Diva bun – hand feeding hay only

[BodieBun]

Bodie is a 1.5yr old, neutered rescue boy – we’ve had him for 9 months and he’s come on leaps and bounds since we got him.
However, he’s a bit of a diva queen and will only eat hay if you give him it by hand. We tried hanging a rack next to his litter tray, but in try diva fashion, any sort of change makes him not want to poop.
He seems to enjoy the hay we have – we’ve got a mixture of Timothy and Oat – but is only really interested in it if we hand feed him….we’ve tried the hay cookies. It he’s really not interested. he eats his pellets no problem and is good with his veggies (although oddly prefers them once they’re a day old and a bit wilted).

Any advice on how we can get him to eat more hay?

[Bunny House]

I would suggest cutting out the pellets and seeing if he will eat hay on his own, you can even decrease his veggies and see if that makes him eat more hay. Some buns can get full on pellets so they won’t want to eat hay. You can also try and put hay in a cardboard box and see if he finds it interesting to eat. You can also get some herbs from small pet select and sprinkle it in the hay. Has he been to the vet to check on his teeth? He might have reoccurring molar spurs so he doesn’t want to eat hay. Oxbow also has hay rolls and kaytee has hay cubes that my buns love, it’s messy but they will eat it when they don’t eat regular hay.

[Asriel and Bombur]

How much pellets and greens are you feeding him? And how long between non-hay feedings? A good rule of thumb is to feed non-hay items every 10-14 hours that way there’s literally nothing for them to eat but hay.

I agree with BH that its worth a vet visit to check for dental issues. The teeth used to eat hay are different than the ones used to eat pellets and greens.

[Wick & Fable]

If I’m reading this correctly, the issue is he does not poop when eating hay from a hanging rack? Does he still eat from the rack?

Wick does not poop when eating hay from a fabric feeder. I do not know why, but that’s the case.

Have you tried just putting a pile of hay in the box? Rabbits naturally forage for food, like the best strand of hay, so it can come a bit more naturally. It’s hard to forage and dig through hay from a rack. The downside is the soiling of hay from from being peed on, but that’s just a necessary consequence.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Author]

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