new bunny doesn’t eat hay? bunny beginner questions?

[blakrose97]

Hi, I am new to this website and to rabbits! I recently adopted my bunny, Jasper, and I have a few questions. My main concern is that he doesn’t eat very much hay, and when I say this I mean he hardly ever eats a noticeable amount! I’ve kept guinea pigs before and even they ate a lot more than Jasper does! I’ve tried feeding it in a rack above his box, loose in his box, in treat balls, toilet paper tubes, ect. I’ve been feeding him oxbow timothy hay but I’m planning on ordering from pet select after this bag runs out (if it ever does at this rate). My impression is that pet select has a higher quality hay and I’m hopeful he’ll eat more of that. Is there anything I can try in the mean time? I’m feeding him 1/8 a cup of oxbow pellets and two cups of vegetables every day. He’s a 4 pound bunny and is estimated to be 2 1/2 years old. Am I feeding him too much? He seems to be active and healthy otherwise with consistent poops. My other questions were involving is habitat. Currently he’s free range in my bedroom. He has his litter box, food, water, various balls and toys, a tunnel, a cardboard hidey house, places to jump to and perch, and fleece blankets to play in and give his feet a rest. I know that bunnies are supposed to have 2-4 hours of floor time a day. Does this apply to bunnies that are free range in a room? I make an effort to give him a couple hours in other areas of the house a couple times a week to give him a different enviroment to explore and some stimulation, but more than that might be difficult. Is this enough? And are there any improvements I could make to my room for him? Okay one final question.. I adopted Jasper with the intention of getting him a girlfriend later down the road, but I read somewhere that someone had an experience where adopting a second bunny completely changed the behavior of her first bunny! She said that her previously affectionate bunny with great litter habits wanted nothing to do with her and had accidents after getting the new bunny. Jasper is very friendly, very good with his litter box (except on the bed), and has very few messy/destructive habits. I would hate to jeopardize that. Sorry for so many questions, I just want to make sure I’m doing my best! thank you!

[booboobunny3]

I had a rabbit who didn’t eat very much hay, some just don’t eat as much as others. I would make sure that the pellets you’re feeding him are high in fibre to make up for the fibre he’s not getting from the hay. My bunny wasn’t keen on normal timothy hay, so I tried different flavours and brands and now mix Herby Harvest from Pets at Home with normal timothy hay – the herby hay is a slightly greener colour and i guess it tastes alot nicer because it has the herby flavours. To initially get her to start eating the hay I used dried mixes of plaintain and clover or a dried dandelion mix and took a very small handful and sprinkled it in the hay and on top of it as my rabbit loves the dried stuff and it made her have to eat the hay to get all of the dried plaintain etc so that worked really well – plus it is more interesting for them to have to forage around for the really tasty stuff
I’d say if your bunny is free ranging in your room and going into other areas he’s probably getting a decent run around.
I’ve never personally heard of a rabbit changing its behaviour so much after being bonded, my first rabbit became less needy of my attention once she was bonded but that’s only natural. It’s better that your bunny has a bunny companion to keep him company than be alone. As long as both bunnies are neutered!

[tobyluv]

Try some different kinds of hay. Orchard grass is liked by many rabbits that don’t like timothy hay, since it is a sweeter hay. Oxbow has that variety, as well as some others, such as organic meadow hay. Small Pet Select hay is very good, and another good timothy hay that is second cutting, so it is softer, is American Pet Diner Gold. Instead of waiting to use up all of the Oxbow timothy, it would be good to get some other varieties or brands now, and you can always mix them with what you have. It’s so important for rabbits to eat hay, so it would be better to go ahead and try some other kinds now. You can also get some hay toppers, like the ones sold in the BB store.
https://store.binkybunny.com/bunny-bouquet-hay-topper-floppers-p118.aspx

The amount of pellets and veggies you are feeding him sounds good. You can try decreasing the pellets a little to see it that would make him more eager to eat hay.

It sounds like Jasper is getting a lot of exercise, being free range in your room, as well as getting to explore other rooms in the house at times.

