this morning and he still hasn't got back to me so I am a little perplexed as to what is happening with my orders. I did wonder if they cancelled one delivery and are delivering both parcels together as I did order them at different times within 20 mins between them however looks like the delivery is cancelled for both parcels.

It was lucky we bought the green oat hay really and I feel better knowing they have a hay that they will both eat plus the Readigrass. I am still giving them meadow hay as it is soft and I can pile it in the front corner of each of the litter trays. And then I scatter the Readigrass and the green oat hay over the meadow hay and a small pile on the larger tray.
I am taking it easy though as I don't want them putting on lots of weight. I would be very upset if that happened.

Maybe yours would like the Readigrass green oat hay Bunny Momma? All the hays from Readigrass smell fantastic and the hay is good quality but it is a bit expensive at £8 per kg at the pet shop but it is £5.49 online.
 
It is great that your bunnies are enjoying the green oat hay! I wonder why your hay order was cancelled since your payment processed.

Thank you for your suggestion. My bridge bunnies were the fussy hay eaters. Plus I do not live in UK and readigrass is not available where I live.

My lionheads eat a lot of the Oxbow timothy hay that I can get from the pet supply store. They also like a hay blend that has both timothy hay and orchard grass.
My new Netherland Dwarf is getting the same hay as my Lionheads, though I think he may not be eating enough hay. With his original owner he got horse hay that was a blend of timothy hay and red clover (her uncle had a horse). The pet supply store carries premium hay that comes in a soft or coarse variety, though first we will cut back on his pellets in case he is not hungry enough to eat more hay. He has only been home for two weeks, so we are still buying his love with food🙄.
 
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Yes I was surprised but very relieved when they both ate it as It helped to know they weren't going to get hungry waiting on the timothy hay.

Their coarse timothy hay arrived today on it's own at around 6 pm (but I was a little bit miffed that the guy at timothyhay.co.uk has not replied to my email since yesterday. I have had emails fom DPD today (the carrier they use) though. One for the coarser hay box which told us they were delivering today and one for the soft hay box saying it has been delayed in transit. Perhaps it will arrive tomorrow. At least they have their timothy hay that they love anyway for now.

Oh I did not know you did not live in the UK. Where abouts do you live BM? (Only if you are ok saying where you are from of course). Bless your little bridge bunnies ❤️❤️

I don't think I have tried the Oxbow timothy hay on my two before. It is lovely and very convenient that they both eat the Oxbow timothy hay as that is readily available for you. The other hay sounds a lovely blend for bunnies. Is orchard grass similar to meadow hay do you know?

Oh I did not know you had a new bunny!! (jumps up and down in excitement). Oh I love Neverland Dwarfs but I have never been lucky enough to meet one. They are so adorable with their dinky little ears 🥰
What is his name? I am so sorry for not writing on any of your threads about him yet. Do you have any threads about him on RU and what are they called so I can read them please? I explain so you will understand that I am very slow at typing as not worked for 15 years and had no laptop or pc to practice typing on. And I am a one finger typist on a phone so even slower 🙄 I am trying to read up and post on threads as often as possible but I am so slow since my mini stroke. Writing a post can take hours for me. So frustrating. Plus I always write too much. Like this one 🤦🏻

Your Neverland Dwarf's horse hay with red clover sounds lovely although horses are not usually anywhere as fussy about their hay as bunnies. I think it is probably that horses take big mouthfuls of their hay compared to a bunny carefully choosing their next piece and having a much more sensitive nose. My horse definitely did not seem too bothered about which type of hay he was given and certainly munched through enough 😆

It is handy that your feed store has both soft and coarse hay for your new little bunny ❤️
I think it is good that you want to try him on less pellets and wait to see if he eats more hay. I guess as your little nethie is so tiny he will be more sensitive to a change in diet and their amounts than my two as they are bigger? Did the last owner of him give you some of his hay to help him wean on to a new one at all?

I love that you get hoodwinked by your new bunny like I do with our two. Especially Mischief. He has that 'imploring' look down to a fine art. Sometimes I feel as if I have been hypnotised by him to give him more treats 😂🩵

Lillabelle is just a pest. She will not leave us alone until we get up. And she nose bumps my feet constantly and I hate anyone touching my feet as I am so ticklish. She knows if she pesters us constantly we will give in. I don't mean we make her wait for hours or anything. I mean an hour before she is usually fed Lillabelle will jump on the bed and demand that we feed her this second or she will torment us for every second we make her wait. She really is a little princess 😂 🩷
 
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