Doesnt eat much hay

[Esarv]

So here i am again…confused.  I have tried every hay out there and it seams that my bun Todd just doesnt want to eat it =[  I know hay should be a big part of their diet but if hes not eatting it then what am i supposed to do?  He has hay in his litter box and also has two hay racks in his condo, i filled them up like 2 weekes ago and they are STILL full, i even will take the old hay out and put in new hay every few days.  As of right now he gets unlimited pellets since he is only 5 months old and he also get a fresh cup and a half of greens each day or every other day bc sometimes he doesnt finish it all in a day. Does anyone have any suggestion as to what i should do about the whole hay thing? Anything would be greatly appreciated !!!

[LBJ10]

From my experience, they start developing a “taste” for hay as they age. As young buns, mine would eat a minimal amount of hay. Now they are always munching away. Do you think he is about done growing? Once you stop giving him so much pellet food, I bet he’ll become more interested in hay.

[Esarv]

he weights about 5lbs so he could be done growing…should i cut down on his pellet food now?

[bmt87]

I’m sure one of the leaders will chime in on this question but – I did when Lola was 5 months old. She wasn’t eating all her veggies (kinda like Todd) so I just went with my gut and now she just has her ~1/4 cup pellets every morning and grazes on fresh hay all day long!

Edit to add: and she gets her veggies as well….just wanted to make sure I put that because it kinda made it sound like I didn’t give her any.

[Esarv]

Thanks bmt i will see what others have to say and then prob switch to doing what you say if they think it is also a good idea. =]

[Monkeybun]

I would start limiting pellets, he’ll be fine if you do Having him hungry will make the hay more enticing.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m assuming you’ve tried Orchard grass?

You could also try mixing some flavours into the hay, dried flower petals or chopped fresh herbs. Might make the hay more appealing. Or he might just be a little stinker and pick the good stuff out but I find it helps when my buns get fussy because of a different bag of hay.

[Sarita]

I would definitely start limiting those pellets.

[Malp_15]

Tait was the same at that age, I slowly started cutting back pellets and as I did his hay consumption went up. Would you eat hay when you can eat all the pellets you want

[Esarv]

this is all true lol….his hay is a mix of three different types so ill start limiting his pellets today.

[jackikal]

If that doesn’t work, put some raisins in the center of the hay pile so he has to move the hay to get to it. Then he may start to notice it more.

[LBJ10]

I agree with the others. If he’s done growing, there’s no reason to continue unlimited pellets.

[FrankieFlash]

I would limit pellets and watch what happens. Make sure he is eating more vegetables and hay and his poops stay regular (they might change slightly but they should still be constant). Bunjamin is 10 months and I started limiting pellets and it was obvious he was losing weight (which he didn’t need), so I went back to the way I used to. Out of curiosity, is he on alfalfa or timothy pellets?

[Esarv]

Hes on alfalfa pellets and then once hes a year old im switching him to oxbow pellets

[Monkeybun]

I switched my buns over to timothy pellets at 6months. You don’t need to wait for a full year

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I would remove the hay racks and dump the litter box. At treat time give him a small amount of hay-like you would a treat. I think rabbits are a lot like kids-if they can have it whenever they want, they aren’t excited about it. Limit it and they may get excited and try it! A big tip is adding small amounts of hay several times a day (just enough to eat) and adding floral treats to it helps wonders as well (like the bunny potpurri stuff in the BB store!) -make it a treat, and I bet he’ll start eating it. Also try hay cubes. It’s sooo important that they eat lots of hay so you want to improve this right away.

Ditto limiting pellets-why eat salad when you can have as much desert as you want!

[Esarv]

So i should totally take out all they hay in his cage and feed it as treats for a week or so? And then put back in the hay racks full of hay and herbs and such so he starts eatting more of it?

[kinggoblin]

Mine wasn’t a big hay eater when he was younger, he is nearly a year old now and devours it, I find him up to his shoulders in his hay box sometimes munching away. I have to refill his hay every 2 day. Hay w/ herbs has always been a favorite, so is oat hay. He also likes sweet meadow farms hay more than what the pet stores offer ( oxbow or kaytee ).

Mine only get a small bit of pellets in the morning. Mine has never thought of hay as “treats” though lol. When I try to offer him some he pulls it out of my hand and throws it on the ground.

[Esarv]

bllaaahhh….so what should i do??

[kinggoblin]

Do you offer him hay cubes? Mine really loves them ( so does the dog, she steals them out of his pen lol ), I give him a handful and he eats them all in one day. I would just try giving him a variety of hay and cubes and less pellets/treats.

[Esarv]

Yes he has like 3 hay cubes in his cage also…doesnt really bother with them. His hay is already a mix of 3 different types so im stumped =/

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I would take it all out, and feed handfuls during the day often My bunnies are fiends and eat two kg a week or so (There is some waste of course) and it works for me. I add small amounts whenever I go in. Bunnie also like the idea of something novel, so adding it frequently piques their interest.

[Esarv]

So i took out all the hay today in todds cage…and will start giving his handfuls during the day and lets hope he’ll eat it. When should i put the hay racks back in his cage? And when i do put them back in should i fill them with hay and dried herbs and treats and stuff?

[Esarv]

So i tried feeding him handfulls of hay today and he nuddged me away….What do i doooo??!! He doesnt want to eat hay and prob hasnt eatten any hay in so long. Ugh im soo confused as what to do about this whole thing to make him eat it!!

[Esarv]

Should i take oout all food and just put hay to force him to eat it??!

[Slippers]

My bunny Sammy didn’t eat very much hay at all when he was 5-6 mos. old. Then one day I put a hay rack above his litter box, and voila! He ate hay, and developed a taste for the good stuff. I purchased 40 lbs of 2nd cut timothy hay, and he’s been happy ever since! I stopped buying the small bags of hay at the pet store, he wasn’t interested anyways. He gets a bowl of mixed greens every morning (7:30) and night at 7:00pm. I fill the hay rack before I go to work, and it’s all gone when I get home. At least it’s all pulled out of the rack.

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