A pet that has become very popular recently is the rabbit, which is unsurprising because it conveys a lot of tenderness with its large eyes, round cheeks, and characteristic long ears. But what is your diet? What does it feed on? Because it is a strictly herbivorous mammal, its diet is based on foods of plant origin, such as grains, fodder, fruits, and vegetables. Timothy Hay for rabbits is the leading food for these animals, along with specially designed feeds for them. Choosing Oxbow hay in Australia is the perfect way to ensure they get all the necessary nutrients.
It is important to remember that these animals are adapted to a high-fiber, low-energy diet to ensure that your rabbits are well-fed. Therefore, its primary food is grass. Today, the leading cause of diseases in domestic rabbits is incorrect feeding. So, remember that the fundamental food for your long-eared pets is hay. What kind of hay is given to rabbits based on the fact that there are different types of hay for rabbits? It is likely that taking dogs and cats as a reference, people think that the leading food that they should give rabbits is exceptional.
Choose Timothy Hay for Rabbits
Although important in their diet, the basis should always be hay for rabbits, making up nothing more and nothing less than 80% of the daily feed. The food sold in pet stores contains various herbs and dietary supplements necessary for your pet’s health. However, for your rabbit to be happy and not acquire any physical problems, it must always have Timothy Hay for rabbits available. It would help if you did not forget that rabbits in the wild feed mainly on grass, so these animals’ digestive systems specialize in breaking down fiber-rich vegetation.
Hay is grass cut when its color is still green and has subsequently been dried. Therefore, hay helps these small mammals have healthy intestinal transit. In unique literature and on the websites of rabbit breeders, the issue of feeding animals is often discussed; in particular, Oxbow hay Australia is needed for rabbits, which is better purchased or prepared independently. In conditions of full-fledged development, it is necessary to ensure nutrition is no worse and even better than natural food. To understand the problem, you need to know the biological characteristics of these animals.
The Way You Feed Your Rabbit
Rabbits belong to the order of rodents; they feed on plant food, both rough (hay, grain, tree branches, and bark) and succulent (green grass, roots). Like all herbivores from Australia, their intestines are very long and have special outgrowths where the fibers are broken down under the influence of bacteria. As a result, the nutrients and vitamins necessary for the rabbit’s body are formed. The dry grass is used for food, and the rabbits make a nest before hatching. Feeding a rabbit high-fiber food will make it feel hungry, even if it receives a sufficient amount of other food.
In addition, rodents’ teeth grow throughout their lives, and rabbits grind them by eating coarse food. Without such food, they gnaw cages or furniture if the rabbit is decorative and you keep it as a pet. If you care about preserving wooden objects, Oxbow hay, and dry grass should always be in the rabbit’s cage. The dry grass is used for food, and the rabbits make a nest before hatching. Digging in it and picking the tasty leaves is a favorite animal pastime.
Even if you feed your rabbits an exceptional compound food with vitamins and minerals, which is much more expensive than hay, it is necessary to give this product for good health. Rabbits are susceptible to food quality, so harvesting hay for them differs in some features. If you have a rabbit farm and Timothy Hay for rabbits is bought or harvested in large quantities, you should know that the most suitable for feeding these animals is meadow grass, dried for several days on the slope and creamed in small cones.
Bean Hay Is Very Nutritious and Has a Lactation Effect
Hay is stored in ventilated sheds or under a canopy. You cannot give animals moldy or frozen food – it can lead to death. In addition, it should not contain fine abrasion and dust; rabbits’ respiratory systems are susceptible to these, which can cause rhinitis. Before feeding such grass, it can be shaken with a fork in a room separated from the cells and sprinkled with water. An adult rabbit needs up to 300 g of such feed daily, and a young one (3-4 months) needs 100-150 g. Some rabbit breeders specifically grow vegetables to make bean hay.
It is very nutritious but must be given together with grain or fodder so the animals do not have intestinal bloat. Legumes mixed with wheatgrass have a milk-inducing effect; they are given to lactating rabbits. Nettle Oxbow hay is very useful. It is harvested before the plant flowers in May when the nettle stalks have not yet thickened. Fresh dried nettles in large quantities can cause indigestion in rabbits, and nettle hay, which is rich in vitamins, has no such effect. If you have several rabbits or pets, preparing separate hay for them is better.
Food Pyramid for Rabbits
If the plant is unfamiliar to you, it is better not to add it to the collection for your pets. Rabbit food should be varied. The animals in Australia are fed mainly with dry grass in the summer; in the winter, the amount of grain, preferably crushed, combined fodder increases in the diet, and juicy roots, fruits, or potato peels are introduced into it, but in small quantities. But hay should be included in the diet all year round. The only exception is during fattening a week or two before slaughter; its amount is reduced to a minimum.
In case of indigestion, give a few stalks of dill, wormwood, or chicory. It is better to keep the Timothy Hay for rabbits in a particular feeder or hang it from the ceiling of the cage. Otherwise, it can be contaminated with excrement, leading to illness. Be sure to let the grass dry overnight; rabbits are pretty voracious and can eat up to 30 times a day. Along with hay, there should always be water and licking salt in the cells. Hay is high in potassium, and rodents, like other herbivores, need the sodium found in rock salt to neutralize it.