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Rabbit Feeding Hay

Do rabbits eat hay? Yes – lots of it! However, not any old hay will do. It’s got to be good enough to eat. Feeding hay for rabbits has to be specially grown, harvested at just the right time to capture all the goodness, and full of flavour so that your rabbits really enjoy eating it.

Bedding hay, which is only suitable for rabbits to sleep on, is cut later in the season and will be less palatable, but provides a great bedding. By contrast, high quality meadow hay for rabbits is fresh and fragrant, barn dried, dust extracted and rich in nutrients.

Our Burgess Excel range of feeding hay for rabbits is made from 100% natural ingredients, is high in fibre and good for dental and respiratory health.

Indoor Rabbit Bundle

Indoor Rabbit Bundle From £32.15

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Excel Meadow Hay Box

Excel Meadow Hay Box 4.5kg from £28.99 — or subscribe and save 10%

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Excel Timothy Hay Box

Excel Timothy Hay Box 4.5kg from £29.99 — or subscribe and save 10%

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Excel Long Stem Feeding Hay

Excel Long Stem Feeding Hay 1kg from £8.49 — or subscribe and save 10%

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Excel Feeding Hay with Dandelion & Marigold

Excel Feeding Hay with Dandelion & Marigold 1kg from £8.99 — or subscribe and save 10%

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Excel Feeding Hay Dried Fresh Grass

Excel Feeding Hay Dried Fresh Grass 1kg from £6.99 — or subscribe and save 10%

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How much hay should I feed my rabbits?

Having fresh, irresistibly tasty feeding hay every day is an absolute essential for rabbits and it should make up the bulk of their diet. In fact, around 85-90% of a rabbit’s diet should be high quality feeding hay and grazed grass. That’s equal to their own body size in hay every day!

Top quality feeding hay for bunnies is an excellent source of fibre, which is really important for buns to be healthy and happy.

The Excel Feeding plan

When it comes to feeding your rabbits, we recommend following our Excel feeding plan, which comprises five easy steps for a healthy diet. These are:

Excel Feeding Hay & Grass: High-quality, dust-extracted hay for rabbits or fresh grass should make up 85-90% of your rabbits’ diet. You should make sure that it is freely available and replaced with fresh hay every day.
Excel Tasty Nuggets: Should be fed as a supplement to rabbit feeding hay or grass to ensure that your rabbits get all the vitamins and minerals that they need.
Excel Nature Snacks: Natural snacks – such as our Excel Fruity Feasts – can be fed in small amounts either by hand to help bonding, left in housing to keep your rabbits occupied or sprinkled through the hay to encourage foraging.
Fresh Greens: Can be fed as a treat to add variety and provide additional nutrition. Special care must be taken, however, as some greens – such as savoy cabbage and spinach – should only be fed occasionally, and some not at all.
Fresh Water: Fresh water should always be available. Change it daily and ensure that it hasn’t frozen in the winter months.

If you’re at all unsure about the best way of feeding your animal or have any concerns about specific nutritional requirements at different times of their life, ask your local veterinary practice for advice.

You can also call our expert team on +44 (0)800 413 969 who’ll be happy to help. They’re available 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday. Alternatively, you can use our online form to get in touch.

Rabbit Feeding Hay FAQs

How can eating hay benefit your rabbits’ health? What type of hay should you feed your rabbits? What else do rabbits need in their diet? Burgess in-house vet, Dr Suzanne Moyes MVB MRCVS, answers some frequently asked questions.

Suzanne is a small animal vet who spent many years in first opinion practice before joining Burgess Pet Care. Suzanne oversees recipe development and product production, and with her teams, ensures Burgess Pet Care makes great quality, safe products for dogs, cats and small pets.

Two rabbits

How can eating dust free hay benefit my rabbits’ health?

Eating lots of nutritious dust-extracted feeding hay provides all sorts of bunny benefits:

HAY PROVIDES VITAL FIBRE:Top quality feeding hay is an excellent source of fibre and plays a vital part in digestion. Rabbits need to keep their digestive systems busy with a mix of two kinds of fibre moving through the gut at all times. These types of fibre are called digestible fibre and indigestible fibre. They get this fibre mainly from high quality feeding hay.
HAY IS GOOD FOR KEEPING TEETH IN GOOD SHAPE:Munching on delicious hay also keeps continuously growing rabbit teeth in check, thereby helping to prevent dental disease.
HAY MAKES YOUR BUNS FEEL GOOD:Chomping on rabbit feeding hay also does wonders for your bunnies’ emotional wellbeing. In the wild, rabbits spend around 70% of their time foraging and eating grass and other plants. Being given the opportunity to forage and chew keeps them physically and emotionally stimulated and enables them to express their natural behaviours.
HAY HELPS PROMOTE OVERALL HEALTH:Feeding plenty of high-quality feeding hay, some grass-based nuggets and a few fresh greens will help your rabbits maintain healthy skin, coat, eyes, teeth and digestion.

A small pair of rabbits eating hay

What kind of hay and grasses for rabbits are available?

There are all sorts of temptingly tasty feeding hay and dried grass for rabbits to eat and enjoy and individual bunnies will no doubt have their favourites.

Burgess Excel feeding hay comes in a choice of fully recyclable cardboard boxes or easy-open bags – both of which will keep each batch of hay fresh until it’s all been eaten up. Why not mix and match to see what varieties your buns like best ?

