No hay diet?

[Marie]

We will have a relative living with us for at least a couple months who is in fragile health.  She has asthma and claims that the hay in my house causes her breathing to be worse, she thinks she is allergic.  How bad is it for a rabbit to be put on a pellet and greens only diet for a few months?  I have researched pellets and I think Sherwood adult pellets (blue bag for picky hay eaters) is my best bet to get him fibre without too many calories.  Does anyone else have other suggestions?  My only other option would be re-homing my bunny or keeping him in my unfinished basement and seeing if the hay doesnt bother her then, both are terrible options…TIA

[Wick & Fable]

The best alternative would be getting fresh grass, which would eliminate the hay dust. Any way you could clip grass?

The reason hay is essential is for cleaning the gut (fiber content) and filing the teeth (hay blades are actually like sand paper; you can’t get this from anything else). A few months without filing down the teeth can be discomforting/painful, even if fiber-wise a substitute is making his gut healthy.

What is your hay storage like?

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Wick & Fable]

Also if you’re using timothy hay, switching to orchard may be a good alternative. Orchard hay is significantly less dusty, and is a fine substitute.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Marie]

Unfortunately I live in Canada so grass is not an option until May. I keep my big box of hay in the basement and bring up a weeks worth at a time in a Tupperware storage container with a lid which I keep beside my bunny’s x-pen. My house is kept very clean and I vacuum around and in the bunny cage at least twice a week and change his litter ( where I fed him hay) every other day.
I use Timothy now, with oat hay occasionaly. I could try Orchard but I just don’t know how to ‘test’ if it’s better without exposing a loved one in compromised health to a potential allergic response..kind of like asking someone’s peanut allergic kid if I can try them with walnuts instead or something….

[Marie]

Is there some other way to get his teeth worn down? Will chew toys or certain treats Do the trick? Have people kept rabbits on pellet only diets and not had teeth issues?

[Wick & Fable]

Not many things involve the comprehensive grinding of those molar spurs like hay and grass….. Hm. I can’t readily think of anything. I’ll ask the other forum leaders to see their thoughts.

It may be that you need to look for the best fiber substitute and monitor for any dental issues. I would suggest trying a bit of the orchard hay to see if it helps though, because it is the most used alternative for those with timothy hay allergies. I would be more concerned if she had an asthma attack from entering your house in the past, but it sounds like she describes it as increased difficulty in breathing, which for a few months would absolutely be stressful and dangerous — I think it’s worth testing, maybe by just having her there when you open a bag of orchard hay and sort of spread it out somewhere? I definitely do not want to belittle her condition and health, but I think a small test wouldn’t be immediately life-threatening, and it could potentially show that orchard hay is a safe alternative for all.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[DanaNM]

Hi there,

Sounds like a tough spot to be in

I would suggest trying orchard. It seems like many people who are allergic to timothy do OK with orchard. I think oat would probably be the most different from Timothy. It also seems like some people are more allergic to the dust in timothy, or some of the molds it can have, vs. the hay itself. Oat might also be a good option, but it tends to be a bit dusty.

The grinding of the teeth happens from the side to side chewing of the long hay strands, so there aren’t really any good substitutes.

I wonder if you could keep bun in your room, and run some extra makeshift hepa filters? I made a filter like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH5APw_SLUU
when there were wildfires in my area to help with the smoke. Perhaps making a couple to put in the bunny room and around the home would be enough?

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Marie]

Ok, maybe I will try a hepa filter and orchard grass hay but keep the hay in the basement only. I can set up a basement cage as I have 2 x pens. Bun bun can be upstairs during the day and evening with access to greens and the Sherwood pellets, and then have his hay during the night in the basement. Maybe that’s the best compromise….? Hopefully it works.
If anyone has any further suggestions I’m open to anything.

[DanaNM]

I wouldn’t want him away from his hay too long, but I think having him come upstairs for exercise would be a good compromise. I think several hours without hay would be OK, but wouldn’t want to go too much longer than 4 at a time.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[FlemishDad]

I would definitely try different hays as allergies to one do not necessarily or even generally transfer to another. Allergists can test for timothy hay allergies and perhaps others as well, so you can see if it really the hay as opposed to amy of a zillion other possibilities.

[Author]

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