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
Finding mould in a hay delivery is genuinely alarming — mouldy hay can cause serious digestive and respiratory problems in rabbits, so you're right to act on it immediately. Hay should make up around 80% of your rabbit's diet; it's not a topping or a treat, it's what keeps the gut moving and the teeth worn down correctly. Pellets are a small supplement on the side, nothing more. Before I point you toward a reliable source, can you tell me a bit more — how old is your Meissner Lop, are they otherwise healthy, and what does their current daily feeding routine look like?
She's 5 years old, completely healthy as far as I can tell — good weight, active, eating well. She just gets a big pile of hay, a small handful of pellets morning and evening, and some fresh greens. The mould was only in one bag but it's put me off the brand entirely.
inparticular.ai
That's a really solid feeding routine — the hay-led approach with minimal pellets is exactly right for a 5-year-old rabbit. One contaminated bag is enough to lose trust in a supplier entirely, and rightly so. What brand were you using, if you remember? It'll help me steer you away from anything with a similar reputation.
It was one of the supermarket own-brand bags — I can't remember which one exactly. I just grabbed it because it was convenient. I'd rather pay more for something I can actually trust.
inparticular.ai
Supermarket hay is almost always the source of mould complaints — it tends to sit in warm warehouses, gets inconsistently dried, and there's no real quality control. For a rabbit eating the volumes she should be, the supply chain matters a lot. My recommendation is Oxbow Orchard Grass Hay. It's available on Amazon UK, it's produced and dried to a consistently high standard, it's fragrant and palatable which helps keep intake high, and Oxbow have a strong reputation specifically for clean, mould-free hay. For an adult lop like yours, orchard grass is also slightly softer than Timothy, which some lops strongly prefer. You'd want to order in bulk — the larger bags are better value and you're not constantly reordering.
That sounds good. Is there anything I should check when the delivery arrives, just to make sure it's clean before I give it to her?
inparticular.ai
Yes — open the bag and take a proper sniff before you offer any to her. Good hay smells sweet and grassy, almost meadow-like. Any musty, damp, or earthy smell is a red flag. Also check the colour: it should be golden-green, not grey or brown, and there should be no visible dark patches or clumping. Give a handful a gentle squeeze — it should feel dry and springy, not at all damp or compressed. If anything feels off, photograph it and contact the seller immediately. Oxbow are generally very responsive about quality complaints, and Amazon's return process makes it easy to escalate if needed.
Really helpful, thank you. I'll order the Oxbow orchard grass today.
inparticular.ai
Great choice — she'll be well served by it. Once you've got a reliable supply sorted, the only other thing worth keeping in mind is storage: a cool, dry spot away from direct sunlight, ideally in a breathable container rather than sealed plastic. That keeps it fresh between orders and reduces any risk of moisture building up. Good luck with the switch.
