This is a specific conversation about Rabbit food and hay — getting the diet right — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Your vet flagging slow gut sounds is a serious prompt to act — in a rabbit that age, gut motility is fragile, and diet is usually the first lever to pull. Hay should make up around 80% of what your rabbit eats every single day. It's not a side offering — it's what keeps the digestive tract moving and grinds the teeth down properly. Pellets should be a small supplement at most. Before I point you toward anything specific: how old is your Angora exactly, are there any other health issues alongside the gut concern, and what does a typical day of feeding currently look like?
She's 8, otherwise healthy apart from this. She gets a bowl of pellets in the morning, some fresh veg in the evening, and hay is available but honestly she doesn't eat much of it. Probably picks at it now and then.
inparticular.ai
That's a really common pattern and almost certainly the root of the problem. If the pellets are filling her up in the morning, she has no incentive to work through the hay — but the hay is what she actually needs for gut movement. At 8, her digestive system is less forgiving than it was, and low hay intake is exactly the kind of thing that leads to sluggish gut sounds. Can I ask — what hay are you currently putting out? Loose or compressed? And does she seem interested in it at all, or does she just ignore it completely?
It's a compressed bag from the supermarket, I think it's just generic meadow hay. She sniffs it and walks off mostly.
inparticular.ai
That explains a lot. Supermarket compressed hay is often dusty, stale, and low in the structural fibre that actually stimulates chewing and gut movement — rabbits can smell the difference and many will reject it outright. For a senior rabbit with a vet-confirmed gut concern, I'd switch to Oxbow Western Timothy Hay. It's long-strand, properly dried, and consistently fresh — the texture and smell are noticeably different to compressed supermarket hay, and most rabbits who've been ignoring hay will start engaging with it. Western Timothy specifically is lower in calcium than some alternatives, which matters for an older rabbit. Cut her pellet portion right back — a tablespoon or so for her size — and make the hay the centrepiece. Give it two weeks and see whether her interest improves. That change alone could make a real difference to what the vet hears on the next check.
That makes sense. Should I do anything else alongside the hay change, or is that the main thing?
inparticular.ai
The hay change is the main thing — get that right first and it will do more work than any supplement. Keep the fresh veg in the evening, leafy greens like romaine, parsley, or herbs are fine and add hydration which also helps gut motility. What I'd avoid is introducing anything new all at once — make the hay switch, reduce pellets, and give her gut time to adjust. If she's still not eating well after two weeks or you notice any bloating or change in droppings, go straight back to the vet rather than waiting. At 8, things can shift quickly and it's always better to check early.
Really helpful, thank you. I'll get the Oxbow hay and cut back the pellets this week.
inparticular.ai
Good plan. The fact your vet caught this early gives you a real opportunity to turn it around. Oxbow Western Timothy Hay is widely available on Amazon UK — just make sure you're buying the loose bag rather than any compressed version. Good luck with her, and I hope the follow-up appointment goes well.
