Bunny Protesting Timothy Diet!

[Cadbury]

Hi all,

I have a 7-month-old mini Rex who has been on alfalfa pellets and alfalfa hay since I got her.  However, I guess it’s now time to make the switch over to timothy or other grass hay.  I don’t want to stress her too much at one time, so I’m only trying to switch her hay first (she’ll stay on the alfalfa pellets until she is eating timothy hay).  However, she is refusing to eat the timothy!  I’ve also tried Brome and Oat hay, to no avail.  She’ll eat the alfalfa I have in there (I’ve been slowly decreasing the amount of alfalfa) and refuses to eat anything else.  Of course, I always give in and give her more alfalfa because I’m worried that she isn’t eating enough hay.  Has anyone else had trouble with the switch from alfalfa to timothy?  Should I just suck it up and refuse to give her any more alfalfa so she gets hungry enough to eat the timothy?  All ideas welcome!!

[babybunsmum]

hmmm… i wonder what some one with experience would say?  i can see why you’d try to transition  but if it’s not working then my first thought would be to not offer anymore alfalfa hay, just the timothy hay.  are you feeding unlimited pellets?  doing this may prompt her to eat more pellets, which i don’t think you want.  i wonder if it’s better to switch the pellets first?  hopefully you’ll get some better input soon… good luck!

[Sarita]

Welcome Cadbury.

Yes, I think you need to be strong. Alfalfa isn’t really the right type of hay to be feeding her anyway so giving in really doesn’t help. Just keep fresh grass hay for her and eventually she will have to give in.

Also are you limiting her pellets or free feeding her?

[Cadbury]

Thanks so much for the quick replies and warm welcome.  Cadbury is about 5 lbs and is getting 1/4 cup of the alfalfa pellets once a day.  I knew I was supposed to transition the pellets slowly, but wasn’t sure if I should do that with the hay too, or just stop the alfalfa cold turkey.  I think I just need to be strong and not give in to the cute bunny begging!

[Sarita]

Sounds like the pellet ration is fine. It is hard not to give in but you will be doing the right thing :~)

Have you also tried other grass hays besides timothy? As long as it’s a grass hay it’s fine to give her. Alot of rabbits like Orchard Grass hay too. There are other types but those 2 seem to be the easiest to obtain.

[Cadbury]

I’ve tried timothy, orchard and brome.  I also want to try Oxbow’s new botanical hay – it’s supposed to be a mixture of grass hays with some herbs, too.  Maybe that will entice her to eat it!  Thanks again for the advice!

[Sarita]

You might also consider the compressed hays that Binky Bunny sells – they are very nice and they are blends as well.

https://www.binkybunny.com/Default.aspx

The Oxbow Botancial is nice but you don’t get a whole lot for the price.

Another suggestion for the hay is to maybe put some strands of parsley or cilantro or some fresh herbs in the hay (make her dig for it) to see if you can entice her to eat the hay – not sure it will work but it might.

 

[Sarita]

Also have you tried American Pet Diner’s second cutting? I believe they also have a sampler gift pack with a bag of all their different hays – of course you don’t want to give her the alfalfa :~)

[sarah bowden]

Another great source for hay is Sweet Meadow Farm. They have a great Timothy/Herb blend that smells amazing.
Maybe you could trick her too. I know my rabbits love it when I stuff hay and a few dried fruit goodies in a toilet paper roll, that gets eaten up long before the hay in the hay box!!
Good luck!

[Floppy]

my bf’s 2 month old Lola, we give her the oxbows bunny basic for younger buns which
has alfalfa in it, and we feed her oxbows alfalfa hay and timothy…luckily she loves both…

although my floppy isnt all that interested in Orchard or Bermuda hay… I bought a bag of

Orchard hay because I read on here that its greener at this time of year..but he still loves

the timothy and he is very picky and snoobs the browner grass.

[Deleted User]

Hi Cadbury, I had the same problem. I started with the pellets, mixing timothy (Oxbow bunny basic) with alfalfa pellets and gradually adding more timothy until it became all timothy. At first I would find pellets scattered all over. I think he was picking out the alfalfa one. That stopped and we went through the period were it would take a whole day for a 1/4 cup of pellets to be consumed. Now I get attacked if I don’t pour his timothy pellets fast enough. Shadow will try to knock the bowl out of my hand when I fill it, and he will eat everything in one shot.

The hay was and still is an issue. He refused to eat anything but alfalfa. I got broome, timothy, meadow grass and spent a lot of time sweeping it up and composting it. I got him the oat straw from Binky Bunny. He refused to have anything to do with it until the one day I put it in his willow basket and moved it to another room. Damn if he did not suck it down! He barely came up for air. I also tried the bunny blend and timothy compressed bales, with limited success. Basically I put in in at night and all I leave him is a rack of all the hays. I feel so guilty, but it works most of the time. I give him his greens when he is out and about. The other trick I found was let him jump in the hay storage bin, he loves it, does not pee or poop in there and manages to consume healthy amounts of hay. As I said before, what ever it takes to make the beast eat healthy.

Next week I am sure he will make me stand on my head with the hay coming out of my ears to get him to eat.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi and welcome Cadbury! Wow what a picky little furball you have! Bunnies are masters at trying to manipulate us into giving them only the junk food that isn’t really good for them and then they turn on the charm with those soft eyes and innocence. I posted an article in another thread for: If Bunny Won’t Eat Hay

The Oxbow botanical blend is one of my bunnies favorites (it is a little pricey though) as is the bunny blend hay that Binky Bunny Sells.  Give that article a read, and see if any of the tips help.  Try not to give in and supplement the stubborness with high-fiber veggies in the case of holding out on eating hay to help prevent stasis.

I hope this helps!

[Cadbury]

Thanks so much for the advice and the article. Tonight, after staring at me in disbelief after I refused to give her more alfalfa, Cadbury finally started eating her timothy. Yay! I’ve been adding just a bit of alfalfa to the timothy and mixing it up, and that seems to be working. After a few more days of this, I’ll slowly start to change her pellets to timothy, too.

Scarlet Rose – thanks for the tip about increasing veggies until she is consistently eating the hay – great idea!

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