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03 Dec 2023

Why Timothy Hay Is The Best Food For Rabbits?

Posted By : Guest

Filed Under : Timothy Hay | Rabbit Food | Bunny Nature | Newhay | Rabbits

Vets report that four out of five rabbits or guinea pigs that come into their practice have a health problem that is directly related to poor diet. Common ailments are constipation, overgrown teeth, obesity and other problems related to these primary issues.

The good news is that many of these are easily prevented if owners understood a bit more about what their pet rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas should be eating and why.

A day in the life of a wild rabbit

Consider a day in the life of a wild rabbit. He would spend 70% of his time above ground searching out or 'foraging' for food while keeping a beady eye out for predators, to make sure he wasn't going to end up as someone else's dinner! As a ground feeder, his diet would be mainly made up of grasses, hay, herbs and bark - all high fibre foods! He couldn't climb trees to get fruit, and he wouldn't actually go around digging up carrots either. His territory would be the equivalent of around 30 tennis courts meaning he'd get a lot of exercise every day searching out food across that area.

The rabbit's whole existence has evolved around this high fibre diet.

Indigestible Fibre

Firstly the rabbit's digestive system needs to be kept moving. This is one reason why the rabbit constantly nibbles on grass, hay and bark; the larger stalkier bits known as 'indigestible' fibre help to keep the gut moving along nicely (the same way bran flakes would do for you and I). If the rabbit doesn't get enough 'indigestible' fibre he becomes constipated (the same as we do without enough fibre), but unfortunately in a rabbit the consequences of constipation are fatal.

Secondly, fibre helps the rabbit to maintain the right balance of 'friendly' bacteria in his digestive system.

Digestible Fibre

The smaller, juicier fibre particles from grass and hay known as 'digestible' fibre are sent to the rabbit's caecum (the appendix to you and me). In this giant appendix are bacteria, which break the 'digestible fibre' down into volatile fatty acids, more bacteria and vitamins. This is a process known as fermentation.

At certain times of day the caecum expels this mucus covered fermented soup as clumps of tiny sticky droppings called caecotrophs (which now contain lots of lovely nutrients - rather like the 'yakult' of the rabbit world) that the rabbit eats straight from his bottom. (You might have seen your rabbit doing this but thought he was just cleaning himself).

Once in the stomach, acid dissolves the mucus around these caecotrophs, and then kills the bacteria, so that the rabbit can digest all the remaining products and nutrients. This whole cycle is perfectly balanced and dependent on the rabbit getting all the 'digestible' fibre that it needs. Without all that 'digestible' fibre the cycle is upset and the consequences can lead to bloating and even anorexia, which are all just as dangerous as constipation.

Growing Teeth

Nibbling all that hay and bark all day in the wild has a second benefit to the rabbit too. Their teeth constantly grow (up to 12cm in a year) and so have to be worn down, otherwise they become too long and it becomes painful for the rabbit to eat.

As we know if a rabbit stops eating and this applies to guinea pigs and chinchillas as well, his gut will stop moving and this can be fatal. So that is why we need to make sure he has a constant supply of good quality hay to nibble on that is also rich in calcium (such as timothy hay). The nibbling/grinding action of eating the hay keeps the teeth worn down and the calcium helps to keep teeth and jaw structure strong.

Foraging for hay, grass and herbs is what keeps the rabbit busy and occupied in the wild, and this is no different for our domestic pets. Let's face it - it must get very boring sitting in a hutch for most of the day!

So giving our pet rabbits something to do is very important to prevent them developing behavioural problems. Hiding hay and healthy herbs as well as occasional greens around their hutch encourages rabbits to work a bit harder for their food, keeping them occupied and exercised (of course it's essential to give them lots of additional exercise out of the hutch too).

Hopefully it is becoming clear why high levels of fibre are so important to a rabbit's digestive, dental and emotional health?

The problems with muesli style foods

Historically rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas have been fed the muesli type foods without any additional hay or grass. Some of these muesli foods even claim on packaging that it is a complete diet and feeding of hay is not necessary. These foods can be quite high in starch and sugar, and the elements that are really healthy, like the grass pellets often get left behind - as rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas (like children) will tend to choose the 'sweetie' like bits. This means they get an imbalanced diet, and miss out on essential fibre and other important vitamins and minerals.

Muesli foods are also low in fibre and causes your pet to consume less hay and water which slows down gut motility. Recent scientific studies in April 2013 have shown that muesli is now the major cause of deadly urinary tract infections, digestive and dental diseases.

The digestibility factor of different types of hay

As with most foods, different types of hay are not identical in structure and nutrient content. This is especially true for timothy hay, teff hay and alfalfa hay. The reason why timothy hay is so popular is because it has a high digestibility factor.

Let's say for the sake of comparison, that you are feeding your rabbit a portion of a 2nd cutting timothy hay that was cut when the plant was relatively immature, the nutrition and digestibility are high, and the cellulose content is low. Your rabbit would be able to digest more of the nutrients out of this hay and would achieve maintenance or weight gain depending upon the size of the servings and the dynamics of this particular animal and his environment or work load.

If this same field of hay had been allowed to grow for another week, for example, the indigestible portion of the plant would have increased, making the hay less nutritious and less palatable, and the amount of digestible energy that the animal is able to extract from that hay is decreased. It would now become necessary to feed a larger size portion of this more mature hay to achieve the same maintenance levels for your pet.

