tundrakatiebean
Well-Known Member
I am writing a paper for school (analysis paper) on why hay is essential to a rabbit's diet. We're allowed to chose all our own topics, I'm writing EVERYTHING about bunnies 
. It can only be a page and a half double spaced so I had to dumb everything down more than I would have liked. but this is what I pumped out on the first time through. I wanted to get everyone's opinions on this that I should take out and put in, if I worded something oddly, if I got some info wrong or anything like that. So here it is:
Although often adored for their cute and cuddly nature, the domestic rabbit often falls prey to bad handling and care. This neglect is not out of any maliciousness, but out of lack of good and easily available information. Domestic rabbits have switched from meat and fur animals to beloved pets only in the last few decades. This new phenomena has resulted in a majority of the information on raising and caring for being targeted towards breeders making it difficult for other people to understand information vital to their petâs health and diet. A rabbitâs diet must be a combination of many parts to make a balanced whole and must be carefully monitored to keep a rabbit happy and healthy. The most important part for a healthy rabbit is choosing the correct hay.
The most essential part of a rabbitâs diet is hay. There are many different kinds of hay that rabbits can enjoy and some that should only be fed sparingly. The most basic choices offered by your pet store will be alfalfa hay or timothy hay. Alfalfa is often fed to younger rabbits (from when they start eating solid foods to about one year) because of a high amount of protein and calcium to help with the growing bones and muscles of a baby bunny. In many older rabbits the excess calcium can cause âbladder sludgeâ which occurs when there is too much calcium to be passed easily through the urine and gets stuck in the bladder. The high amount of protein can also cause small digestion issues since a rabbitâs digestion system is not built to break down proteins.
Timothy hay is better for older rabbits (above one year) because it has less calcium and protein and more fiber. If your rabbit is not fond of timothy hay you can also try feeding them oat hay, which also has high fiber content but it often deemed tastier by the digester. Other acceptable alternatives for adults include Bermuda grass, fresh grass hay, Brome hay, and Orchard Grass. These kinds of hays are not often available at regular pet stores, but are often available at feed stores and directly from local farmers.
The reason hay is so essential to a rabbitâs diet is, firstly, because of the high content of fiber. The fiber keeps the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) moving. When the GI tract stops moving (often called GI stasis) a rabbit can die because of the blockage. Secondly, hay keeps a rabbitâs teeth trimmed. Rabbit teeth continue growing their entire lives; if teeth are not naturally trimmed by hay a visit to a veterinary to have them filed or trimmed by surgery will be necessary and often expensive, not to mention uncomfortable for the rabbit.
Hay is an extremely important part of any rabbitâs diet, but especially important to house rabbitâs who donât have access to fresh grass like outdoor and wild rabbits do. Hay not only replaces the fresh grass rabbits would eat in the wild, but keeps them happy, healthy, and care free in the case of their stomach and their teeth. And although a rabbitâs diet can be complicated to balance once a hay is decided upon, both by the rabbit and the owner, an easy way to a healthy diet can be determined.
. It can only be a page and a half double spaced so I had to dumb everything down more than I would have liked. but this is what I pumped out on the first time through. I wanted to get everyone's opinions on this that I should take out and put in, if I worded something oddly, if I got some info wrong or anything like that. So here it is:Although often adored for their cute and cuddly nature, the domestic rabbit often falls prey to bad handling and care. This neglect is not out of any maliciousness, but out of lack of good and easily available information. Domestic rabbits have switched from meat and fur animals to beloved pets only in the last few decades. This new phenomena has resulted in a majority of the information on raising and caring for being targeted towards breeders making it difficult for other people to understand information vital to their petâs health and diet. A rabbitâs diet must be a combination of many parts to make a balanced whole and must be carefully monitored to keep a rabbit happy and healthy. The most important part for a healthy rabbit is choosing the correct hay.
The most essential part of a rabbitâs diet is hay. There are many different kinds of hay that rabbits can enjoy and some that should only be fed sparingly. The most basic choices offered by your pet store will be alfalfa hay or timothy hay. Alfalfa is often fed to younger rabbits (from when they start eating solid foods to about one year) because of a high amount of protein and calcium to help with the growing bones and muscles of a baby bunny. In many older rabbits the excess calcium can cause âbladder sludgeâ which occurs when there is too much calcium to be passed easily through the urine and gets stuck in the bladder. The high amount of protein can also cause small digestion issues since a rabbitâs digestion system is not built to break down proteins.
Timothy hay is better for older rabbits (above one year) because it has less calcium and protein and more fiber. If your rabbit is not fond of timothy hay you can also try feeding them oat hay, which also has high fiber content but it often deemed tastier by the digester. Other acceptable alternatives for adults include Bermuda grass, fresh grass hay, Brome hay, and Orchard Grass. These kinds of hays are not often available at regular pet stores, but are often available at feed stores and directly from local farmers.
The reason hay is so essential to a rabbitâs diet is, firstly, because of the high content of fiber. The fiber keeps the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) moving. When the GI tract stops moving (often called GI stasis) a rabbit can die because of the blockage. Secondly, hay keeps a rabbitâs teeth trimmed. Rabbit teeth continue growing their entire lives; if teeth are not naturally trimmed by hay a visit to a veterinary to have them filed or trimmed by surgery will be necessary and often expensive, not to mention uncomfortable for the rabbit.
Hay is an extremely important part of any rabbitâs diet, but especially important to house rabbitâs who donât have access to fresh grass like outdoor and wild rabbits do. Hay not only replaces the fresh grass rabbits would eat in the wild, but keeps them happy, healthy, and care free in the case of their stomach and their teeth. And although a rabbitâs diet can be complicated to balance once a hay is decided upon, both by the rabbit and the owner, an easy way to a healthy diet can be determined.
