Long-stem fibre is essential when searching for your perfect hay choice as it promotes dental and gut health. The long stem length helps to encourage more chewing and natural foraging behaviour which helps to keep your small animals enriched and occupied for longer. According to the RSPCA, good quality hay (sweet-smelling and dust-free) should constitute the majority of your rabbit's diet and they should always have it available. It's good for:
- Providing vital fibre
- Wearing down their constantly growing teeth
- Keeping digestive systems healthy
- Emotional wellbeing
What is long stem hay?
Long stem hay refers to the length of the stem of the type of forage that you’re feeding. As part of our practice at HayDay, we try and protect the stem of most cuts of grass that we grow (to include timothy, meadow, ryegrass and alfalfa) to promote healthy dental and digestive functions for your small animals. Long stem is essential to keep the digestive system working and will help to avoid any issues such as GI Stasis in your small animal.
(A field of Tasty Timothy Hay - Timothy Heads)
What benefits come with feeding a long stem?
Dental health
Naturally coarse stems help assist with the maintenance of healthy dental function. We recently spoke to our nutritionist Briony, who provided lots of information on the importance of dental health.
Gut health
Naturally coarse stems (and the insoluble fibre they contain) help to maintain healthy gut movement and therefore function i.e. they help your smell pet pass healthy poops! Phew! Ample fibre, including indigestible or insoluble fibre is essential to help maintain digestive function.
Less waste
Waste will typically be reduced if a suitable quality and type of hay is offered. Furthermore, presentation of hay (such as racks, pillows, nets) can help to further enrich the environment and reduce contamination, thereby increasing the amount eaten.
Which HayDay box is long stem?
A misconception of hay is that it’s just Timothy that is long stem, but that is in-fact a myth for the team at HayDay…
Farming practices can have a huge impact on the quality of hay produced however due to the consistency of our products; Tasty Timothy and Moreish Meadow, both are long stem cuts of grass! Hooray!
Tasty Timothy; Long stem timothy hay
Timothy hay is ideal for rabbits, guinea pigs and other small animals and is packed full of flavour with naturally coarse stems to assist with the maintenance of healthy dental function. High in fibre and dust extracted, our timothy hay is a top-quality choice for your furry friend..
- A long stem hay for rabbits, guinea pigs and other small animals.
- Naturally course stems to assist with digestion and dental function
- Excellent source of 100% natural fibre
- Palatable and dust extracted
Moreish Meadow; Long stem meadow hay
Suitable for rabbits, guinea pigs and other small animals, our Meadow hay is great to tempt those fussy eaters to eat more hay. Due to its soft and palatable stems, it also pairs as a comfy bed too!
- 100% natural + traditional hay meadow grasses
- High fibre to support gut health
- Makes a comfy bed too…cue happy pets!
Top Tips from us:
- Whether or not your current hay is long stem can be a factor when it comes to palatability (i.e. if your small pet eats it!). Try switching hay brands if you find your furry friend isn’t nibbling mad for their current supply!
- It’s hard to go wrong with great quality hay. Remember, 85-90% of your small animal’s diet should be hay - so make sure you feed the best!
- Quality hay is also represented by the quality of poops. Introduce quality, long stem hay into their diet - and watch those poops turn golden!
Stuck on which HayDay your small pet might prefer? You can read our advice on which hay may be the right choice for your small pet.
