Check with your local pet store for timothy hay or other types of grass hay. Oxbow is one good brand. Hay should be stored in a cool, dry place with good air circulation don't close it tightly in a plastic bag - a brown paper bag or pillow case works well. Discard wet or damp hay, or any hay that does not have a "fresh" smell.
One good way to offer the hay is to use hay basket or rack or no waste hay rack, whatever your rabbit prefers. The uncontrolled feeding of a pellet diet can lead to obesity, heat and liver disease, chronic diarrhea, and kidney disease which results from the high concentration of carbohydrates, low fiber, and high calcium levels in the pellets.
Make sure that you buy pellets high in fiber and that you buy small quantities. Keep the pellets cool and dry to prevent spoilage. Old, rancid pellets can cause a rabbit to stop eating. Buy fresh. Do not refill the bowl, even if the pellets are all eaten before the next day. Overfeeding of pellets is a major cause of health problems.
Keep your rabbit healthy by not overfeeding. Rabbits up to 8 months of age can have access to pellets free choice, because they are still growing rapidly. After 8 months of age however they should receive the following maintenance diet:.
Please note that these amounts are for maintenance of the mature rabbit. For rabbits that are pregnant or nursing babies, the pellets should be increased over to free choice until the babies are weaned. After that time, resume feeding at the maintenance levels as listed above. Both hay sources are excellent forages to provide to your herbivores, but there are some differences between them nutritionally. To understand how those differences impact your animals, some background information is needed.
Complete diets for rabbits and other small pets Most diets manufactured for small pets are sold as complete diets. In other words, this diet is formulated in such a way that it can be the sole source of nutrition for your animal and no supplemental hay, veggies or other treats are needed.
Providing treats in small amounts can help you bond with your pet, but overfeeding them may cause nutritional imbalances or lead to obesity. In order to manufacture a complete diet, nutritionists take into account the nutrient requirements of that species. Various ingredients are mixed together so that a diet contains the correct amount of protein, fat, fiber, vitamins and minerals required for optimal health.
Alfalfa hay and timothy hay are different nutritionally Alfalfa hay and timothy hay are both forage sources commonly used in rabbit and guinea pig diets. Nutritionally speaking, however, they are very different. In general, rabbits can eat alfalfa without problems, but at the same time we have to take into account how much alfalfa and alfalfa hay is a particular rabbit fed, because there is something else one needs to take into consideration when feeding his rabbit.
One negative effect of this is that the rabbit in cause might develop urinary stones as their system is built to excrete calcium through urine. So too much Alfalfa hay can lead to excess calcium in their urine, which can further lead to stones. Also, unlike timothy and meadow hays, alfalfa is a legume hay and contains more protein than the first two, which are a type of grass hay. So when feeding a rabbit, one needs to balance their diet with other types of hay or foods so it contains just the right amount of calcium and protein.
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