Hay
Hay occupies no more, no less than 80% of our diet, we should eat a lot of hay, it is what will make our system work and that our teeth do not grow too much.
It is also a great help in preventing GI, Gastrointestinal stasis, when we are eating hay our system is working and it helps not to slow down so there is no blockage or stasis, besides it is the only thing along with a lot of water that helps drain the fur at the time of moulting (no, malt paste and pineapple do not work, they only do harm, check here if you have not seen).
Another thing you should know is that we love to chew and gnaw and when we have hay available this will be channelled towards it and not towards appetizing table legs, doors, shoes, that sort of thing.
To give you an idea, the minimum we should eat of hay is the equivalent of our size, less than that is not good, but if it is more it´s not a problem.
Hay should be available for us to eat 24h/day, always there for us to eat.
I often see difficulties with hay, so I created the rule of the 4 important points of hay:
1- Green Hay , the hay has to be green and fragrant (this last part is not always possible, but even if it is just a little bit, it has to be fragrant)
2- Long hay strands, the hay must be long and not crushed or broken, a good hay has long strands
3- Rich in Fiber , the hay that has the most fiber and that helps us the most and that in turn must be the one that we eat the most.
4- Not having too much dust or bugs , we all know that in nature there are bugs, however hay that comes with a lot of dust in the bottom tends to be a paradise for bugs, these bugs later come to us and we are all itchy.
So now that you understand the science behind good hay, let's get to the second part.
Within the 100% of hay that we should eat daily, 80% of that hay should be high fibre hay, such as Timothy or Orchad and the remaining 20% complementary hay or hay with less fibre.
The hay that contains the highest percentage of fibre makes our poop look golden, like gold nuggets.
Then there is all the other hays that are called complementary, they are Bio, Oat, Meadow, Festuca, etc.
All these complementary hays are also good for us, however the percentage of fibre is lower so it does not make our bowels work as well as one with higher fibre content.
Very important to have in mind is that each hay has its own flavour, aroma and density, not all are hard, not all are very fragrant, however they all have to be very green!
You must avoid (my countrymen will hate me for this, but I have to...), hay with carrots, apples, bananas, etc. These hays will not make us eat more hay, in fact they will make us chase the treats and leave the rest.
If you want to bet on a hay with "additives" try the ones with herbs that we usually eat (check in the herbs tab what is good for us).
In Brazil for example, (or other countries in Latin America or even in other parts of the world), there is no Timothy hay and my Brazilian friends do not die or get problems in their teeth because of it, they eat a very good hay there which is Tifon and Coast Cross.
And I say this why?
Because although it is important to eat Timothy hay because of its high fibre content and because it is the best hay to help wear down the back teeth, if the bunny does not eat Timothy hay nothing bad will happen to him, you just have to be more careful that he continues to ingest a good amount of fibre and that he has enough hay to wear down the teeth.
Another doubt that you humans also often have is the cuts.
I see a lot of questions about the difference between the first and second cut.
So, all hay has 2 cuts (sometimes even 3), as they are the result of being cut at different times/heights of hay growth, for example, Timothy, what is sold around, as a rule, the 1st cut, richer in fibre and poor in protein, Long, hard, light green strands, which make a very good noise when we eat it, it is the most suitable for wearing out the back teeth, because, as it is harder, it makes us chew more and more often, thus wearing out the teeth. The second cut is darker and softer and the strands can be shorter. It has less fibre and more protein and is normally used for rabbits which have issues with their teeth and need to eat Timothy but cannot eat the first cut. Then there is the third cut which is very rare here but well known in Europe, this cut is very low in fibre but very high in protein and even has some fat, it is often used to help rabbits which need to be on a diet, which are sick and cannot eat very well, or even with teething problems...
Also in complementary hay there are several cuts, as a rule the first cut is always the hardest and the second the softest but they are both very tasty.
The trick is to always have a variety of hay to offer your bunny, the proportion will always be 80% very rich in fibre and 20% complementary, it can be offered mixed, however there are some bunnies which get busy choosing and end up spoiling a lot of hay, in these cases the best it´s offer only one variety at a time and when it is finished offer the other.
