Rabbit Hay: First and Second cuts Dawn Hromanik, Director of Education & Product Development Oxbow Pet Products

With timothy hay and alfalfa, the first cuttings tend to have more stem and be coarser. Since alfalfa and timothy are two totally different plants, I'll just address the timothy.

The first cutting timothy is allowed to head out and, therefore, is much more mature. It has a higher stem to leaf ratio and has a higher acid detergent fiber (ADF) component. ADF is harder to digest because it contains more lignin. Lignin is a part of the cell that makes up the stem of the plant. In my opinion, I think another reason why first cutting is coarser is that it is "put up" during the heat of the summer when it is very hot and dries faster. But that is just my thought. Second cuttings are put up in cool weather.

When you hear the term second cutting it means that the field has already been cut once (to almost ground level) and the grass regrows. The regrowth is leafier with the stems being finer. Now IF the second cutting had time to mature it too would get stemmier. However, it barely has time to grow a foot before cool weather sets in and retards growth. Second cutting is "put up" in September and early October. That is the reason it is so hard to get 2nd cutting, you have weather concerns such as rain and snow that may interfere.

Second cutting has a lower stem to leaf ratio. The leaves contain more neutral detergent fiber (NDF) which is more digestible. This is the fiber that goes into the cecum. But one has to remember that even that fiber is only 15-25% digestible to a rabbit.

That is why the reason for feeding hay is mainly to keep the gut moving and the microbes in the cecum healthy. All hays will accomplish this (orchard, timothy, brome, oat, and alfalfa. Alfalfa should not be fed free-choice for other reasons.)

The more important thing to look for in determining quality of hay is how it was harvested and stored. Low quality hay would be dark brown in spots and moldy. We are very picky about how our hay is baled and stored. Our timothy is baled when it has a higher-moisture content to keep it soft, which many times means baling at night, and picked from the fields right away and put under cover.

A majority of people who grow hay don't do that. Hay is normally baled during the day and sits in the field until growers can find the help or time to stack it. Then a large percentage of it is stacked outside without a tarp or covering.

As people have said hay is very variable, depending on where it is grown and how much rain the area receives. A "droughty" timothy that does not receive as much rain can have a very narrow blade and contain a higher amount of "fines." More rain results in a broader leaf, which is nice and soft, but when the field was so lush and thick there will be some "brown" leaf. That is due to dead grass in the field. The brown leaf is not bad; it just looks different.

There is certainly more to hay, but this is some basic information about the differences between first and second cuttings. I can be reached at nutrition@oxbowhay.com with any specific questions you might have.