Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail; as children we
grew up falling in love with rabbits. As
adults, it is even easier to love pet rabbits with their impatient thumps,
general love of fun and a bit of tender reserve too. Although your beautiful bunny loves you to
bits, there is one thing they may love even more... and that is timothy hay.
It certainly sounds like a strange thing to
love, until you consider how much dogs drool over a piece of steak, or you crave
a cheesy slice of pizza or the curry from the shop down the road. Okay, maybe your feelings for food are nowhere
close to love, but for your rabbit, they might be.
Timothy
Hay Is Bursting with Fibre
That is unlikely to evoke any celebration
from you, but plenty of fibre is fantastic news for your rabbit. Far more than simply being herbivores,
rabbits fall into a special category of animals known as fibrevores. Their entire digestive systems are created around
the need for fibre. Now, that is obviously
because rabbits are ground animals and grasses (which are filled with fibre)
are widely available at that level.
There are two different types of fibre – digestible
and indigestible - and rabbits need both.
Fortunately, timothy hay is packed with both of these. The two types of fibre work in tandem based
on the two-part digestion system that all fibrevores have. Indigestible fibre simply passes through the body,
which enables it to work effectively and stimulates rabbits to continue munching
on their timothy hay.
Because rabbits cannot extract all the
benefits of digestible fibre the first time it passes through their system, the
second part of their digestive system involves an appendix like organ called
the caecum. This is where the digestible
fibre heads once it has been broken down in the stomach. Here, it ferments making it easier to extract
the digestible fibre. When ready, it is excreted
in the form of caecotrophs, which look entirely different from a rabbit’s waste
faeces. Rabbits eat their caecotrophs;
this time pulling all the goodness of the fibre within.
And, the part about timothy hay that they love
so much? It has the right amount of both
digestible and indigestible fibre which means rabbits will be as healthy as
they can – just from eating the right food.
Timothy
Hay Is Perfect for Oral Hygiene
Rabbits do not need to brush their teeth,
but that does not mean they do not require dental attention. After all, rabbits have teeth that continue
to grow throughout their lives. If these
are not worn down, they simply sharpen into points. And, as a rabbit attempts to chew with long,
pointy teeth, they fold in on themselves, sticking into the gums. It is hardly a pleasant picture, but
fortunately, it is another one of the reasons that rabbits love their timothy hay.
Unlike other foods that could be given to rabbits,
timothy hay is chewed differently.
Rather than chewing up and down, timothy hay is mashed from side to side
in a rabbit’s mouth. In doing this, they
wear down their teeth appropriately, avoiding all the dangers associated with poor
oral hygiene. Even if they do not
realise that timothy hay does this, rabbits simply love eating it.
Timothy
Hay Has Some Lovely Side Benefits
Timothy makes a sensational addition to any
rabbit home. In fact, once you have the basics
of a hutch and a run, all you need is some piles of timothy hay to dress the place. Your rabbits love it because it is snuggly
and warm. It makes a delightful bed to crawl
into, and offers an easy hiding place for rabbits (which they naturally feel
the need to do when startled). On top of
that, timothy hay smells lovely. It has
a delicious meadow scent to it which wafts throughout the entire enclosure. And that means you will visit your rabbit hutch
more often because there are no awful smells putting you off.
And, when you are not around, showering
your rabbit with affection, timothy hay can become a plaything. Busy rabbits will move it around their hutch
until it is just right. They will happily
shift it from side to side, just making it perfect – and possibly napping in it
when they need a break. And this is one
food that you want your rabbit to play with as it truly keeps them entertained,
and this is always preferable to chewing on the bars of their hutch.
When they are not feeling so playful, timothy
hay can also help with those feelings. A
bit of hay in the mouth helps to soothe nervous rabbits. This is crucial because rabbits become uncomfortable
whenever they hear a sound they do not recognise, or a rat enters their garden. Rabbits become skittish at the drop of a hat,
and if timothy hay helps them to deal with that, then you should love it as
much as they do.
What
You Need to Know about Feeding Your Rabbit Timothy Hay
Rabbits love their timothy hay, and you can
feed them as much as they want. It will
never make them fat, nor will they ever over eat it. One thing you need to do, though, is to make sure
your rabbits have enough of it every day.
Each rabbit that you have needs a pile at least as large as himself to eat. They will probably need a bit more to play
with. Figuring out how much your rabbits
need every day can be a matter of trial and error. Always start with too much and work your way
down. After all, rabbits need timothy hay as much as they love it.
Any other food that you provide for your rabbit should supplement their daily
hay, not replace it. And, if you do have
a bunny who prefers the other food (however unlikely that is), then you need to
be the one to make sure they grow to love their timothy hay the most.
For more information about feeding your
rabbit timothy hay please visit the Burgess Excel website - http://www.burgesspetcare.co.uk/excelfeedingplan/
