How much hay for a Giant Chinchilla rabbit?

A 4-year-old Giant Chinchilla is a big rabbit — we're talking a breed that can sit at 12–16 lb when healthy, so getting hay right really matters here. Before I give you a specific answer on amounts, I want to be clear about the foundation: hay should make up around 80% of your rabbit's total diet. It's not a side offering — it's what keeps the gut moving and keeps those continuously growing teeth worn down properly. Pellets are a small supplement, not the main event. Now, how much does your rabbit currently weigh, and what's he or she eating at the moment — mostly pellets, hay, or a mix of both?

That pattern is really common and it's exactly the problem — once pellets are available, most rabbits will prioritise them and treat hay as an afterthought. For a Giant Chinchilla of her size, hay shouldn't be rationed at all. She should have unlimited hay available at all times, ideally in a rack or feeder large enough that it's always stuffed full. The pellets need to drop significantly — for a rabbit her size, you're looking at about 50–60g of plain pellets per day maximum, and given she's overweight, I'd go to the lower end. The goal is to make hay the only truly abundant food so she has no choice but to eat more of it. Is she generally healthy otherwise — good energy, normal droppings, no dental issues flagged?

For a rabbit her size who needs to eat a lot of hay daily, I'd go with Oxbow Western Timothy Hay. It's consistently high quality — good colour, good smell, not dusty — and Timothy hay specifically is ideal for adult rabbits because it's lower in calcium than alfalfa-based hays, which matters for a rabbit you're trying to slim down. Oxbow do a large 1.13kg bag that's widely available on Amazon UK and represents decent value when you're going through the quantities a Giant Chinchilla will. The other thing worth doing: move the hay rack to somewhere she spends a lot of time, ideally near where she rests, so it's always right in front of her. Any questions about how to transition her off the heavy pellet diet without stressing her out?

Gradually is safer. Drop the pellets by about 10–15g per week over four to five weeks until you're at your target amount. A sudden cut can be stressful and occasionally causes rabbits to go off food entirely, which you really want to avoid — a rabbit that stops eating is a vet emergency. Keep the hay absolutely unlimited throughout so she has something to fill the gap at every stage. Within a couple of weeks of having hay freely available and fewer pellets, you'll typically see her hay intake climb noticeably on its own.