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Pet odour candles are available from our store today
Pet Odour Candles are specially formulated enzyme products, designed to attack and remove odours while smelling fantastic
Read MoreHay vs Straw: What’s the Difference?
Hay and straw are often confused, but they serve very different purposes and understanding the distinction is genuinely important for rabbit and guinea pig health. Choosing the wrong one, or treating them as interchangeable, can have a real impact on your animal’s diet and wellbeing.
- Hay is dried grass that retains significant nutritional value: it is a food source as much as a bedding material, and for rabbits and guinea pigs it should make up around 85 to 90 percent of the daily diet
- Straw is dried cereal plant stems with very little nutritional value: suitable as bedding and nesting material where insulation and comfort are the priority, but never as a substitute for hay in the diet
- Timothy hay is the most widely recommended hay for adult rabbits and guinea pigs due to its ideal ratio of fibre to protein, which supports healthy gut function and helps keep continually growing teeth naturally worn down
- Meadow hay offers more variety in plant types than timothy hay and is suitable for most small herbivores as an everyday feed, either alone or alongside timothy hay
- Alfalfa hay is higher in protein and calcium than grass hays: suitable for young, growing or pregnant animals, but not recommended as a staple for healthy adult rabbits or guinea pigs where it can cause excess calcium intake
Why Buy Hay from Newcastle Pets?
Good-quality hay is the single most important product you can buy for a rabbit or guinea pig. It supports gut health, dental wear, mental stimulation and warmth, making it one of the few purchases that genuinely covers multiple welfare needs at once. We stock quality hay in a range of pack sizes and our team can advise on the right type for your animal’s age and health.
- Quality hay stocked in a range of pack sizes to suit different enclosure sizes and numbers of animals
- Our in-store team can advise on the right hay type for your animal’s age, health and preferences
- Free local delivery for Newcastle-under-Lyme customers
Frequently Asked Questions
Timothy hay is widely recommended as the best everyday hay for adult rabbits. Its fibre content supports healthy gut motility and its texture helps keep continually growing teeth worn down naturally. Meadow hay is a good alternative that offers variety. Alfalfa hay should only be fed to young or pregnant rabbits rather than healthy adults.
Rabbits should have unlimited hay available at all times without exception. A useful rough guideline is a bundle of hay roughly the same size as the rabbit’s body per day. Hay must never run out as it is essential for gut health and dental wear, and a rabbit without hay can develop serious digestive problems within hours.
Straw can be used as bedding or nesting material for insulation and comfort but has no nutritional value and must never replace hay in the diet. For guinea pigs, hay is always the preferable option as it serves as both bedding material and a vital continuous food source throughout the day.
Yes, we stock timothy hay, meadow hay and straw in our Newcastle-under-Lyme store and online. Free local delivery is available for Newcastle-under-Lyme customers.