What's The Purpose of Hay Pellets?
I am just curious if I really need to incorporate hay pellets into my rabbits' diet? Since they are already eating plenty of hay and veggies on a daily basis.
2 Comments
Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best
My understanding of "pellets":
a material was broke up into little parts and then pressed with some linking addition into a form.
If this is the sort of pellets you thinking of:
Please do not feed them!
First: Rabbits need fiber for a healthy digestion, but during production of pellets this fibers getting shorter and shorter until they "disappear". This food is like junk food for human, and like this it cause issues like occlusion which brings your rabbits pain.
Second: the addition to link former broken parts are most times not part of a good feeding for your rabbits. Examples are: ordinary sugar and a lot of industrial oils.
Third: Because of differences in law for human food against law for animal foods, the producer has no commitment to inform about all included materials. So the production can add cheaper filler medium to increase their prize with ease and you can not check it. In German this filler medium is often called "pflanzliche Nebenerzeugnisse" (in English herbal byproduct or vegetable byproduct). This may be all vegetable waste from other industrial productions.
Fourth: Most pellets are dried until their production, so they will suck up a lot of water after the rabbit eats them. They swell and get bigger and bigger (sometimes five times of the dry pellet) and strain the stomach cover. This causes pain and weakening of this tissue. In difference fresh food do not swell any.
Last: This pellets will not be long chewed like raw food and make full. So the rabbits do not use their teeth long enough to promote natural abrasion.
(Source in German language)
It is not clear from you question if you are asking about
Food pellets that are made mostly of timothy hay like Oxbow’s Essentials - Adult Rabbit Food
Or if you are asking about
timothy hay cubes
The hay cubes are small about 1 inch square (2.5cm) compressed blocks of just timothy hay. Nutritionally they are just hay. They are convenient if you are traveling to the vet, or someplace else as an easy to carry source of hay. Most rabbits I know enjoy eating them, they are fun to chew on.
The food pellets, are timothy based processed food with additives to balance the diet. If your rabbit gets a well balanced diet of fresh greens and hay, they do NOT need these. But maintaining a balanced diet across the seasons can be difficult. Many bunny parents provide pellets daily. The decision is complex, we have several related posts.
What are the basic requirements of a healthy adult rabbit's diet?
Food Pellet - Is my rabbit eating enough?
Am I feeding my rabbits a balanced diet? If not, how to get there?
my rabbit absolutely will not eat hay and very little pellets
Do I need to do anything special when I change what I feed my rabbit?
What are healthy treats for a house rabbit?
Terms of Use Privacy policy Contact About Cancellation policy © freshhoot.com2025 All Rights reserved.