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How to prevent Dental Disease.
- Thread starter whitehood
- Start date
Tinsel
Wise Old Thumper
It takes a lot of forms and others will be on who know much more than me, but I think the problems can be environmental (eg from insufficient hay) infection (eg an abscess forming) and also genetic, which is why it's important to prevent problems caused by in-breeding etc.
Rabbits need constant hay, both for digestion and keeping their teeth in trim - others will be along soon to add much more though :wave:
Rabbits need constant hay, both for digestion and keeping their teeth in trim - others will be along soon to add much more though :wave:
^^This. If you have a bun that genetically has poor teeth then there's not a lot you can do to change it. However, if the teeth issues are caused by diet then there is stuff you can do such as feeding a very small amount or even no pellets to encourage hay eating being careful to ensure the rabbit is maintaining a healthy weight as some can't cope with a no-pellet diet.
The Duchess
Wise Old Thumper
A rabbit's diet needs to be a minimum of 80% hay.
You can just feed grass but is unlikely that you will be able to provide enough grass for the rabbit to have access to sufficient quantities 24/7. There is barely anything growing in my garden at the monet so they are munching on hay throughout the day.
Yes, for that time when they don't have access to grass- then they need hay.
Yes. Rabbits need to have access to hay or grass 24/7. They must be able to eat 24 hours a day in order to keep their guts moving. :wave:
susie bun
Wise Old Thumper
Surely there will be days when it will be too wet for them to eat the grass, and in the summer grass often gets a bit dry and stubbly if we have a prolonged heatwave! I have to admit, my rabbit doesn't eat nearly enough hay, but he's getting better. Spenser doesn't mind tramped on hay, and will not eat it from a hay-manger but I think that's quite unusual.
I use various things for keeping hay in. I use underbed storage boxes as litter trays which I line with newspaper them put a generous amount of hay on top. I find that they sit in those munching hay. I change these daily so they don't have to eat soiled hay. I also have hay in hanging baskets hanging up in their kennel above their litter trays so they have the choice to eat from these instead.
Most of the commercially available hay racks are just too small so hanging baskets of either the traditional type or the half sized wall mounted ones are much better.
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whitehood
Warren Veteran
Thanks
No. Hay is made at only one time of the year so it is stored for the whole of the year before more is available. I buy mine in bals from a farm and this works out cheapest for me at £5 a bale. I go through quite a lot and a bale lasts me a good month or so.
