Disinterest in Hay

[Kayla&Ozzy]

My little guy just got neutered yesterday, everything went well and he acted as if nothing had even happened when we returned home; however, I woke up this morning to find that he hadn’t touched his hay at all. Sometimes he doesn’t eat much of it overnight, so I didn’t think it was too big of a deal at that point… but when I got home from work this afternoon it still seemed untouched.

He’s still incredibly interested in his pellets and gets very excited the second he hears his pellet bin open, so he doesn’t have a disinterest in eating. He just doesn’t seem to want his hay? If I give it to him by hand he’ll eat a couple strands, but after a while he’ll just take the piece and then plop it right back on the floor.

He certainly pooped overnight and while I was at work, so that makes me feel a tad better. I haven’t noticed any lethargy thus far. He’s usually pretty lazy through the afternoons and I can hear him throwing his toilet paper roll around as I type. I’ll definitely keep an eye on activity as the evening progresses, when he would usually be more active (although his pen has been downsized quite a bit while he undergoes his post-neuter downtime, haha).

I went back to the vet earlier to pick up some Critical Care just in case anything happens, although I’m still mega confused about the not-touching-his-hay thing, haha. Is he just being a picky little bugger?

[litheandgraphic]

It could be that he simply doesn’t really like this particular brand of hay. Have you tried a different brand of hay? You can also try mixing in some other varieties of hay, such as botanical hay, orchard grass hay, or even oat hay, to get the bunny’s interest up.

[Kayla&Ozzy]

I was beginning to think that, although I thought it was rather weird since he has always been partial to Oxbow. I bought another brand once a couple months back and he just refused to touch it, haha.

But! Not long after I posted the original message I handed him a couple more strands, then let him be… and I heard him munching away at his hay rack, the little bugger. Drove all the way back to the vet to buy his Critical Care only to find he didn’t need it – better safe than sorry, though. He’s doing wonderfully now!

Thank you very much for your suggestion, though!

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