Rabbits need to chew, and a large part of a balanced rabbit diet is hay and grasses. Rabbits younger than a year should be offered alfalfa hay. As they mature, they no longer need the amount of calcium in alfalfa, so it's best to switch them to Timothy grass and other feed grasses that continue to provide the fiber their systems require.
The base of a rabbit food pyramid actually isn't filled by pellets. The most important ingredient to a healthy rabbit's diet is hay. Fresh hay should be provided to rabbits at all times so they can graze when they please. (See the real rabbit food pyramid in a PDF created by the San Diego House Rabbit Society.)
Fiber for Digestion
Rabbits have digestive tracts that are specially adapted to break down fibrous vegetation. Hay provides the fiber necessary to keep their digestive systems healthy and motile. A disruption to a rabbit's digestive cycle can cause gastrointestinal (GI) stasis, a condition in which the contents of the digestive tract become compact, and the rabbit has difficulty passing the mass through. Providing unlimited, fresh hay helps deter this serious, potentially deadly condition.
Roughage for Dental Health
Not only is hay necessary for good digestive health, it also wears down rabbits' teeth, which continuously grow. Regular hay consumption helps prevent rabbits from developing sharp hooks on their teeth known as molar spurs. Molar spurs can be very painful, causing rabbits to stop eating. Once this happens, GI stasis can occur.
Rabbit's Hay
For baby bunnies, alfalfa provides the high caloric content necessary for their development. Once rabbits reach seven months of age, gradually switch them over to timothy, orchard grass, and/or oat hay. For people with allergies, look for the second cutting of hay. When harvesting hay, the first cutting is a coarser hay that includes a lot of stems and seed heads (and inevitably, a lot of pollen). The second cutting consists of a softer hay that includes more leaves and fewer stems and seed heads, thereby reducing people's allergic reactions significantly.
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