What's the longest time without hay?

Just curious as to what's the longest time your buns have gone without hay and what the cut-off time for making them poorly might be?

I just got to thinking that the stereotypical 'hutch-at-bottom-of-garden' bunny is less likely to have fresh hay twice a day as I'm sure most of ours get - do these buns get ill very quickly from not having it? Or would it just be teeth probs caused? (not 'just', obviously!)

Also, if a bun only got muesli or pellets etc once a day, would they not be starving for the other 23 and a half hours of the day?

Thoughts?

I sometimes wonder this - if they only get fed once a day, and sometimes not even that often, aren't they being forced into stasis :?

I was freaking out yesterday because I ran out of hay and didn't have time to get anymore I sent OH on a dash for some

Where I worked last year the rabbits had muesli mix once a day, and a handful of hay to eat (none for bedding). None seemed to have problems in the time I was there from this - but they didn't eat all of the mix. It was a sad place

Blackberry & Co said:

Where I worked last year the rabbits had muesli mix once a day, and a handful of hay to eat (none for bedding). None seemed to have problems in the time I was there from this - but they didn't eat all of the mix. It was a sad place

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Yes I have seen breeding rabbits that were lucky to get a handful of hay a day, just their ordinary dry food and woodshavings and they seemed to survive, how long I don't know

Blackberry & Co said:

Where I worked last year the rabbits had muesli mix once a day, and a handful of hay to eat (none for bedding). None seemed to have problems in the time I was there from this - but they didn't eat all of the mix. It was a sad place

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makes me feel sad just hearing about it

Our bunnies live the lives of royalty when you think how some other bunnies live

Makes me sad thinking of all those uncared and unloved bunnies stuck in boxes in gardens

just to point out i have changed a lot now,

i got my first bunny when i was 12 and i am now 27 but but the time i did not realize a bunny had to have hay and button went a whole summer once with only straw no hay at all! he was only really fed muesli once a day and lettuce !!! he lived to be 10 though and was never poorly and he had good teeth as he used to let me look at them.

guilty conscience me ensures my current bunnies get a wide range of veg and pleanty of hay.

I think the average owner would probably keep the food bowl topped up with cheap mix 24/7, and would end up with an obese bun who is unable to clean itself, and possibly has dental problems too (the least tasty part of the mix usually contains the 'good' nutrients).

I had a friend when I was younger who had a rabbit that didn't even get fed mix every day and was given straw for bedding.

Strangely she lived to be at least 6, which was when they rehomed her (the rabbit, not the daughter)

mine only get fed once a day.
they get a handful of pellets, which most of them scoff down in about 2 minutes!! :roll:
they that get a huge chunk of hay in the hay rack and a mahussive bowl of herbage so they can munch for the rest of the day.
my rabbits also only get straw as bedding.

back to original question. i think it depends on the rabbits eating habits and the breed. those that are used to eating hay all the time, would probably suffer if they didnt have it for a few days, there teeth would definatly suffer if they stopped having it all together.
my Sherps has never been a hay eater-as much as i try! and he is 9.

Alvin goes from about 10am to 6pm without moving his ass to eat hay.. sometimes the mood takes him but generally not... so about 8 hours for Alvin.

Holly on the other hand dont seem to go more than 2-3 hours between hay visits even during snooze time

My current bunnies have hay available most of the time, I once ran out and gave them some fresh grass instead. But I don't think that half a day or even a day without hay sends them into stasis straight away, there must be other factors involved, too.

My last indoor bunny in Germany never ate any hay, just rabbit mix and other Vitakraft snacks, which I wouldn't give my bunnies now, and a few select greens. And he was 12 years old when he died.

I panic when I am running out! because my two eat so much hay I literally go through a bin bag full in three days, so because they are used to it I think it causes them smaller poops if they go for a day without.

Luckily I get my hay from a lovely ladie who has a small farm.. lovely green and stalky and a bin bag full costs me £1.20

My bunny was fed on just museli mix for 4 months til we got him. Now he has pellets available to him all the time (he doesnt eat loads of them just nibbles now and again) and a handful or two of fresh twice a day. He's always got hay out for bedding and feed but just will nibble now and again. He never had fresh stuff before coming to us and that makes up the majorty of his diet - he goes bonkers for it! Especially if it's got parsley in it.

I've never run out of hay yet - i'm paranoid over it! :lol:

p_prod_uk said:

Also, if a bun only got muesli or pellets etc once a day, would they not be starving for the other 23 and a half hours of the day?

Thoughts?

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Mine get the pellets and veg once a day. I scatter their pellets into their hay so that they have to forage for them, so I think that makes the pellets last a little longer than if they were just there in front of them. Keeps them occupied for a bit too But for the rest of the day, they have unlimited hay, and a selection of different hays too. I've not been unlucky enough to run out of hay yet... Then again, I don't think it would be too much of a problem for my and my buns, because I have a large selection of different hays lurking in my shed :roll:

There's their farm hay which covers half of the bottom level of their hutch, then they get a handful of some different types, like Burns, Oxbow or Excel, some in their litter tray, some in the hay rack then some up on the top level. If one of those ran out, I'd just use one of the other types! It's when the farm hay gets low that I start to panic lol, but they'd still have other hays, so they wouldn't suffer/go without.

I don't think that the average "bunny at the bottom of the garden" gets ill quickly without hay, otherwise those bunnies wouldn't last very long at all! I would assume that the problems come on more gradually. I agree that it is more a question of what the rabbit is used to.

xxx

I ran out mid week once and couldnt get any so had to go two days without which I considered a crisis. Buns thouht it was great as they got extra redigrass and grass

Flash went two years with hardly any hay every so often (Before I learnt why they actually need it). He's perfectly find though, never needed a dental