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 roughage at a routine checkup is a really useful heads-up — it usually means the rabbit's gut motility or teeth wear isn't quite where it should be, and the fix is almost always the same: more hay, and better hay. Hay should make up around 80% of a rabbit's diet — it's the long fibrous strands that keep the gut moving and grind the teeth down properly. Pellets are a small supplement, not the centrepiece. Before I point you toward something specific, can you tell me a bit more: what is your Perlfee rabbit currently eating day to day, and did the vet mention anything else — weight, teeth, gut sounds?
She's on a mix of pellets and some fresh veg, maybe a small handful of hay on the side. Vet said her teeth looked a little overgrown and her gut sounds were a bit quiet. No major health issues otherwise, she's 4 and generally active.
inparticular.ai
That picture makes a lot of sense. Quiet gut sounds and slightly overgrown teeth are both classic signs that the hay intake is too low — the pellets and veg fill her up without doing the mechanical work that long-strand fibre does. The fix is straightforward: hay needs to become the main event, not the side dish. What variety of hay are you currently offering her?
Honestly I just buy whatever's in the local pet shop, I'm not sure of the brand. It's in a bag, looks quite dusty and short.
inparticular.ai
That's really helpful — dusty, short-cut hay is a common culprit. The short pieces don't require much chewing, so they don't wear the teeth effectively, and dust can actually put rabbits off eating as much as they should. For a 4-year-old rabbit with the specific issues your vet flagged, I'd point you toward Oxbow Western Timothy Hay. It's long-strand, low in calcium, very low dust, and it's specifically suited to adult rabbits — the fibre profile is ideal for gut motility and the strand length is what actually does the dental grinding work. It's consistently well-regarded and widely available on Amazon UK. The transition is simple: make it available in unlimited quantity all the time, ideally in a hay rack so it stays clean and inviting.
How much should she actually be eating? And should I cut back on the pellets at the same time?
inparticular.ai
Yes to both. For an adult rabbit, pellets should be no more than one to two tablespoons per kilogram of body weight per day — for a Perlfee, which is a medium-small breed, that's roughly one tablespoon daily at most. The hay should be unlimited and always available — the benchmark people use is a bundle roughly the same size as the rabbit, per day. Fresh leafy greens are fine as a daily addition, around a large handful. Reducing pellets actually helps too, because it means she won't be full on low-effort food and will graze on hay more throughout the day, which is exactly what her teeth and gut need.
That's really clear, thank you. I'll get the Oxbow hay and cut back on pellets straight away.
inparticular.ai
Good plan. Give it two to four weeks and you should notice a real difference in her energy and droppings — both good indicators that the gut is moving properly. If her teeth were flagged as noticeably overgrown rather than just slightly worn, it's worth following up with the vet in a couple of months to confirm the hay alone is managing it, or whether a dental check is needed. But for the vast majority of rabbits in this situation, getting the hay right resolves it entirely.
