Doesn’t like Healthy Pellets!

[rach.doris]

Hey everybun, I’ve had my baby for a little over a week now and I have begun transitioning his pellets to Oxbows. He was eating Kalmbach feed which is not as healthy that I originally got from the lady I got him from. So in order not to stress him out too much, I decided that I would feed him his normal pellets for a week and then gradually switch off to something healthier like Oxbows Baby Essentials. I already have 10lb of the baby essentials and I was really hoping to use them up. If I cannot, what other pellet should I order? I still want the pellet to be healthy but I want him to eat them! He is a stubborn little bun and I began my transition this week by giving him 3/4 Kalmbach and 1/4 Oxbow. Well his little smart bunny butt thought that he could just eat around Oxbow to eat the junk food. When I tried hand feeding him the Oxbows he pushed my hand away in disgust. I have never heard of a bunny not like Oxbows! I even tried the week before to give some Oxbows as a treat and he seemed to enjoy it. However, now that his favorite pellets are dwindling, he is going on a strike against Oxbow. The problem I have too is that there is not many baby rabbit foods out there (he is only 9 weeks) so I do not know what to feed him.

[Deleted User]

It happens a lot when people switch pellets. It’s a because the other food probably has “better tasting” things in it that make him not want to eat the Oxbow. A lot of it is also probably because it’s just a new food. One of my boys didn’t take too kindly to the adjustment either, but just see it through, especially because he’ll eventually have to do it again when he switches to adult food, and he’ll probably have the same reaction then.

Try not to give him more pellets when he doesn’t eat the Oxbow ones, if he’s hungry enough he’ll eventually eat them.

[kurottabun]

I second A&B. Normally they are just picky and will eat it once they don’t have a choice.

[LBJ10]

To them, it’s like being switched from a diet of potato chips to a diet of vegetables. Bunnies become accustomed to the taste of the junk food, so the healthier stuff seems bland to them. Not wanting to eat the new food is totally normal. Just stick with it.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Yup, stick with it. My rabbits were not happy when I switched from Martin’s to Oxbow. I just keep offering fresh pellets and they eventually stopped being so fussy.

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