What is the mainstay of a rabbit’s diet? Carrots? Nope! Rabbit pellets? Wrong! The right answer is hay. The RSPCA is spreading the word with a new campaign called Hay Fever!, which educates the public on the right foods to give to their pet rabbits.
According to the RSPCA:
In fact hay and grass are the key components [of a bunny’s diet], and a new study commissioned by the RSPCA shows a lack of hay and grass in rabbits’ diets is one of the most important welfare issues affecting them today. Indeed, in a recent poll only 8% of rabbit owners knew hay and grass are the most important parts of a rabbit’s diet.
It is vital that rabbits are given a hay-based diet to provide fiber for good digestive health and roughage for good dental health. A hay-based diet helps prevent potentially deadly conditions such as GI stasis, in which the digestive system comes to a halt, or poopy butt, which can lead to fly strike.
For more information about the Hay Fever! campaign, see the RSPCA website.
You can also read about the importance of a hay-based diet in our articles:
I’m glad there is some awareness surrounding this issue now. I’ve seen so many people not even know to give their rabbit hay! I couldn’t believe it as it is THE main component of their diet!
I’m so glad this is out there! We actually bought this product called DoggieLawn (it’s this patch of real grass for dogs and their bathroom times) for our dog Ginger but we thought…hey, this would be awesome for our rabbits! They love lounging on it. It’s a mainstay here at our household.