Enticing a not very good hay eater to, well, eat more hay?

[bunnnnnnie!]

I couldn’t think of a good title for this thread.

Zeus is just not a very big hay eater, he hasn’t been since I first got him.  I don’t think he had hay available to him 24/7 before I got him, so he’s just not “in the habit” of grazing on hay all day long.  I’d like to get him to eat more hay, but I’m not sure how.  Everything I’ve tried so far hasn’t really encouraged him to eat more hay.

So far, I have..

– offered different types of hays.  He has no preference, and doesn’t even go crazy over alfalfa (he likes alfalfa but doesn’t LOVE it).

– sprinkled alfalfa hay over his regular hay.  He’ll pick out a few bits of alfalfa and leave the rest.

– put his hay in a rack instead of in the litterbox.  No change.

– decreased his pellets.  No change.

– decreased his greens. No change.

I put “fresh” hay in his rack twice a day, and rearrange it so it looks different to try and pique his interest.  But he’s just not buying it.

Any further suggestions?  He probably eats a very small handful of hay per day, and would prefer to just sit and lounge rather than sit and graze on the hay.  I give him timothy hay cubes to eat as a snack every few days, and he does like those okay.  But I’d rather he just eat the hay I offer in non-cube form!

[Beka27]

Some rabbits are just not good hay eaters. It sounds like you’ve done most everything I can think of. I know he doesn’t like treats, so you can’t even sprinkle treats in his hay to make him dig them out. Does he eat more hay if he thinks it’s “fresh”? Many people have success with adding a small handful of fresh hay a coupe times thru out the day, or going and mixing the hay up with their hand, bringing the bottom stuff up on top. And his teeth have been checked by a vet? Poor hay eating can indicate teeth issues.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Beka27 on 07/27/2010 01:55 PM
Some rabbits are just not good hay eaters. It sounds like you’ve done most everything I can think of. I know he doesn’t like treats, so you can’t even sprinkle treats in his hay to make him dig them out. Does he eat more hay if he thinks it’s “fresh”? Many people have success with adding a small handful of fresh hay a coupe times thru out the day, or going and mixing the hay up with their hand, bringing the bottom stuff up on top. And his teeth have been checked by a vet? Poor hay eating can indicate teeth issues.

No his teeth haven’t been checked, but wouldn’t he be having issues eating his pellets/greens/hay cubes if it was a tooth issue?  I also watch him eat the hay and he has no visible issues chewing it, he just doesn’t even bother going over and grazing on it most of the time.   But I don’t know a whole lot about bun teeth, so that’s definitely something to think about.
 

I also give him fresh hay, and rearrange the hay.  He doesn’t really care either way, the stinker.

[Beka27]

Different foods require the teeth to work in different ways.  Molars are used to grind the food and to eat hay.  It’s a side to side motion that’s necessary.  A good article on teeth:  http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

From this article:

If your bunny is showing any signs such as

 

• Drooling
• Runny eyes
• Eagerly going to food, but then acting unwilling to actually take it into the mouth
• Gradual (or sudden) change in dietary habits (e.g., refusing to eat pellets, but happy to eat hay–or the other way around!)
• Unusual eating habits, such as a willingness to eat only one or two food items, and rejecting other types.

He could be categorized under either of the last two bullet points.  Since you don’t know his prior health history, you wouldn’t have known if he suddenly stopped eating hay, since he’s been like that for at least as long as you had him.

Speaking of which, was he offerend hay at his previous home?  That’s something else to keep in mind, some rabbits who don’t have hay and are suddenly offered hay just don’t have “the taste for it”.

It’s something to rule out at least…

[bunnnnnnie!]

He was offered hay, but not 24/7.  He was given some once or twice a day, I believe.  I do think that may be part of it, he’s not in the habit of grazing on hay all day.

[Beka27]

Probably. Just keep trying I guess. Maybe mix his pellets in with a bit of loose hay, maybe even put his greens over a small bed of hay, continue putting some in his litterbox. Keep offering it in multiple locations. Maybe he’s really just THAT LAID-BACK that he can’t be bothered to get up and go over to his hay? A favorite thing of my pair is the BB grass hay ball. It’s a woven grass ball with a hollow middle stuffed with hay. Once they eat the hay out of it, I stuff it again with our hay. It can get reused over and over and over (think: a dog “kong” toy, but for rabbits.)

