Rabbits can eat fresh grass. Be sure to wash it and not give too much all the time. Rabbits in the wild survive on lots of different plant matter, grass included. Are there other types of hay available where you live? Orchard, meadow, brome, rye, oat? If he has gotten skinny, some alfalfa hay (lucerne hay) could be given to. Some plain, rolled oats could help with his weight – maybe a tablespoon a day?

Rabbits that are stubborn about hay can do well on other foraged foods like  rabbit safe weeds, leaves and twigs.  Where are you posting from? We might be able to suggest some plants you can collect local to you.

Hay cakes are good for stubborn rabbits too. And cut down on mess. The long strands of hay are better as chewing those helps keep the rabbit teeth worn down, but if they won’t eat hay at all, trying something like hay cakes, or hay pellets is worthwhile because them eating some form of hay is better then nothing. My first rabbit Jersey was stubborn about hay. She’d eat things in the garden and salad greens though. I ended up feeding her hay pellets also to keep good fibre going into her. 

You could increase the leafy greens in his diet. It’s important rabbits have food in the gut at all times. The fibre is also super-important to help keep the gut moving.
Does he get a whole carrot at one time? You could give a smaller portion more regularly. Too much carrot can be a problem but given he doesn’t have pellets in the diet, he can probably have more then most. But too much at one time may upset the good bacteria that is needed in the gut.

Wild rabbits eat grass, and they store grass in burrows for winter, which is dried grass, so they do eat hay

If you haven’t given him anything else for a month, he simply must be eating it or he would have died. Perhaps it just seems like he throws a lot of it around. Could you try a hay rack to prevent it? 

Have you had him checked for teeth or other health issues? Often rabbits don’t eat hay because their teeth are hurting them. Did he used to eat hay, or has he always been like this?

Is there a specific reason (from the vet) he doesn’t have pellets? He should generally have a small amount for the nutrients, especially since you’re not giving him very varied vegetables.

Does he eat grass if he’s in the garden? Grass is a great hay substitute.

Hi BunsaGlory — welcome to BinkyBunny. I appreciate the fact you’re trying to get fiber in his diet as that is important. Wild bunnies have an average life span of about 2 years, so it’s hard to really know long-term affects of a wild diet. But as S&L mentioned, there are ways that wild bunnies can get their grass/hay/fiber.

Alot of info has been discovered for domestic bunnies, especially in the last 10 years, and vets (exotic) are getting more training about a healthy diet that can help a bunny live a long healthy life. Some of the info that your vet has given does go against much of what many rabbit-savvy vets would advise. Some of the veggies mentioned can cause digestive upset over time. (or even immediately) if given too much. For example – HRS recommends that brussel sprouts, Broccoli etc should be no more than about 15 % of the diet (About 1 tablespoon per 2 lbs of body weight per day).

I know depending on where you are located, your access to rabbit-savvy vets may be limited. I am going to to message you with some that may be in your area — As I have your IP address.

It would also be a good idea to have a rabbit-savvy vet check your bunny’s teeth to make sure there isn’t another reason that he is not eating hay.
Here are some good diet resources — I advise checking those out so you can be informed as well when talking to your vet or possibly seeking out a new vet
.
https://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/
https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/2/PID/940/Default.aspx
https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx

Keep researching and learning and you should be able to create a healthy diet for your bunny soon.

I’m sorry, but your vet has given you dangerous information. I’m pretty sure potatoes are poisonous to bunnies so please don’t feed him potatoes. Onions are also poisonous to bunnies, and cabbage and Brussel sprouts can cause gas. He’s right that green leafy veggies are good, so try and give a small portion of green leafy vegetables each day.

It’s really great that you’ve sought advice from a vet, but your vet clearly isn’t experienced with bunnies and is giving you dangerous advice.

It’s really important that he eats hay, or a suitable hay substitute like grass, or hay stacks. You could try meadow, oat or Timothy hay if one isn’t working, and like we said before, grass is also good hay is reallly important for bunnies because their teeth constantly grow, and hay or grass is the only thing that wears them down. He might also get a poopy bum if he doesn’t have enough fibre in his diet.

A small portion of bunny pellets (a spoonful) per day would be good for him too

Potatoes are high in starch, and they have a lot of carbohydrates, which over time, can cause problems for a rabbits. Starchy things aren’t good in fiber, and not really helpful at all for a rabbits diet. They just cause future complications. Same thing with onions. They may not be doing anything now but sooner or later, both of these types of plants cause serious issues.
How long do the breeder’s rabbits live? The average lifespan for a domestic bunny is about 8 years. Some have even lived to thirteen or fourteen years. The breeder’s rabbits might live up to two or three years, and she could think that’s a long life, but it’s really not.
It’s unfortunate that you’re recieving this unsafe information from the vet and breeder. But it’s good that you are researching new ways to give your rabbit a better diet. You can find various types of hays at farms, tractor supply stores, Small Pets Select, Amazon, and even on the BB website store.