MyRabbits
Well-Known Member
I almost feel as if I should put a "Trigger" notice or warning on this. I am thinking that I may somehow step on some toes in my ignorance on this subject matter.
Our vet seems to think that rabbits can never have too much hay. He would actually like me to seriously limit my house rabbits' pellets so as to force them to eat more hay. Of my four house rabbits, none have particularly liked hay from early childhood. I don't know how to explain it any better than that. They eat very little hay. They eat far less hay per day than my sisters' house rabbits, for instance. One of my house rabbits, Dorcas (how I love that little girl!) has apparently developed "points" on her teeth, indicating that she does need more hay in her diet to keep the teeth from growing painfully into her cheek area. So this time around I have been diligently placing hay in all litter and sitting pans as well as in the hayrack. I am even spritzing it with apple juice to give it an attractive aroma. This does seem to be helping.
From reading the ARBA Official Guide Book: Raising Better Rabbits and Cavies, it is clear that a lot of nutritional and show science can go into the decision of the mix of hay you want in the animals' overall diet. I am leaning toward going from having free feed for the rabbits to just giving pellets in the evening and then their daily kale (our vet really pushes 1 C. greens per day per rabbit as a minimum) and other treats in the morning, with hay being steadily available throughout. At present, I only feed them Orchard Grass and a little bit of Oat Hay because they will not touch the Timothy Hay (with the exception of Suzette, our breeding doe, who seems to love any and all hay and to eat it in abundant amounts). I am thinking that the Orchard Grass is probably a little deficient in nutrition in comparison with other hays. That makes me wonder if I shouldn't be limiting the hay consumption after all, but then I worry that the vet's prognosis on Dorcas' teeth will come true and that she will start having painful mouth difficulties.
Any thoughts on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Also, in case it makes a difference -- we live in Maryland, a temperate clime. Suzette and the kits we get from her will be outdoor rabbits. I am thinking that in wintertime, too, we will be giving lots of hay to use as insulating material against the chill. . .
Our vet seems to think that rabbits can never have too much hay. He would actually like me to seriously limit my house rabbits' pellets so as to force them to eat more hay. Of my four house rabbits, none have particularly liked hay from early childhood. I don't know how to explain it any better than that. They eat very little hay. They eat far less hay per day than my sisters' house rabbits, for instance. One of my house rabbits, Dorcas (how I love that little girl!) has apparently developed "points" on her teeth, indicating that she does need more hay in her diet to keep the teeth from growing painfully into her cheek area. So this time around I have been diligently placing hay in all litter and sitting pans as well as in the hayrack. I am even spritzing it with apple juice to give it an attractive aroma. This does seem to be helping.
From reading the ARBA Official Guide Book: Raising Better Rabbits and Cavies, it is clear that a lot of nutritional and show science can go into the decision of the mix of hay you want in the animals' overall diet. I am leaning toward going from having free feed for the rabbits to just giving pellets in the evening and then their daily kale (our vet really pushes 1 C. greens per day per rabbit as a minimum) and other treats in the morning, with hay being steadily available throughout. At present, I only feed them Orchard Grass and a little bit of Oat Hay because they will not touch the Timothy Hay (with the exception of Suzette, our breeding doe, who seems to love any and all hay and to eat it in abundant amounts). I am thinking that the Orchard Grass is probably a little deficient in nutrition in comparison with other hays. That makes me wonder if I shouldn't be limiting the hay consumption after all, but then I worry that the vet's prognosis on Dorcas' teeth will come true and that she will start having painful mouth difficulties.
Any thoughts on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Also, in case it makes a difference -- we live in Maryland, a temperate clime. Suzette and the kits we get from her will be outdoor rabbits. I am thinking that in wintertime, too, we will be giving lots of hay to use as insulating material against the chill. . .