Baby bunny only eats hay?

[Minty]

 My 8 week old bunny that I brought home only seems interested in hay. I did not get any of the pellets he is used to eating to wean him on to so I’m not sure what to do. The lady I got him from said he was on 16% pellets so I have been free feeding him the Oxbow 15/23, however, he isn’t interested at all. I also don’t think he has been given alfalfa hay before, and was being given local hay. Can I just immediately switch him to alfalfa or will this upset his stomach? He is eating lots of the Oxbow Botanical and timothy hay I have and pooping fine so I’m not too worried yet. I just don’t think these hays have enough nutrients for him, especially as a young growing bunny. It’s funny how he is the exact opposite of my other bun… Sully goes crazy over pellets but isn’t very fond of his hay. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Sarita]

Do you have timothy pellets? Try those. It doesn’t matter what type of pellets you feed him as long as it’s high quality. There is nothing that says it has to be alfalfa just unlimited at this age.

[Minty]

I was going by the HRS website as to what they suggest feeding. I don’t have timothy pellets, as my other bun is also on the 15/23. I thought the alfalfa pellets would be more appetizing anyways? Maybe I will try a different brand of pellet and see how it goes…

[Sarita]

The HRS website just suggests unlimited pellets it doesn’t specifically state alfalfa.

[Minty]

Oh, I was talking about the alfalfa hay, but I have also heard from different sources that it is recommended to feed an alfalfa based pellet to younger buns (because of increased protein and higher calories.)

[Deleted User]

Yeah, it says that but really you don’t have to do it. Even on a reduced leaner pellet a kit thrives. You want to get them eating hay as early as possible. You might want to offer a variety of hays.

[Sarita]

As long as it’s a good quality timothy pellet it will suffice.

[Deleted User]

Feeding trials have shown that reducing pellets won’t hurt a growing rabbit

(from HRS http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-4/pellets.html)

In feeding trials in which pelleted feed was reduced to 50% of normal intake and the diet was supplemented with greens, young rabbits maintained normal growth. When the amount of pellets was reduced to below 50% of “normal,” growth rate declined (Pote et al 1980). These studies indicate that even young, unaltered rabbits do well on a reduced pellet diet. Since most of our house rabbits need to lose weight rather than gain, reducing pellets below 50% should not affect spayed or neutered adults adversely

Remember that pellets were invented for the commercial rabbit industry. You want to get your rabbit used to eating hay as it keeps his teeth busy. Rabbits need to be chewing most of the time to keep good dental health. I am always keen on getting kits hooked on hay early for that reason.

[Minty]

Thanks for the info Petzy and Sarita! He already seems to be hooked on hay so no worries there. I will keep offering the pellets but it seems that as long as he is eating hay he should be fine?

[Deleted User]

A good routine is to fill his hayrack first and once he has already eaten some of the hay, feed the pellets, two hours later for example. That way he doesn’t just fill up on pellets.

[Author]

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