I’ve written a lot about how much work it is to care for a rabbit. But is it taxing, really? In an earlier post, I exposed some of my burdens as not being so burdensome after all.
I’ve also written about my new love affair with fiber.
Today’s post combines these two ideas and highlights the true champion of tending to one’s health with near constant fiber consumption: Bun.
The more you know: Benefits of eating hay
The physiology of rabbits presents interesting challenges to their survival. If being a prey animal weren’t enough, a rabbit must navigate an unforgiving GI tract and constantly growing teeth to stay alive. Early in my bunny research I saw the term “delicate” to describe rabbits. Naturally, I scoffed. Three emergency vet visits later — loose tooth, liver lobe torsion, GI stasis — and I’m a believer.
Fortunately, one food — hay — addresses these challenges, and more.
The fiber in hay prevents GI stasis, the terror of every bunny owner. The onset of GI stasis can move quickly from a stomachache to death if bacteria are allowed to overtake the rabbit’s intestines. Being unnaturally still to “curtains” can occur in as little as 24 hours.
Chewing hay wears down a rabbit’s teeth. Constantly growing teeth — unchecked — are painful and will eventually cause the rabbit to stop eating. Long strands of hay are important, too, so that the chewing action wears down the rabbit’s molars, which also keep growing.
Rabbits love to dig. Providing a foraging area or two stocked with hay channels the animal’s instinct and helps to minimize damage to non-bunny things.
Constant munching on hay maximizes the benefits of all three areas of bunny nutrition: intestinal health, dental health, and foraging instinct. I’m lucky that Bun eats hay at least a couple dozen times a day. All I have to do is make it available.
It might be easy to dismiss Bun’s behavior as simply fulfilling her rabbit destiny. As with all living creatures, Bun’s mission is to stay alive, after all. Still, I’m impressed with and grateful for her commitment extraordinaire.
Where do you purchase hay for Bun?