I think that limiting his pellets would probably help with his hay consumption. Most bunnies prefer pellets over hay so leaving them out all the time for him might be the problem. My bunny gets two tablespoons in the morning and then another two in the evening. Spreading it out means that if he gets hungry in between he needs to eat hay. Have you tried many different kinds of hay? My bun doesn’t eat a ton of Timothy but will devour oat hay.

I’ve really never heard of EC or dental problems causing sore hocks before, it seems like a very strange thing for the vet to recommend.

Losing 6 pounds does sound like a lot, but he could have been overweight to start with? He looks like a pretty healthy weight to me in your picture, though obviously its hard to tell from a single photo. What breed is he? Do his bones feel prominent?

Bunnies don’t really need constant access to pellets. If they have tasty pellets, they tend to be less interested in hay. Personally, I give my bunnies one tablespoon of pellets in the evening, and a portion of vegetables in the morning and evening. At all other times they only have hay. I also add dried herbs and flowers to the hay, to make them more excited by it, which might be something for you to try. Does your bun get any veg at all?

For the sore hocks, you can try some thicker padding, like a vet bed or memory foam mat for him to lie on.

Oh I see. That makes more sense, but you would normally see obvious signs of pain – a hunched position is one of them – if he was in pain. Some bunnies are just prone to sore hocks, especially rexes.

One of my buns came to me with teeny tiny sore hocks. I gave him a cotton pillowcase that was stuffed with padding, and put a bit of baby nappy rash cream (sudocrem in the UK, vet recommended) on his hocks for about a week and they recovered.

I’m glad he’s a bit happier about the socks though!

It’s good to give a variety of green leafy veggies. Carrots should really be a treat, as they can be very sugary. My bunnies get two or three of the following: Mixed lettuce, kale, spinach, rocket, mint, coriander, parsley, basil, celery, cauliflower leaves, broccoli. There’s a great list in the bunny info section which tells you what veg is bunny safe! It might be nice to introduce a bit more veg since you’re cutting down his pellets – might make him feel a bit less grumpy about it! Be sure to introduce new veg slowly and in small quantities to start with

I have a bunny with a postural problem that means she gets sore hocks.

I tried wrapping them, applying sudocreme, changed her enclosure etc and the only thing that helped was actually bathing her hocks in warm salt water.

They never really go away for her, but we can manage and keep an eye on it.

As for the weightloss oats and sunflower seeds(in very small doses) can help add some weight onto rabbits.
Adding different kinds of hay and only giving him pellets at set feeding times once or twice a day might help!