Meadow hay for rabbits: naturally high in fibre and dust-extracted to protect respiratory health
Tasty Timothy Hay: always a favourite with small furries
Feeding hay with hedgerow herbs: including dandelion, chamomile, nettle and mallow flowers – for a fabulous foraging experience
Green harvest hay: made from the freshest, first cut meadow hay
Long stem feeding hay: a perfect part of your rabbits’ diet
Sweet smelling Timothy hay with dandelion and marigold: to aid urinary tract health and help build a healthy immune system
Barn-dried fresh grass: ideal for that time of year when your lawn’s past its best

With a whole host of five-star reviews, Burgess Excel customers who have purchased our feeding hay have told us: “Great quality, smells amazing!” “Excellent quality hay for a very reasonable price. The hay is green and healthy, it smells great, and the strands are long and thick. My rabbit absolutely loves it.” “Great product. The bunnies loved it!! Big hit.” “Such fresh smelling hay and beautifully green in colour. My rabbits get so excited when I’m giving them the feeding hay and it’s so beneficial for them.”

Four rabbits

Why should I choose Burgess for my rabbits’ feeding hay?

At Burgess, all of our food, feeding hay and healthy treats for rabbits are made at our own factory in the heart of Yorkshire. We have a long tradition of supporting British farmers and actively source our ingredients as close to our mill as possible.

Our range also includes tasty nuggets, the perfect addition to your bunnies’ diet. Did you know it was Burgess Pet Care that developed the UK’s first single component nugget for rabbits to prevent selective feeding and the world’s first food specifically formulated for indoor rabbits?

If your buns haven’t tried it yet, we’re sure the Burgess Excel rabbit range will soon become your rabbits’ favourite food!

How can I encourage my rabbits to eat more feeding hay?

Most buns like to play and throw toys around, so incorporating hay as part of play activities is a great way to encourage your rabbits to enjoy their tasty hay.

A willow ball or cardboard tube filled with grass hay for rabbits is ideal for batting about. Or try putting a bunch of fresh hay in a sheet of brown paper and tie the ends with a strand of hay to look like a Christmas cracker. Your rabbits will love chucking this around and then ripping it open to get to the feeding hay inside!

Rabbits generally prefer to munch on hay while they’re resting and they also like to ‘poo and chew’, so put a pile of hay in their favourite resting places and hang a hay rack above their litter tray.

Can I still feed rabbit hay before spaying?

Unlike cats and dogs, rabbits don’t need to be starved before surgery, so there is no need to withhold their food or water. PDSA advises taking some of their own food, hay for bunnies and fresh greens to the vets with them.

Two rabbits indoors

Apart from feeding hay, what else do rabbits need in their diet?

While hay should make up the main component of your rabbits’ diet, you should also include small amounts of other nutritious foods.

Supplement high quality feeding hay or grazed grass (not grass cuttings as these will make your rabbits ill) with a small portion of rabbit nuggets. RAWF – the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund – recommends around one egg-cup full of rabbit nuggets, fed twice a day, per rabbit.

Look for a variety that’s suitable for your rabbits’ needs and life stage:

Indoor rabbits can require a specialist diet with added vitamin D.
Junior rabbits have a higher metabolic rate than adults, so look for ajunior rabbit food with a higher protein level.
If you’ve got some golden oldies, they may benefit from mature rabbit food with added glucosamine to support healthy joints, and added ginseng for increased vitality.
If you have rabbits that are prone to weight gain, ingredients such as L-carnitine can help to promote lean body mass.

Your buns will also enjoy chomping on nuggets with tasty natural flavours such as mint, oregano and cranberry, along with hedgerow ingredients such as dandelion, nettle and lemon balm.

Add the occasional healthy treat and also provide a small handful of rabbit-safe fresh greens, such as broccoli, fennel, parsley and rocket, and plenty of fresh water. This will provide your buns with a perfect daily balance of fibre and nutrition.

Subscribe & Save 10% on every order of selected Burgess Excel rabbit feeding hay and rabbit food and have your packs delivered straight to your door >>

Need more advice?

If you’re at all unsure about the best way of feeding your rabbits or have any concerns about specific nutritional requirements, ask your local veterinary practice for advice.

You can also call our expert team, available 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday, on +44 (0)1405 862241 who’ll be happy to help. Alternatively, use our online contact form to get in touch.

Are your bunnies Burgess bunnies? Join the Burgess Pet Club for exclusive offers and rewards.

Rabbits

Buy Your Rabbit Food Online Today

The importance of a good diet can never be overstated. High-quality rabbit-feeding hay supports digestive health and dental health while encouraging natural behaviours. With a wide range of feeding hay treats and nuggets also available, and deliveries available across the UK, your rabbits will never have to wait for long.

Get those food bowls filled today by browsing our selection or calling us on 01405 862241 for more information.

Two rabbits

Rabbit Awareness Week

Such is our dedication to rabbits that we established Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW). With the aim of increasing rabbit welfare, RAW brings together hundreds of retailers, vets and charities to promote the right rabbit diet, health and environment, as well as educate rabbit owners on the need for companionship and risks relating to inappropriate housing, space and diet.

Rabbits are one of the most misunderstood animals around and therefore we feel that it’s our duty to look out for these animals and do right by them. You’re always welcome to take part, and can find out more about RAW here.

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