[HereComesTheBun]

I second the suggestion of trying multiple kinds of hay. I’m allergic to Timothy, so I’ve experimented with other kinds, and my rabbit has been very receptive. One Ear Up, which was founded because of the owners’ own picky rabbits, has a sampler, where you can pick out three kinds of hay. My rabbit loves the brome hay from there, and since it’s very soft, it may be another great starter hay. The only thing I’ve noticed is that some of the blends contain clover, which I believe is only good for rabbits in moderation. I may be wrong on that front, though, and I’m sure they’re easy to pick out. You may consider oat hay, as well, which you can find at Sierra Valley Hay (which offers great quality hay, as long as you don’t mind large quantities) or in the BB Store.

Rabbits enjoy foraging, so hay toppers are another great suggestion. I haven’t done this before, but perhaps you could dry some vegetables (I’m thinking mint and/or basil) to make your own. Maybe you could try that first, so that you don’t waste the bag of hay you already have.

And it definitely sounds like Jasper is getting enough pellets and exercise.

[So Fluffy Bunny]

Also my buns seem to like the one ear up hay, as their house blend is timothy and orchard mixed with some red clover heads and leaves in the hay. They get to forage about and I also have used Small Pet Select but I put something for them to forage in it so that they have to eat about to find flower heads in their hay.

[LBJ10]

It sounds like he’s getting plenty of exercise. I agree with the others, try some different kinds of hay. You can always mix them with the old stuff to try to get rid of it. Mine like oat hay. Tobyluv also suggested cutting back the pellets just a little bit. He’s 4lbs but each bunny is going to be different as far as energy needs go.

As far as behavior when a new bunny is introduced goes, it isn’t unheard of for the resident bunny to become territorial when they sense a new bunny in the house. These behaviors often lessen once the bond has sealed, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have the occasional poop war. Bunnies sometimes become less needy with their owners when they have a buddy. When you describe what happened with your friend, it makes me wonder what stage in life the sweet and cuddly bunny was in. If the bunny was young then it could have been a coincidence. When bunnies start to grow out of their baby phase, owners are often shocked by their sudden behavior change. The truth is though is that this is a normal part of growing up. All baby bunnies are “sweet”. Many do to continue that into adulthood.

[rayray]

With the hay issue, you may want to consider getting Jasper looked over by a vet. When I 1st got Lily she was not eating hay. When I got her fixed it turned out she needed some teeth filed. Since then she has been fine. Just an idea.
As for a 2nd bun it sounds like the 1st bun wasn’t fixed. Bonding can be difficult or super easy (I was lucky on that one). Ziggy (my 1st bun) doesn’t sleep with me anymore because he has a new bff (Lily). But he hasn’t changed much in the way of litter or destructive habits. He does however, explore a larger area now that Lily has shown him it’s safe in other areas. I think she gave him some confidence. My puppy gate has been my lifesaver!! lol!!

[blakrose97]

Okay, I will definitely be trying another type of hay to see if that makes a difference. Maybe he’s just picky and doesn’t like the timothy, it was just never a problem with any of the other small animals I’ve kept so I was worried! I’m glad to hear that no one else has had experiences with a second bunny like the one I read about. I just didn’t know if that was actually a common result or not. Obviously I’m aware that adding a new bunny will affect the amount of attention and time Jasper will need from me and that’s fine, just the idea of him becoming a whole new bunny and not in a good way was discouraging. Thank you guys for all your helpful answers!

[rayray]

I was worried about that too! The behavioural changes that is. Mostly because I had a single budgie. When I got him a friend (my nemesis, Pedro) he turned into a jerk and wouldn’t let me near him!! Thank goodness that didn’t happen with Ziggy.

[JackRabbit]

Yep, vet check the teeth and variety of high quality hay. We don’t have any good quality hay sources locally, but I’ve had good luck with the western online hay sources (and I’m on the east coast!). You may end up having to sample a few to find your bunny’s favorite, and remember that hay varies by year even from the same source since weather plays a big part in growing hay and in timing of the harvest.

[haffy]

To get your bun to eat some of the hay you already have until you find one he loves, you could blend one slice of apple with water if you have a juicer of some sort (I have a nutribullet) and then spray it on the hay. That was the only thing that got my bunny to begin eating hay and I decreased the amount until it was none.

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