This digestibility factor is the determining factor as to how much "good" your rabbit will get out of a particular type of hay. You can feed a large volume of hay that is low on the digestibility scale and keep the rabbit at his ideal body weight, but if feeding a highly digestible hay (hay that has a high RFD and is high in nutrients) one would obviously need to feed a smaller amount to maintain the rabbit at his ideal body weight. Within the confines of each cutting (1st, 2nd, 3rd) it is possible to have varying percentages of "digestibility" depending upon the stage of maturity of the plant at the time of harvesting.

Which is better, locally produced teff hay or imported timothy hay?

Hay should be green in colour, with a pleasant aroma. A very sickly smell can indicate overheating and is to be avoided. Avoid hays that are more “straw” like in colour, as this can indicate excessive sun exposure. This will reduce the hay’s nutritional value in terms of vitamins and minerals. Brown hay should also be avoided as it can indicate rain damage.

Another way to assess hay is to look at the leaves and stems. The leaves have a higher level of digestible nutrients than the stems and thus a larger leaf content is desirable. If the hay has a higher proportion of rough, thick stems and a very low leaf content, it generally points towards a less nutritious batch.

Teff hay is very popular in South Africa because it is affordable and locally produced. Teff hay is often very palatable and provide a good amount of fibre without providing too high an energy value. The major disadvantage of teff hay is that the nutritional value can range hugely from good to extremely poor quality. The quality will ultimately depend upon stage of growth when cut, fertilization, and environmental factors. Always be selective when buying teff hay carefully looking for optimum harvesting stage, colour and leaf to stem ratio.

Timothy hay is much more expensive because it is imported from UK, Germany and USA. Timothy hay is a lot greener in colour and is very rich in protein, vitamins and minerals when compared to our local teff hay, and the reason why it is slowly gaining popularity in South Africa. Timothy hay is an ideal food for rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas because of its abrasive, long strands which help to keep the animal’s teeth worn down and because it is high in digestible fibre, it meets the nutritional demands of these small animals perfectly.

Now there are big differences in the quality of even imported timothy hay... and our job is to provide only the best hay. We need to pay meticulous attention to biodiversity, cutting times, mowing, gentle drying and hand-picked packaging of hay. All these many countless individual stages in the process, will ensure the best hay quality. The best hay is produced by means of gentle machine drying process ( packaged within 48 hours after harvesting) instead of traditionally sun-dried process.

Bunny Nature FreshGrass hay from Germany is unique machine-dried meadow hay because it contains a mixture of different plants and herbs which is bursting with different tasty flavours and nutrients for rabbits. This product offers the highest quality with maximum plant diversity containing plants such as: timothy grass, meadow fescue, meadow foxtail, ryegrass, red fescue, bluegrass, bentgrass, cocksfoot, creeping red fescue, german ryegrass, dandelion, silverweed, chickweed, yarrow, ribwort, white clover, red clover, birdsfood trefoil.

Not only that, but, because the grass naturally resists drought, it clings to its nutrients once it has been harvested and packaged for sale. This hay also retains a sweet, meadowy smell that lingers, meaning that feeding your rabbit is a pleasant experience for everyone.

Newhay have developed their unique British-grown timothay hay products which we like to think of it as a new fragrant "superfood" for rabbits! Exclusively grown for feeding, every step of the harvesting process is designed to keep the hay as dry, fresh and green as possible. The crop is turned several times a day, machine dried and stored in dark, closed barns – with the whole process from field to pack taking just 48 hours. In fact, it’s so good; it’s even used to feed racehorses.

Rabbits have exceptionally sensitive digestive systems. There are simply a lot of things that rabbits cannot digest, and, therefore, should not eat. And, once your rabbit has adjusted to a particular type of hay, it is rather uncomfortable for them to switch to another food. Responsible rabbit breeders are aware of this and will start baby bunnies off on the food that is best for them. And, once again, the answer to that question is timothy hay.

This is just one more of the reasons that your pet should be fed on timothy hay from the moment you bring her home. And, if she has had another diet, then it is a brilliant idea to switch her over to timothy hay soonest as there are some foods that negatively affect rabbits.

There are just a few quick tips to feeding your rabbits. Each one of your bunnies needs a pile of timothy hay as large as himself, and they need this amount every day. You can always give them a little extra, but you should never give them any less.

Timothy hay is the most crucial part of a rabbit’s diet; anything else needs to be considered additionally. This includes leafy green vegetables, such as kale and spinach and of course, fresh water. Specially formulated treats are also not a bad idea, but only if they were specifically produced for rabbits. Although you may want to treat your pet to a carrot, try not to do this too often, as they have plenty of sugar.

Treats should be packed full of fibre and should include ingredients they would find in the wild. Bunny Nature Botanicals consists of many unique plant, flower and herbal mixtures that was carefully developed by veterinarians. Only the best plant components, which are pure and intense in flavour, are being used. These Botanicals are available in various delicious flavours that can be either fed as a snack to greatly enrich the daily diet, or it can be merged into a complete diet.

Treats can also be a good way of knowing if your rabbit is sick. If you know their favourite food and they always come running out to get their daily treat, you’ll know there is something wrong when they refuse to eat it. It’s a big sign that it’s time to get your furry pet to a vet.

The wide range of Bunny Nature treats offers healthy and nutritious snacks that are high in beneficial fibre, promote emotional health and prevent boredom. The Bunny Nature snacks are made with natural ingredients and can be fed daily, thus supporting bonding experiences with pet owners.

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