Kaytee Timothy Hay Plus Variety Bundle

Hay is not bedding. It is the diet.

This is the single most important thing to understand about rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas: unlimited grass hay should make up the great majority of what they eat, every day, for life. Pellets are a supplement to hay, not the other way round.

Two reasons, and both are serious.

Teeth. These animals have continuously growing teeth — incisors and molars both. Grinding through long-strand, abrasive hay for hours a day is what wears them at the rate they grow. Without enough hay, molars develop sharp spurs that cut into the cheek and tongue. Dental disease is one of the most common and most painful conditions in pet rabbits and guinea pigs, it is largely preventable by diet, and treating it means repeated anaesthetics.

Gut. Rabbit and guinea pig digestion depends on a constant flow of long-strand fibre. When that stops, gut motility slows, and in rabbits gastrointestinal stasis is a genuine emergency — a rabbit that has not eaten or passed droppings for twelve hours needs a vet, not a wait-and-see.

A pet that fills up on pellets eats less hay, and both problems follow.

Why timothy rather than alfalfa

Timothy is a grass hay: high fibre, moderate protein, low calcium.

Alfalfa is a legume hay: higher protein, much higher calcium, more calories. That makes it appropriate for growing youngsters and for pregnant or nursing animals, and inappropriate as the staple for a healthy adult. Excess dietary calcium is associated with urinary sludge and bladder stones in rabbits and guinea pigs, which are painful and sometimes surgical.

So: alfalfa for the young, timothy (or orchard, meadow or oat hay) for adults. If your adult rabbit or guinea pig is on alfalfa-based pellets, that is worth reviewing.

How much hay, practically

A pile roughly the size of the animal itself, refreshed daily, is the usual guidance. It should never run out.

Uneaten hay is not waste — animals sort through it, pull out what they like, and sleep in the rest. If you are not throwing some away, you are probably not offering enough.

Quality varies between bales, and that is normal

The listed drawback — "quality can vary" — is honest and it is true of every brand of hay, because hay is an agricultural product. Cut, weather and storage differ between batches.

What good hay looks like:

If a bag arrives yellow, dusty or musty, return it. Feeding poor hay is not a small compromise, because hay is most of the diet.

Dust, and why it matters

Hay is naturally a little dusty, and animals with sensitive airways react to it. Shaking a flake out over the enclosure puts dust straight into the animal's breathing zone.

Shake it out away from the cage and let it settle before putting it in. If a rabbit or guinea pig is sneezing, has a discharge from the nose or eyes, or is breathing noisily, see a vet — respiratory infection in these species is serious and progresses quickly.

Storage, because a large bundle is a lot of hay

The "large package" note is a real consideration. Hay must be stored dry and ventilated, or it moulds.

Vitamin C, for guinea pigs specifically

Guinea pigs, like humans, cannot synthesise vitamin C and must get it from the diet. Deficiency causes scurvy — lethargy, a rough coat, joint pain, reluctance to move, and poor healing.

Hay does not provide it. Guinea pigs need a daily source: fresh vegetables such as bell pepper, and a stabilised vitamin C supplement or fortified guinea pig pellets. Vitamin C degrades quickly, so pellets that have been open a long time may have lost much of theirs. Do not rely on vitamin drops in the water bottle — they degrade fast and put the animal off drinking.

Who should look elsewhere

If your animal is a growing youngster, pregnant or nursing, alfalfa is the appropriate hay for that stage. If your rabbit or guinea pig is refusing hay it previously ate, that is a veterinary sign — dental pain is a common cause — and not a reason to change brands. And if anyone in the house has a hay allergy, orchard grass is often better tolerated than timothy.