Feeding, hay or straw

[kassidylangiano]

So my bunny loves his hay but he tends to favour the thicker and tougher strands...

Do you think straw would be better for him or can they not have straw?

 

[Bville]

I don't think straw has the nutritional value that hay does. I use straw for bedding and they do eat a bit of it, but I also give them Timothy hay every day. Where are you getting your hay? Maybe you just need to try a different brand.

 

[JBun]

The tough thick strands are fine for buns to eat. In fact you want a hay with both leaf and stalks. The leaf provides most of the nutrients, the stalks provide indigestible fiber to help with good digestive motility. The mature stalks are also good for tooth wear. So your bun eating the stalks is a good thing, as long as he is also eating some of the leafy strands and is maintaining a healthy weight.

Some straw would be fine, but straw has very limited nutritional value and is mostly indigestible fiber, so you would also need to ensure your bun is getting enough protein and nutrients from other foods if you decided to give him some straw.

 

[kassidylangiano]

Okay! I use Timothy hay, and he goes through a lot of it but I usually find that he pulls in out of his hay rack and onto the floor and then just messes on it and doesn't eat it. I feel like I'm throwing away 3/4 of the bag I buy. And I buy them twice a week and they aren't small bags, they are relatively big...

But he doesn't tend to eat the softer leafy bits. He does get fruit and veg and his pellets so maybe he doesn't need as much nutrients from the hay? I'll stick to hay. I just wondered if straw would be okay. But if it's not as beneficial as hay then I won't bother with it and stick to what I know!


Thank you

 

[squidpop]

My rabbits do that too- they only eat about half of what I give them- but I just go ahead and throw it out and give a new big bunch of fresh hay every day because it makes them so happy.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat:except I'm allergic to timothy so we use orchard grass and use the shop vac to clean up the scattered stuff.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Depending on where you live, you may be able to buy hay in a bale rather than bags from the pet store. This is typically much cheaper, which makes you feel a bit better about the waste! Rabbits are grazers so they select the strands they prefer as they eat. Everything else usually falls by the wayside and isn't as appetizing once it hits the ground. You may find that it helps to give your rabbit less hay at one time, encouraging him to eat more and waste less.