As you probably know, hay is the foundation of the healthy rabbit's diet. Hay is the best approximation of the rabbit's natural diet of grass and leafy plants, and should comprise about 80% of what your rabbit eats. But not all hay is alike- depending on the specific variety of grass it was cut from, how mature that grass was, what conditions it grew in, how many times it was cut in a growing season, and the manner in which it was cured and stored will all influence the qualities of the finished product. Here is some background information on what goes into the hay you feed your rabbit, and how to choose the best hay possible.
Most important is the plant the hay was derived from. Hay can be cut from either grass, or legumes. Legumes are the family of plants that includes beans, peanuts, soy, and similarly high-energy bearing plant foods. For our purposes, the legume we are interested in is alfalfa (also known as lucerne), one of the most common feed stocks in use today. The word "alfalfa" is thought to derive from the Arabic "al-fisfisa", meaning "fresh fodder". As you can see, alfalfa has been popular among domesticated animals for a long time. Rabbits are no exception. In fact, most rabbit pellet foods are based on alfalfa meal. Its rich, high protein content is to rabbits as a slice of pizza with extra cheese is to us. By the same logic, it is by no means an ideal staple food for most rabbits. With a protein content ranging averaging between 13% - 22%, if overfed it may cause the same kind of problems in rabbits you might expect in a human who ate nothing but cheese pizza- namely, diarrhea or constipation. This doesn't mean that alfalfa is bad for your rabbit, simply that it should be offered in limited quantities and supplemented with a variety of other foods. Because of its appealing (to a rabbit) qualities, it's a great feed for underweight or extremely fussy eaters, as well as young or pregnant rabbits that need lots of energy. Try mixing in some alfalfa with your rabbit's grass hay to stimulate his interest and get him digging in fast!
Timothy hay is a grass hay that is more suitable as a staple feed for rabbits. Introduced to the Americas by European colonists, the name is believed to have been given to the grass by Benjamin Franklin, in honor of Timothy Hansen, who first cultivated the grass for sale in America. It is valued as a feedstock for many animals, from gerbils to horses, due to a number of characteristics. It has a low protein content- usually around 9%, depending on maturity at harvest- which prevents digestive ailments and obesity. It also has a very low calcium content, around 0.3%, which is desirable as calcium intake has been tentatively linked to a variety of urinary tract problems in animals such as rabbits. It also has a very low moisture content, which allows it to store for long periods of time without spoiling. If alfalfa is your rabbit's extra cheese pizza, then Timothy hay is its broccoli and brussel sprouts. While extremely nutritious, even in high quantities, it isn't as appealing to them as alfalfa. If your rabbit declines to eat Timothy hay, you can mix in a little alfalfa or even hide a treat or two amongst it.
There are other grass hays that will do a good job of nourishing your rabbit, apart from Timothy hay. Orchard grass is one example. Bearing a fiber content from 30-35%, it is similar to Timothy hay in terms of nutrition. Orchard grass is distinguished by a sweet odor and flavor that some rabbits find more palatable than Timothy hay. Orchard grass hay, as well as grass hays from similar plants such a brome grass, bermuda grass, and meadow grass, are totally appropriate for use as a free-choice staple feed for rabbits.
The plant from which the hay is produced is only one portion of the overall equation, however. A typical hay field is harvest at least twice per year, depending on climate and other factors. Sometime in spring, the tall grass is cut and made into hay. Some weeks later, the grass will have regrown, and it is cut again. This process may be repeated a third, or sometimes even fourth time in a single year. The act of cutting the grass provokes changes in its growth, which means that second-cutting hay has different properties than first-cut hay. Namely, second or third cuttings tend to produce grass that is leafier, greener, and softer. In nutritional terms, leafy, green, and soft all mean high protein, high energy, low fiber hay. Many rabbit keepers prefer second- or third-cutting hay for its greater palatability and nutrient value. This is not necessarily an ideal approach, however. Think of such rich, leafy hay as being more like alfalfa, with a greater calorie count and less fiber meaning that your rabbit will need to eat less of such food to maintain its ideal body weight. Also, keep in mind that feeding rich hay can provoke digestive ailments such as diarrhea and constipation.
Even more so than which cutting it comes from, the nutritional content of hay is determined largely by its maturity at the time of cutting. The grass starts with a high proportion of leaf to stem, and of protein and nutrients to indigestible fiber. As the plant matures, it becomes browner, more stemmy, less leafy, and generally less nutritious but more fibrous. There's no reason a rabbit can't get a full complement of nutrients from such mature hay, if it is willing to eat sufficient quantities of it. Most, however, will turn up their noses at these offerings, and some have been reported to starve themselves to death rather than eat hay that doesn't match their standards.
As an end-use consumer, you're not likely to have a full picture of where the hay you buy falls into within these various categories. Unless you are on personal terms with the farmer who grew and processed your hay, you probably won't know when it was harvested, at what stage of growth, or possibly even where it was grown. Even if all these factors are known, the idiosyncrasies of daily weather and soil conditions and other ecological factors make it impossible to establish hard-and-fast rules for buying hay. You're much better off giving it your best guess, and then watching your rabbit's condition closely. If it suffers from diarrhea, or puts on an unhealthy amount of weight, switch to a browner, more fibrous choice of hay. If it seems skinny or malnourished, or refuses to eat, give more rich, leafy hay. Always try to introduce changes slowly, so as not to present a shock to the rabbit's delicate digestive balance. With these guidelines in mind, you should have no problem keeping your rabbit nourished and healthy.
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