[Sarita]

None of my rabbits graze. Sometimes I see Mango eating his hay and Toffee but the others don’t. They just aren’t grazers. It’s possible he’s getting enough hay already if he’s eating it.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Beka27 on 07/27/2010 02:17 PM
Probably. Just keep trying I guess. Maybe mix his pellets in with a bit of loose hay, maybe even put his greens over a small bed of hay, continue putting some in his litterbox. Keep offering it in multiple locations. Maybe he’s really just THAT LAID-BACK that he can’t be bothered to get up and go over to his hay? A favorite thing of my pair is the BB grass hay ball. It’s a woven grass ball with a hollow middle stuffed with hay. Once they eat the hay out of it, I stuff it again with our hay. It can get reused over and over and over (think: a dog “kong” toy, but for rabbits.)

Hm, I may have to look into that.  He loves grass mats, so a grass ball filled with hay might pique his interest.  Thanks for the idea!

 

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Sarita on 07/27/2010 02:17 PM
None of my rabbits graze. Sometimes I see Mango eating his hay and Toffee but the others don’t. They just aren’t grazers. It’s possible he’s getting enough hay already if he’s eating it.

That’s interesting, I thought it was ‘normal’ for buns to basically be picking at their hay all day long.  Zeus would just much rather lounge/nap.

 

[Sarita]

That sounds like my rabbits. I think the ‘normal’ for domestic indoor rabbits varies from rabbit to rabbit.

I have to wonder if the more we domesticate them the less “normal” from nature they become since the nature of living inside a home is hugely different than in the wild.

[Monkeybun]

My buns cant get enough of their fresh hay. I must have ltitle piggies ;P

[Michelle&Lolli]

Just wanted to add that Eddie hardly ever ate hay until I got Lolli. I gave him hay all along and he’d barely touched it. Not only that the goofball didn’t like alfalfa when he was a baby. Then I got Lolli and got her alfalfa since she was a baby. Of course, she was getting something “special” so Eddie had to have some too. From then on, he eats hay all the time.

So all you need to do is get Zeus a friend! LOL Just kidding!

I tried all sorts of things too to get him to eat hay – mixing in treats, etc. I even tried to make a dig bag out of a paper lawn bag where I put hay and treats in it. I tried to mix in other types of hay with the timothy. He’d munch every now and then, but that’s it. I eventually quit worrying about it because I did take him to the vet to get his teeth checked and they said they were perfect. And there wasn’t anything else wrong with him. Just took another bunny getting something “special” to motivate him to eat more. lol

[Monkeybun]

Monkey hated her alfalfa too. Little weirdo.

[Doe of Chai]

How about purchasing a spritz bottle, and spraying the hay for that day with some apple juice. The flavour might entice him.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By bunbuns1 on 07/27/2010 02:49 PM

Just wanted to add that Eddie hardly ever ate hay until I got Lolli. I gave him hay all along and he’d barely touched it. Not only that the goofball didn’t like alfalfa when he was a baby. Then I got Lolli and got her alfalfa since she was a baby. Of course, she was getting something “special” so Eddie had to have some too. From then on, he eats hay all the time.

So all you need to do is get Zeus a friend! LOL Just kidding!

I tried all sorts of things too to get him to eat hay – mixing in treats, etc. I even tried to make a dig bag out of a paper lawn bag where I put hay and treats in it. I tried to mix in other types of hay with the timothy. He’d munch every now and then, but that’s it. I eventually quit worrying about it because I did take him to the vet to get his teeth checked and they said they were perfect. And there wasn’t anything else wrong with him. Just took another bunny getting something “special” to motivate him to eat more. lol

Hmmm.. maybe I should eat his hay and tell him how awesomely delicious it is to make him jealous?  Hahahaha! 

 

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Doe of Chai on 07/27/2010 03:13 PM

How about purchasing a spritz bottle, and spraying the hay for that day with some apple juice. The flavour might entice him.

That’s an interesting idea!  I wonder if I could use something instead of apple juice though.  He really doesn’t like the smell of apples (I offered him non-sweetened apple sauce, and took one whiff and gave me the “YUCK!” face ).  But adding some sort of enticing scent is a good idea.. hmmmm…

 

[Michelle&Lolli]

Posted By Monkeybun on 07/27/2010 03:10 PM
Monkey hated her alfalfa too. Little weirdo.

So you have a little weirdo too?   I thought I was the only one.  Sometimes I swear Eddie redefines weirdo.  LOL

[Queensbun]

Have you tried stuffing hay into both ends of empty toilet paper cardboard rolls – maybe it will pique his interest?

[MissKris&Koji]

I know you posted saying Zues boy is not too interested in food, generally speaking, so maybe not so surprising he doesn’t go for hay much?

