Best hay for preventing intestinal issues

[Boing]

Last night Cincinnati refused to eat or drink anything.  He stayed in awkward positions, had glazed eyes and actually had seizures.  It was really late (I got home late, as I worked the evening shift), the vet was closed and the emergency vet in town doesn’t see rabbits.  I stayed up with him, massaged him, and encouraged him to move.  I could actually feel a blob that didn’t used to be there.  Eventually he passed some normal looking pills.  He is shedding a lot, but gets a healthy diet of timothy hay, greens and pellets.  Since I wasn’t sure about what to feed him, I put every food rabbits can eat out.  He had a real bunny buffet (it was gone by dawn).  Should I feed him different hay when he’s shedding?  Is there a better veggie to offer him?  For those of you with rabbits prone to these issues, have you found that certain types of hay provide better roughage to deal with such issues, or that certain greens help?  Thank you!

[Robert]

Sounds like it was the fur that caused the issue for the most part, I would suggest brushing your bun every couple days before a diet change is in order

As for hay though a Timothy is great, if your bun is eating it then I wouldn’t worry about finding any other type at this time

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

When a rabbit is in tummy trouble-feed them whatever they will eat. -you did good!
To prevent tummy trouble-make sure they eat tons of hay. Brush often during sheds, always have fresh appetizing water.

Also maybe get his teeth checked-tummy trouble can often be a first symptom.

[JackRabbit]

It sounds like his diet is fine.

When it comes to hay, whatever kind (timothy, orchard, oat hay), whatever your bunny will eat is the best kind. If you’re lucky enough to have a bunny who will eat any kind of hay, 1st cutting is going to be the highest in fiber (leafy and stalky), followed by 2nd cutting (more leaf and less stalk than 1st cutting; softer), and last is 3rd cutting (almost all leaf, very little if any stalk; super soft). In the US, timothy is normally the easiest to find and therefore the most popular. Orchard grass hay is sweeter than timothy, and can be found in 1st and 2nd cutting with the 2nd cutting usually easier to find. Orchard grass hay has less fiber than timothy, but many buns will prefer it because of the sweeter taste (especially picky buns) and may eat more so they get just as much fiber. Oat hay has alot of fiber just by the nature of the blade. My bunnies love the oat hay tops (seedheads) but won’t eat the blade/stalk. I try to give all of mine a mix — mine eat the most hay when its a mix of 2nd cutting timothy and 2nd cutting orchard. I give oat hay tops as a treat — while these are high in fiber and nutrition, they are also high in calories.

[Megabunny]

Awesome job getting him through the night and taking care of a deadly problem so quickly and efficiently! Wow!!!

[Boing]

Thank you for your replies!

I’ve started to brush him more regularly – he’s not very fond of it. I still can’t do his stomach. His teeth were fine at his last check up, in late summer. He does get 1st cut timothy. The info on kinds of hay is particularly useful! I’m going to try oat hay. I like the idea of feeding a mix. He would probably eat the stalks. He likes to try new food.

[JackRabbit]

You can usually find Oxbow oat hat in small bags at pet supply stores and online. The only place I know of that has oat hay in bulk is Sierra Valley Pet Hay online. I buy oat hay from them and really like the quality and lots of oat hay tops. I would try the small bags first because SVPH is alot of hay if your bunny doesn’t like the oat hay!

[JackRabbit]

Also, if your bunny likes 1st cut tim then he probably will eat the oat hay stalks.

[Boing]

I picked up a small bag of oat hay, and fed some to my rabbit. He devoured it! I think he thinks that it’s a treat or something. I’ve decided to supplement his regular timothy hay with it when he’s shedding. I think he likes it more than some veggies! It’s amazing. He ate every last stalk. What a great suggestion.

[JackRabbit]

Glad he liked the oat hay. I wish mine would eat the stalks!

[Author]

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