The day before, I was in dire straits, ran out of food for rabbits, and didn't have the opportunity to go out and buy more.
This doesn't usually happen because I always have a lot of food in reserve, but I've been so busy lately that I didn't realize it was all gone.
I have to give them something or they will starve, but I have no food for them.
One thing that I have a lot of is hay for my horses - I wasn't sure it would be good for them so I decided to find out.
can rabbits eat horse pellets?
Yes, rabbits can certainly eat hay for horses. Ideally, they should really eat something more suitable for small animals, such as timothy hay or pasture hay. But dry horses will work well in a pinch. Alfalfa hay can be too rich for larger rabbits, so watch out for that.
Horse fodder can sometimes be eaten by rabbits when nothing else is available.
You shouldn't be in the habit of feeding them hay, so after feeding them hay, remember to go out and buy something more suitable for them.
Let's dig deeper.
Can I feed my rabbit hay?
Yes, you can certainly feed your rabbit hay.
Horse hay, like most hay, is a fairly simple food that is easily broken down by most herbivores.
Horse fodder is available in much larger quantities at a much cheaper price than hay or rabbit food, so if you have both animals you will likely get plenty of horse fodder than rabbit food.
However, you should not feed your rabbit with regular hay.
If they have nothing else to eat, it is better than nothing, and they will enjoy it.
This will also be perfectly safe for them - again, it's just hay. There's not much to do.
Horses and rabbits are, of course, very different animals.
Horse hay is usually very high in nutrients that rabbits don't need.
So they can quickly become overwhelmed with nutrients if they eat too much horse hay, especially hay like alfalfa.
So just give your rabbit some horse hay to get over them and try to get out for good rabbit food as soon as you can.
I should also mention rabbits, which eat a variety of foods; they should also have fruits and vegetables. Not just horse hay.
What kind of hay can rabbits eat?
Basically, yes, rabbits can eat any kind of hay.
The most common type to feed rabbits, as I mentioned, is timothy hay or pasture hay.
These are two very good options that don't contain too many nutrients to risk harm if your rabbit eats too much.
Horse hay is a bit denser and richer in nutrients, but if it's just standard hay it shouldn't be a problem.
Good alfalfa is really the only thing you need to avoid.
If horse hay contains a lot of alfalfa, your rabbit will almost certainly have too much of the nutrient.
This is even more true for older rabbits, but smaller rabbits are also likely to be affected.
So alfalfa is the only thing you really need to avoid.
What kind of hay is harmful to rabbits?
For adult rabbits, the only really unhealthy hay is, as I said, alfalfa.
It is too high in protein for an adult and can cause a host of problems.
Alfalfa hay is best avoided for rabbits of all ages.
That said, growing rabbits can benefit from the extra protein in alfalfa hay.
The growing young rabbits can certainly eat any kind of hay.
However, they are still capable of getting all the protein they need from common hay such as hay or hay.
So there's really no need to feed them good alfalfa.
What about hay blocks?
Can rabbits eat horse hay?
Solid or pelletized horse food is another option, and many people choose to feed their horses completely pellets instead of hay.
Rabbits can certainly eat horse hay most of the time, but again you have to be wary of the nutrient and protein content.
Since cubes are, in essence, more concentrated, you have to be careful with what they contain.
Your rabbit can easily overeat equine pellets and get sick, so be careful.
So in the end, you really shouldn't do what I did and try to always have the right food for your rabbit.
If you are really stuck, horse hay is the perfect choice for your rabbit.
But don't make it a habit and go out to feed your rabbit right away.
In the event of an emergency, however, horse fodder still works well.