Hulstlander rabbit hay and coat condition

Hulstlanders are a wool breed, and that matters when we talk about diet — because the same digestive system that needs hay to function is also the one producing and cycling that dense white coat. Hay should be making up around 80% of your rabbit's diet; it's not a background extra, it's what keeps the gut moving, prevents wool block, and provides the abrasive chewing action that stops teeth overgrowing. Pellets are a small top-up, not the main event. So — your Hulstlander is three years old, which is nicely into adulthood. Are they in good health generally, and what are they currently eating day to day?

Good that she's healthy and at a good weight — that's the right foundation. The coat dullness is worth thinking about carefully. For a wool breed like a Hulstlander, hay type genuinely does make a difference. Meadow hay is fine as a staple, but it's quite variable in nutritional content depending on the cut and source. Timothy hay is more consistent — it has a good fibre structure, slightly lower protein, and the coarser stems give really effective dental and digestive action. That regular, thorough chewing stimulates saliva and gut motility, which indirectly supports coat condition by keeping nutrient absorption working properly. Can I ask — is the meadow hay she's getting loose or compressed, and does she eat it enthusiastically or pick through it?

That picking behaviour is very common and it's a problem — she's selecting the least fibrous parts and leaving the bits that do the most work. And if the pellets are disappearing fast, she's probably filling up on those and treating the hay as optional, which flips the ratio the wrong way entirely. For a Hulstlander specifically, I'd cut the pellets back to no more than a tablespoon per kilogram of body weight per day, and switch to Oxbow Western Timothy Hay. It's a premium timothy cut that's consistently high quality, dust-extracted, and the stem-to-leaf ratio means rabbits can't easily cherry-pick the soft bits — they have to work through it. That mechanical chewing is what drives coat health from the inside: better gut transit, better nutrient uptake, and for wool breeds, that shows directly in coat density and sheen.

Yes, but give it six to eight weeks — coat improvement isn't immediate because you're changing the underlying nutritional environment, not applying something topically. The consistency of Oxbow Western Timothy Hay is what justifies the cost; you're not getting variable meadow cuttings, you're getting a standardised product that delivers the same fibre profile every bag. For a wool breed where coat is both a health marker and genuinely important to maintain, that reliability matters. Reduce the pellets at the same time — both changes together will make the difference far more visible than hay alone. Keep the leafy veg as it is; that's a good addition. One more thing: how often are you grooming her, and have you noticed any wool block episodes or unusual amounts of fur in her droppings?

That's a solid grooming routine for a wool breed — keep that up. The combination of twice-weekly grooming, Oxbow Western Timothy Hay as the dietary foundation, and reduced pellets should sort the coat condition out. If after eight weeks it's still dull despite the diet change, it's worth mentioning to your vet as there can occasionally be underlying causes in wool breeds, but I'd expect to see a real improvement before then. You're already doing the fundamentals right — this is really just a recalibration of the ratios.