Bunny Food 102
Hay. Arguably the most important part of your bunny's diet. However, unless you spent your childhood riding horses in tall grass, farming, or on a prairie, hay is just hay. It wasn't until I started ordering hay from all over the country that I started seeing differences. Just like coffee, wine and tea - hay varies in taste, color and nutrients depending on it's origins. That makes sense, right? Different soils, different temperatures, different rain accumulations, organic or with herbicides and fertilizers, sun dried or just dried. It seems like there a limitless number of options. To make it easier to analyze, I've created some categories and added a few pointers and personal experiences. My bunnies have tried quite a few and their favorite was easy to discern. Of course preference varies from bunny to bunny, and I'm not out to convince or sell any particular brand - and I certainly don't get paid for it.
Store bought hay. I have several friends with bunnies that love Oxbow hay. I have to say that it looks good. It's green, it's neat, it's clean. To me it smells like dried grass. Completely unoffensive. Unfortunately, my bunnies would never eat it. They would look at it, shove it around, stand on it, but not eat it.
Farm Hay. There are a lot of choices in this category. You can get hay from local farmers or buy online. Sierra Valley Pet Hay Timothy got a good response from my bunnies, but the oat hay did not. If you don't live in the city, buying local is a fresh and economical option. It's usually easy to locate farms on the internet.
Subscription Services. Small Pet Select opened this market. How nice to get hay delivered to your door in a cute, contained little box. I hear it's pretty good, but my bunnies have never tried it.
Organic Hay. We have tried a few in this category. Sweet Meadow Farm got marginal attention. Farmer Dave's was very well received and a rabbitry favorite. My pregnant does would even nibble at the bedding hay.
What was the overall favorite? One Ear Up. Why? They have many organic choices. You can get a box with multiple varieties of hay. Every kind that I have tried has been received with the same excitement as a banana treat. (In the bunny world, banana = heaven). It smells fresh. It looks fresh. It is exceedingly clean and appears to be hand sifted with little to no dust -great news for owners with a hay allergy. The one downside is that it runs a bit expensive compared to other options. For me, it's worth it.