Kaytee
Sun-cured western timothy in the big-box staple that made hay affordable for every small-pet household — high-fiber long strand forage at the lowest price per pound, now with botanical blends for picky eaters.
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Every rabbit vet prescribes the same baseline diet: unlimited grass hay, 80–90% of everything a rabbit eats. The problem for a long time was cost — a house rabbit burns through hay faster than most beginners believe, and premium brands add up. Kaytee's Timothy Hay Complete line is the reason unlimited hay is realistic on a normal budget: long-strand sun-cured western timothy in multi-pound resealable bags, priced so that never running out is actually possible.
The core Complete formula is straight timothy hay — the right grass hay for healthy adult rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas. The Plus versions blend in botanical forage (chamomile, lavender, calendula) which earns its keep for one specific job: tempting a rabbit who has stalled on hay to start eating it again. For a picky eater, that blend upgrade is the cheapest intervention that works.
Hay is an agricultural product, and Kaytee ships enough of it that batch variance is real. Open the bag and check it the way you'd check produce: strands should be mostly green with a sweet grassy smell, pliable enough to bend without shattering, and free of visible dust or mustiness. If a bag arrives brown and brittle, photograph it and exchange it — Kaytee's distribution is big enough that replacements are painless, and the next batch is usually better. Fluff the hay and let it air for ten minutes before serving; compressed hay smells like nothing and eats like nothing, and rabbits judge with their noses first.
Oxbow's hand-selected timothy is the more consistent product — greener, softer, less dust, batch after batch — and it's what most exotic vets stock in their own waiting rooms. Kaytee is the value play: you accept occasional variance in exchange for the lowest price per pound, which for unlimited daily feeding is a trade many multi-rabbit households rationally make. The full timothy hay comparison breaks down freshness, cuts and cost per pound between the two.
If you're feeding one adult rabbit and consistency matters most, Oxbow is still the default. If you're feeding a bonded pair, a growing guinea pig herd, or you simply refuse to ration hay over price, Kaytee Complete is the workhorse that makes unlimited forage affordable — check each bag on arrival and it will rarely disappoint.
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