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alfalfa hay

22 10:58:37

Question
I have a 7 year old rabbit.  The hay that he regularly eats is timothy, in
addition to veggies.  This week is Passover (we can't eat wheat and oats and
either can our pets) so I had to switch him to Alfalfa.  I can tell even after a
few days that he is a bit heavier and he has gotten a small fatty tumor under
his chin.  The same thing happened last year.  Do you think the alfalfa hay
cause the fatty tumor (it went away last year when I switched him back to
Timothy) and do you think I that I am endangering his health by having him
eat alfalfa for a week?

Answer
Dear Rachel,

I really doubt that he could gain that much weight in just a few days just from alfalfa.  But timothy grass is neither wheat nor oats.  Please ask your rabbit whether timothy hay is all right for your bunny to eat, since it is not a grain used for human consumption.  It is just grass hay.

As long as you provide unlimited timothy hay and lots of fresh greens, I can't imagine that your bunny would gain too much weight.  But I would avoid alfalfa.  There is more danger to him from potential mycotoxin poisoning from alfalfa, not to mention the overdose of protein and calcium he'll be getting from the legume hay.

I hope you'll be able to give him timothy.  I would guess that timothy is kosher!  :)

Hope this helps.

Dana