Bunny Bedding Alternatives?

[Anianna]

Quote:
If by "hay" you mean yellow straw like comes in big rectangular bails, there is no need to limit it. It has no nutritional content and will not fatten buns up. It's good for bored munching and general roughage. Actual hays, like timothy hay, on the other hand, fed in unlimited quantities can be fattening for rabbits. Most people call straw hay, but it's not truly a hay, so I felt it important to point that out for clarity.

 

[gale65]

Quote:
If by "hay" you mean yellow straw like comes in big rectangular bails, there is no need to limit it. It has no nutritional content and will not fatten buns up. It's good for bored munching and general roughage. Actual hays, like timothy hay, on the other hand, fed in unlimited quantities can be fattening for rabbits. Most people call straw hay, but it's not truly a hay, so I felt it important to point that out for clarity.

no it's hay. We farm (raise cattle and hogs and grow corn, soybeans and wheat) so we can tell the difference.

Our buns are outside and have gotten free choice hay for 2 yrs and so far are nice and slim. They see the vet yearly too. I've heard of limiting or not even giving alfalfa hay but not timothy.

 

[gale65]

Here's a link from the houserabbit society about hay:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#hay

What quantities of food should I feed mature adults? (1 to 5 years)

* Unlimited timothy, grass hay, oat hay, straw
* 1/4 to 1/2 cup pellets per 6 lbs. body weight (depending on metabolism and/or proportionate to veggies)
* Minimum 2 cups chopped vegetables per 6 lbs. body weight
* fruit daily ration no more than 2 oz. (2 TBL) per 6 lbs. body weight.

Our rabbits also get pellets but not much. During the winter they get it free choice (since they need the extra fat to keep warm) but in the spring/summer/fall they get about 1/4 to 1/2 cup each per day. They also get fresh veggies and grass (when we have grass) and whatever other greens are growing and are rabbit-safe.​

 

[Chickencoop1996]

I use hay for all my rabbits.

 

[Anianna]

Interesting. Our buns were getting fat on unlimited timothy hay, so our mentor said to give them straw instead. Now we give them unlimited straw and timothy hay only as an occasional treat and they are no longer overweight.

 

[gale65]

Probably like people, each rabbit is different. Maybe we've been lucky because our rabbits get lots of carrots which a lot of people say make them fat, but that hasn't happened here. We also give them quite a bit of bell pepper, another fatty food (for bunnies).

Our bunnies are going in about 10 days to get spayed. I'm nervous.

 

[Chicken Angel]

I use hay but he doesn't get fat- it's like hay for horses

 

[Akane]

Grass hay should not add fat. It has so little fat it's rarely measured and only about 800kcals/lb. Rabbit pellets run 1200-1500kcals/lb and ~4% fat so which one is making fatter rabbits? Pellets with cheap energy/carb sources like corn are also more likely to put on fat than good muscle tissue. Straw also still contains ~780kcals/lb so you aren't dropping it by much. I'd restrict pellets more first and then switch brands if I was getting fat rabbits rather than changing the grass hay. Generally since we feed unlimited hay and don't need to pay for the fiber in rabbit pellets we just use straight grains or pelleted horse feed instead of rabbit pellets and make sure to provide a mineral block or mix.