Hay pellets are new concept for feeding fibre in NZ. They are quite simply whole hay cold pressed into a pellet. At our customized mill in North Otago, we are able to take premium, locally grown, timothy and lucerne hay, pass it though the hammer mill where it is finely chopped up with lots of little knives. From here, it passes to the pellet mill, where it is pressed and turned into pellets. The pellets are then cooled and bagged ready for eating by our furry friends.

When feeding hay pellets to your pets you can be confident that you are feeding the very best fibre nutrition possible. It is so important that our rabbits and guinea pigs diet is made up of 80-90% fibre and while ideally this would be predominantly long stem hay, hay pellets can be an important supplement for the following reasons: 1) Provides a pure fibre alternative to hay 2) No dust, no mess 2) Compressed, so doesn’t take up as much space as hay or chaff! 3) Increased palatability, for pellet loving herbivores this will help to increase fibre in diet 4) Large 8ml pellet size is good for gnawing and dental health.

1) Pellets are easy to weigh and therefore also convenient to assist with portion control. 2) Pellets are free of dust that may be present on general hay fibre. 3) Pellets are highly pallatable. 4) Pellets store for a long time and take up less room in your pantry or cupboards. 5) Pellets prevent selective feeding, and ensure they eat quality fibre from the whole plant.

Lucerne FIBRESAFE pellets will benefit, growing, reproducing and underweight rabbits or guinea pigs. Timothy FIBRESAFE pellets are suitable for all other classes of rabbits or guinea pigs.

Timothy grass is globally recognized as the very best possible grass to feed rabbits and guinea pigs. It has the perfect nutrient profile for small herbivores. It is very high in fibre, low protein, high energy and low in calcium. It has the perfect texture for maintaining good dental health. Timothy really is a magic grass for rabbits and feeding a diet of predominantly timothy will keep your furry friend happy and healthy for many years. However Timothy is not overly easy, it is very slow growing, doesn’t like it too dry or too hot and requires quite a bit of care as can be easily overrun by other grasses and weeds diminishing its value, also due to our short hay making season and its slow growth we are only able to do one cut of Timothy a year in NZ. Here at Whiterocks we grow some Timothy on our farm in North Otago and source the rest from Central Otago which is the very best place in NZ to grow Timothy hay given its perfect weather conditions. All of these things along with its amazing quality make timothy a premium product compared to other grass hays.

Lucerne (also known as Alfalfa) is a legume that is used world wide as a valuable feed for grazing animals. It is a rich source of protein, fibre, and calcium.and is highly palatable. It has an important role in rabbit and guinea pig diets for babies that are under 6 months by providing the extra calories and calcium needed for growth. It is also valuable for pregnant and nursing mothers and underweight animals providing those fibre rich calories needed for good milk production and weight gain. However it should only be used sparingly for healthy adult animals as a treat or occasional supplement as these guys don’t need all the extra protein and calcium that lucerne provides. Our lucerne chaff and pellets are made from 100% lucerne hay sourced from Central Otago grown and cut at exactly the right time to provide ultimate nutrition.

Your rabbits and guinea pigs diet should be 80-90% hay. Our recommendation is that you should use our timothy long stem box of hay, timothy pellet and timothy chaff as the bulk of the diet in that order. Supplement daily with a quarter to a half cup of reputable complete rabbit pellets. If you have a growing baby, breeding mum or underweight rabbit or guinea pig then continue to have timothy hay available ad lib but supplement with lucerne pellets ¼ to half a cup twice daily and mix ¼ to half a cup of complete pellet mix with a cup of lucerne chaff once daily. The above is just a guide and requirements will vary on age, stage and size of your pet. If you have any specific queries please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Fibre, Fibre and more FIbre, with a little protein, even smaller amount of Fat, Essential Vitamins and Minerals. The digestive system of our little herbivores is 100% designed to digest and utilize grass as its primary food. Grass is primarily fibre and grass or hay should make up the bulk of rabbit and guinea pig diet. It should be supplemented with a small amount of complete pellets, occasional green vegetables, fruit and treats and free access to water at all times.