Maybe he doesn’t smell so well. Half of taste is odor, y’know. I kid. Coming from us who like to eat our salads together, bun and I live to eat, I’m baffled, but it does sound like you’ve tried most everything. A small handful is not much for a guy his size but it is something – maybe just try giving him extra fibrous veggies instead…. lots of celery?

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By misskrisnyc on 07/27/2010 08:20 PM

I know you posted saying Zues boy is not too interested in food, generally speaking, so maybe not so surprising he doesn’t go for hay much?

Maybe he doesn’t smell so well. Half of taste is odor, y’know. I kid. Coming from us who like to eat our salads together, bun and I live to eat, I’m baffled, but it does sound like you’ve tried most everything. A small handful is not much for a guy his size but it is something – maybe just try giving him extra fibrous veggies instead…. lots of celery?

Actually he’s snacking on some diced celery right now! .

And you might be right, he’s just not a “OMG FOOD!” bun in general.  He doesn’t really get excited over any food, so I guess hay is no different. 

 

[BinkyBunny]

My bunnies are picky hay eaters, and I find that they like certain hays over others — Their favorite being Orchard or 2nd cut Timothy. Yours might just be picky??

One thing to note though regarding the tooth issues is depending on the severity, a rabbit may actually eat pellets but not hay… Rucy had molar spurs that would cause her discomfort, but she would eat her pellets, but not eat courser hay like 1st cut Timothy.  And when her molar spurs worsened she would only eat pellets, and some greens, but she would avoid hay all together. I think the reason for that is pellets didn’t require so much grinding…just some quick chomps and they were down. And the greens offered some moisture that may have been soothing, where as the hay took more tooth motion so it bothered her when her spurs were at their worst— it would gradually get worse so it’s not something that would happen overnight– just stages between tooth trims.

Your bunny may have not have tooth issues as it sounds like it could just be a preference thing— but it’s just something to keep in mind.

[jerseygirl]

Yeah, pellets only taked a crushing/chewing motion (up and down) whereas hay takes more of the side to side molar chewing. Molar spurs apparently grow out the side so I guess it pokes them in the cheek when they try chew that way. 

One of my rabbits doesn’t eat hardly any hay so i’m interested to hear if you find something that works for Zeus.  I did note she ate a little more when I got a 2nd rabbit.   Sometimes if I limit greens then serve hay on the plate directly after, she’ll eat some.  Nothing works consistently though.

[lashkay]

Jerseygirl just came up with a great suggestion in the other thread, I thought – the Oxbow timothy hay bungalow. Although they cost a bit, my bunny was also in love with the Oxbow timothy hay tunnel – while it lasted, not long! Maybe these interactive toys would turn out to be great ways to get your bunny interested in sampling, then hopefully eating these items. They’re made with pure timothy hay. Best wishes!

[jerseygirl]

Actually, now you mention that Lashkay, the store here now has Timothy grass/hay mats. So if Zeus likes regular grass mats, he might get a taste for timothy hay from one of these mats?

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By jerseygirl on 07/28/2010 04:50 AM
Actually, now you mention that Lashkay, the store here now has Timothy grass/hay mats. So if Zeus likes regular grass mats, he might get a taste for timothy hay from one of these mats?

He does love mats, but I think I have discovered that he doesn’t like Timothy (which is strange to me!).  Last night I cleaned up really well all around his hay rack, removed and tossed ALL the hay around, stuck in, and near the rack.  It was a mix of store bought timothy, and a mix “horse hay” that is mostly orchard.  Then I just put the mixed hay in, no store bought timothy.  He was definitely more interested in this, perhaps because there was no timothy mixed in?
 

Usually when I change his hay, he’ll walk over and at least investigate what I’m doing.  When I was mixing in the Timothy, he wouldn’t even go near it.

[bunnnnnnie!]

But he likes timothy CUBES.. I don’t know.  He’s weird.

[jerseygirl]

Perhaps the store hay is stale? There is a lot of seasonal differences in hay too…as you would know, being a horse person. Keep experimenting I suppose.

[Beka27]

If you can keep him on fresh horse hay, that would be better than petstore hay.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Beka27 on 07/29/2010 09:12 AM
If you can keep him on fresh horse hay, that would be better than petstore hay.

 

Yeah I only added the pet store hay to see if he’d prefer some pure timothy hay.  But he is DEFINITELY eating a bit more hay now that I am excluding the timothy hay altogether, so I’m just not going to use it.  I wonder if the local humane society would want an already opened/used bag of hay?

[Beka27]

Probably! That’d be great if you could donate it… My buns have been on orchard grass exclusively for awhile now, they really like it.

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