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Why Grass/Hay is good for Rabbit’s Teeth

Tamsin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:35:57 +0000

Today I’m going to let loose my inner geek, want to see something cool?

Look at those pointy bits! What do you think, a cactus, saw blade, sharks teeth… ?

Nope, that’s a blade of grass magnified a few hundred times and those pointy bits are the reason grass (or hay) is an essential part of a rabbit’s diet.

Rabbit’s teeth grow continually throughout their life. To stop the teeth growing too long and causing problems they need to be worn down at the same rate they grow. That sounds fairly logical. But what seems to puzzle a lot of owners is: why does it have to be hay? Surely pellets are harder so would create more wear or even some nice crunchy carrots – wouldn’t they work?

Whilst other foods may contribute some degree of wear, as you can see from the picture, there is something very special about grass and this makes the number one thing for maintaining rabbit’s dental health.

Most people think of grass as soft, like me, you have probably enjoyed sitting on it at some point. But grass is actually very similar to sand paper. Sandpaper isn’t hard, it’s flexible and you can tear it easily, but if you rub it against something it will wear away the surface. Like the sandpaper, the reason grass is good for wearing teeth is how rough the surface is, not how hard it is. Here is another close up of your rabbit’s dinner:

Hay (Dried Grass) Magnified 200x

The reason that grass is rough is it doesn’t really want to get eaten. So to protect itself, it sucks up silica from the soil and uses it to build rough spiky structures called phytoliths.

If you don’t have a microscope to hand, you can feel them with your fingers. Run your fingers down a piece of grass they will catch on the surface – you can see why from the picture above. This is the same reason hay is so great at catching on your clothing and spreading itself around the house. And why it is so good at wearing down rabbit’s teeth!

Pellets are hard and carrots are crunchy, but neither are rough enough to act like sandpaper on rabbits teeth. For the same reason, grass is just as good as hay for wear, even though hay seems harder because it’s dry and crunchy.

Hands up all those about to go fondle their hay to see how rough it is…

Facinating Rabbit Facts

Tamsin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:49:57 +0000

I was munching on a cereal bar and noticed that the ‘did you know…’ fact on the wrapper was appropriately rabbit themed. So, did you know there were 40 million wild rabbits in the UK? That’s a lot of bunnies!

I thought I’d dig out a few more rabbit facts…

Did you know there are between 1.6 and 2 million pet rabbits in the UK? About 5% of the population have a pet rabbit (or two). Not quite up to the number of wild rabbits but that’s still a lot of bunnies.

Did you know rabbits are not rodents? They often get lumped in with rodents but they are actually lagomorphs. The most obvious difference is their extra teeth. Tucked behind the upper incisors, rabbits have a second set of teeth called peg teeth. Rodents don’t have these. Other difference include diet (rabbits being grass eating herbivores and many rodents omnivores) and their digestive system.

Did you know the rabbit long jump record is a whooping 3m (10ft)? It was set in 1999 by a Danish rabbit called Yabo. The high jump record is 99.5cm (also held by a Danish rabbit). I’d love to know how far/high Scamp can jump but I don’t want to encourage him to get even more daring.

Did you know rabbits have 28 teeth which grow continually throughout their lives? Their 6 incisors (remember the peg teeth) grow at a rate of 1-3mm per week and the 22 back teeth (molars) around the same per month.

Did you know a rabbit can chew 120 times per minute and has 17,000 taste buds (compared to the 7000 we have)? No wonder their teeth grow so much – that’s a lot of chewing.

Anyone else know any interesting facts about bunnies?

Ps. Scamp asked me to pass on his thanks for the get well soon wishes – he’s completely back to normal now

5 Ways to Get Your Rabbit to Eat More Hay

Tamsin — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 21:13:01 +0000

Considering at least 80% of a rabbit’s diet should be hay (or grass) there is a worrying number of rabbits owners that report their bunny eats little or no hay. The high fibre content of hay is essential for maintaining a healthy gut and teeth, as well as providing a boredom busting activity for your rabbit.

Many common and potentially serious health problems are caused or exacerbated by the lack it of, including:

Gut Stasis
Excess Cecotropes (sticky poop) which can lead to fly strike
Overgrown teeth which can result in tooth abscesses and gut stasis

So, below are my top 5 tips for turning your rabbit in to a hay eater.

1. Feed Tastier Hay
Hay is a bit like apples. It comes in lots of different varieties and flavours. Some people like crisp Granny Smiths others like sweet Cox’s, and cooking apples taste horrible (unless cooked). Likewise some rabbits can be quite fussy about the variety of hay they like.

When choosing hay avoid the finely chopped, brownish plastic packed varieties you find in a lot of pet shops. Look for green, long strands that smell nice and aren’t too dusty. Hay sold at feed shops and farms, for horses to eat, is usually good and a lot cheaper then pet shop bags.

Oxbow do a wide range of different hay’s you can try your rabbit with. You do not have to stick to one variety, mix and match to keep your rabbit’s interest.

2. Put Hay Where Your Rabbit Sits
Rabbits prefer to munch hay while they are resting and while they are using their litter tray/toilet area. Putting the hay in these places will catch your rabbit at the time he’s most likely to eat it. If you don’t want to put hay in the litter tray then hang a hay rack above it.

3. Incorporate Hay into Toys
Most rabbits like to play and throw toys around. Incorporating hay in to play activities can encourage them to pull, bite and chew at the hay. A willow ball or cardboard tube filled with hay can be hung from the cage or thrown around by your rabbit.

4. Add Garnish
You can make hay more interesting to your rabbit by mixing in food they like best. This could include dry food, fresh vegetables or dried (bunny safe) herbs. Whilst searching through the hay for the good bits hopefully they’ll eat some hay too.

5. Feed Less Dry Food
Most rabbits have bad hay eating habits because they eat too much dry food. A healthy adult rabbit should only be fed a small quantity of dry food (50g per average size adult rabbit per day is plenty). Dry food tastes good but it doesn’t provide the fibre levels and chewing action needed to keep your rabbit healthy. Reducing the amount of dry food you rabbit gets should help encourage them to eat more hay.

A change in eating habits can indicate teeth problems and should be investigated by a vet. If your rabbit stops eating hay, starts dribbling, has longer than normal front teeth or chews differently to normal then a visit to your vet is needed.