If she wont eat enough hay after 4-5 days with the new hay I would try a different hay. Rabbits can eat many different grass hays, not just timothy. Orchard or oat hay, for example. As you are saying, she needs hay for her tummy to work properly.

Agree with Bam,  I would try another hay, or a new bag of the same type. Sometimes a bag is just “off” and the bun doesn’t like it.

Any grass hay is ok for buns. You just want to avoid legume hay (alfalfa and clover) for adult buns, because its so rich in calcium and protein. If you have access to pesticide-free grass, you could give her a tiny bit (needs to be introduced slowly like any new food, but you can increase the amount gradually and it will be a great “replacement” for hay for picky buns).

I think its wise to try cutting back on the pellets to entice her to eat more hay. You should monitor closely though. Preferably weigh her every day. Any radical weight loss is cause for concern. After three days max, up the foodss she will eat again, so as to prevent a bad outcome. This is important, but if you are cautious, fully preventable.

The potential problem with putting a bun on a hay-only diet is twofold. A) the bun just might refuse the hay B) the bun eats the hay but its gut bacteria are not ample and/or diverse enough to break down the hay into sufficient amounts of calories and nutrition.

Rabbits rely on their gut microbes to break down their food into energy and  absorbable micro-nutrients. This is different from us humans, we rely to a greater extent on digestive enzymes, such as amylase (carbs) proteases (proteins) and lipidase (fats).

If a bun doesnt get food or cant break down the food it eats, their body will start to consume body fat. This process, if not taken really slowly, can overwhelm the liver and result in hepatotoxicity (which literally means liver poisoning).

We’ll be very interested in how you fare, any updates are very valuable.

At this point I am actually suspecting that she may have an underlying medical issue going on. Since this has been going on several days I would actually try to see your vet. 1 tablespoon of pellets per day is not very much. She could be having a dental issue that is making her not want hay, and you need to make sure she eats enough so she doesn’t go into stasis.

I know it was all timed with a new hay bag, but at this point I would want to rule out a medical issue before continuing to assume it’s just her being picky.

I agree with Dana in that going this long with a hay inappetite in the context of multiple attempts at previously liked hays is unusual and would merit a vet visit. At the minimum, regardless of the initial cause, going this long without eating adequate amounts of hay could have caused a secondary teeth irritation issue that won’t help the matter (i.e., she hasn’t been eating a lot of hay, but her teeth are still growing, so any tiny spurs may have gotten bigger over time).

You could perhaps book an appointment with the rabbit savvy vet? In my experience, a rabbit savvy vet with a trained eye is a huge lot better when it comes to rabbit teeth. A planned visit would be better than an ER visit too. For an appointment you have a set time and wont have to wait a long time in a waiting room, the vet isn’t stressed but has had time to prep for just your rabbit.

You could try supplementing her with CC on a plate or spoon, she might eat it by herself if you mix it with sth nice, like a small piece of mashed banana. If she stops eating, you’ll obviously need to syringe feed her, but hopefully it wont come to that.

Some buns will eat some steamed hay  because it’s softer. Only steam a small portion at a time, because moist hay doesnt keep well.

I’m glad she ate a little bit! It’s quite fine to give some simethicone if you suspect a little gas, so it’s good that you have that on hand. It wont hurt, but it might help.

I’m glad she ate a little!

I would offer her any thing she is currently eating, including extra greens. Sometimes a pile of wet salad can get things moving again, because dehydration can be at play. Important thing is to get food and fluids into her at this stage. A tummy rub and some simethicone are also a good step. Encouraging movement will also help if it’s gas.

As an alternate idea, it’s possible that her initial refusal to eat the other bag lead to a bit of a slowdown and some gas pain. She may snap out of it on her own if you get enough food into her, but if she isn’t better by morning I would call the rabbit savvy vet and make an appointment. If it is a dental issue the non-rabbit vet won’t be able to do anything.  In general, chewing hay is a bit different than hard treats or toys because the long strands of hay require more side-to-side chewing using the molars.

If she’s eating a bit and pooping a bit it’s not an emergency yet, but def keep encouraging her to eat salad and hay (holding out strands of hay can even help) and hopefully she will perk back up by the morning. I often threaten my buns with a vet visit and they snap right out of it! 😆

It sounds good that she’s eating more hay again! She could have had some gas from eating less hay than normal.

I have one bun that will eat lots of hay if he can access one of the hay bags. It’s almost like he prefers hay that he’s “found” over hay that he’s been given. So I stuff some hay into a bag and put it on the floor where he can “discover” it.

In his litterboxes I put smaller wads of hay that I replenish often, that too seems to stimulate his appetite for the hay.

Sounds like she perked back up! I think it’s probably OK to monitor at this point. It’s very possible she just had some gas due to a period of eating less hay.