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Forum DIET & CARE Bunny Does Not Like Hay or Pellets

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    • AJ
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        My fuzzy lop does not like to eat Hay or Pellets.

        When he was only four months, he loved pellets and would always pick them over hay. He ate hay a little bit.

        But now he turns his little bunny nose up at both. He will eat the pellets and hay, only if I refuse to feed him all the veggies and fruits that he does enjoy.

        I know the hay is really good for him, and have tried different types of hay with the hope you might eat more, but he will look at his food dish and then come and stare at the fridge until I open it and get him out some veggies.

         

        Advice?


      • LoveChaCha
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          I see that your rabbit is a long haired rabbit and it is severly important that he eats hay, due to the long hair. Rabbits will ingest their fur when they clean themselves.

          From my point of view, I would cut out fruits and give a smaller amount of veggies. You will need to control yourself and not give in. Bunny needs to eat a lot of hay. I may be wrong, but it is absolutely critical your rabbit eats hay.


        • BinkyBunny
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            Ah…he has you trained well. He uses the ‘ol “stand by the fridge and give ’em them bunny face” trick.

            It did make me concerned at first that he may have a tooth issue that may make it uncomfortable for him to chew harder things. I know you said he will eat the hay and pellets if he is denied greens, but when that happens does he eat alot of the pellets and hay, or just sort of nibble through?
            It might be a good idea to double check that with a vet.

            How old is he now? That will make a difference of what I would advise for pellet/greens ratio.


          • AJ
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              He does not have teeth issues, he loves to chew on his chew toys. He just does not seem to enjoy hay that much.

              I have been trying to hold off on the veggies and fruit so he will eat more pellets and hay. I even started giving him small amounts throughout the day, to try and get him to eat. He will eat the pellets but only eats a few bits of hay. I talked to the vet, and he said maybe he just does not like hay. Is there something I can put in the hay to make him eat it?

              He is six months old.


            • LoveChaCha
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                How much pellets are you feeding him? As he gets older, the amount of pellets you give will have to be lessened.


              • Tate
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                  I had stubborn rabbits too and it really just took a while to find the right combination for them. Neither of them like Timothy hay too much, thus they don’t eat timothy based pellets. Currently, the hay they get is: American Pet Diner Timothy Gold (they do tolerate this more than, say.. the Kaytee brand timothy hay. It’s 2nd cut which means that it has less fiber but picky rabbits generally like it more), Kaytee Orchard Grass, and Oxbow oat hay. If I can find anything else that isn’t alfalfa or timothy, I’ll buy it. There are quite a few varieties and for the most part, don’t be afraid to try something new!
                  What brand of pellets are you using? Again, I’ve had so many issues with this and finally found one that both of my rabbits can agree on. I just started making the switch over to it completely.
                  In the past, I’ve used an alfalfa based pellet from a feed store that was not labeled, Kaytee Rainbow Exact, Oxbow Adult Rabbit pellets (timothy based), Oxbow Bunny pellets (alfalfa based) and now finally Oxbow Organic pellets, where the first ingredient is an unspecified grass hay, probably a mix of quite a few.
                  It’s usually not advised to switch around pellets too much because it can be hard on their bellies. However, eating is better than not eating. When I switch my pellets, I mix the old with the new, usually around 50/50, although it IS advised to start off with a 25% new food to 75% old food ratio.
                  Also, there ARE things that you can add to the hay. This (http://store.binkybunny.com/bunny-bouquet-hay-topper-p118.aspx) might be something you could try if you want to get rid of your current bag of hay before trying another kind.


                • LoveChaCha
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                    APD Timothy Gold is good. It is not dusty (and dust hurts my allergies, but I’ve had none so far) and is great for picky rabbits.


                  • RabbitPam
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                      Everyone has touched on what I was thinking you could do, but to reiterate, I would start with cutting way, way back on the fruits, and limit the veggies to one handful twice a day. Bunnies graze, they do not gobble and finish their pellets and hay, so you’ll know by checking the levels in the dishes periodically.
                      Fruits to them are like candy bars, and they have a major sweet tooth, so they love them. Then are full.
                      Getting him to like the adult kind of pellet will take a bit of time but not long when he learns it’s the only one he can have. The problem with alfalfa pellets is that they are like fruits if a baby is used to them and they don’t transition easily.

                      You can also try a completely different kind of hay that is just as healthy. My bunny is fairly indifferent to Timothy, but loves Mature Oat. Other bunnies prefer the very soft, so Orchard Grass is a good choice for them. Also you can try broam, or wheat. They taste differently to a bunny, and finding on he loves is going to help. Buy the smallest quantity you can of each and taste test – like one a week until he eats a larger amount of one. Then stick to that. Usually cutting back on the sweets leaves good food for a hungry bunny and they learn they tried to train you with the sad fridge face, but failed.


                    • AJ
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                        I have started to cut his hay into really really small bits, and by mixing it in with his veggies and with his pellets he has been cleaning his plate. Silly rabbit.


                      • Monkeybun
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                          You don’t want to cut his hay up too much like that. He needs the long strands in his tummy.

                          If he refuses to eat it, you may have to cut out his greens and pellets until he does learn to eat it. He NEEDS to eat his hay.


                        • Tate
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                            Have you tried any other kind of hay other than timothy?


                          • Ashley&Bing
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                              I had a pet-store bunny who didn’t eat hay at all–all pellet diet. It was sad. I got on here and saw that he needed ha, so I got him some. He ate it all at first. And then slowly he stopped eating it. He didn’t want to anymore and I knew he had to. So I gave him some tough love and gave him only hay and water until he gave in and started to eat the hay, which didn’t take long. I had to switch around the hays to keep him interested and after a few months, he is good with normal Timothy. I feel like I have it easy compared to what I have read on these forums though. Good luck!


                            • Beka27
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                                As Pam said, keep the veggie feeding to twice a day at set times, or once a day, but don’t give in. Rabbit generally won’t let themselves starve, so if left with no other option, they will eat hay. Pellets are not as big of a deal; a small rabbit like him can get away with an 1/8 cup or less per day. My pair gets a large serving of veggies (usually about 6 cups) once a day, within a few hours they are all gone, and they get pellets in the evening. For the rest of the time, all they have is hay.


                              • Elrohwen
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                                  I’m thinking teeth issues too. I know you said that he chews on things, but that only involves his front teeth – his molars could still have spurs. It’s so important that he eat hay, so I would take him to the vet just to be sure. Teeth isn’t something you can check yourself – the vet needs to stick a special tool in there to see all the way to the back.

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                              Forum DIET & CARE Bunny Does Not Like Hay or Pellets