Hay

[Jolene DuBelle]

Hi,

I was orginally feeding my buns just Timothy Hay since that is what they are supposed to have and ocassionally would mix Orchard with their hay or a grass blend to spruce up their hay so they don’t become overly bored with their hay.  I take my buns to a local pet shop that trims their nails for free and was sugested to feed my buns some oat hay with their Timohy since it was higher in Calories and miss buns eats all the pellets before mister buns has a chance to get his fair share in, so he’s a little on the thinner side, not unhealthy but I can’t feed more pellets because mis buns will get super fat if i did.  

So it’s worked with ocassionally adding extra pellets since he seems to be picky with his hay as well and he’s gained weight.  So now the misus is only wanting oat hay, so I though, well lets save some money and get a bale of oat hay and now she wont touch the new hay.  So now I have two super picky hay eaters that want their original oat hay and im wondering if anyone has switched hays on their buns and if they eventually started to eat the new hay.  I mean, a bale of hay is a lot of hay.  Cheaper though and I dont want to give up on them either.  Should ?I cut back on their pellets/veggies to get them interested in their new hay?  Anyone experience changing hay’s on their buns?

-Jolene

 

[RabbitPam]

Are you still mixing it in with the other hays? I think if you introduce it mixed with the Timothy, and another time with the Orchard grass, they will get a taste for it if it’s just a brand change. They do like some one day and not so much the next (Bunnytowne knows about that!) but if you keep the pellets to a reasonable amount and don’t overdo treats, they should be more interested soon. Do you give them some greens daily, too?

[Jolene DuBelle]

I do give my bunnies veggies however one of them gets flaky skin/scabs around her mouth when she eats them which I find quite odd. At first when I noticed it I thought it was some sort of disease of some sorts until i experimented with cutting back veggies. So from time to time I will cut back on veggies and add extra pellets to allow her mouth to heal and fur to grow back, otherwise she starts scratching at her mouth too much and she will make it worse. I figure it must be some sort of allergy to one of the plants, but have not been able to narrow it down just yet as to which one.

I didn’t get an opportunity to mix the hays since I ran out quicker than anticipated since I have added two extra litter boxes to their cage because for some reason one of the buns decided that he would rather eat hay over the side of the litter box than jump all the way inside. He’s really touchy about everything and it looks like he would rather have more room to graze on hay than his girlfriend who wouldn’t care if some one was sitting on her as long as she gets her hay.

Now that it is payday again, I’ll be getting her favorite hay again (spoiled bunny) but I also purchased a hay feeder that will cut down the loss of that hay and will feed that one sparingly now. But I would still prefer to switch her over to the new hay since it is more cost effective.

[RabbitPam]

I’m actually more concerned about the problem you’re having with her mouth when she eats veggies. That should be looked at by a vet. It’s indicative of a problem that might not be allergies at all, because bunnies have dental issues along with other sensitivities that need to be watched and cared for. Do you have a rabbit savvy vet who is good with exotics? If so, get her a check up and tell the vet about this issue. She should have dark, leafy greens on a daily basis (noever feed her iceberg lettuce, though, the kind we eat). If she is having a tooth problem, it would cause her to drool, and possibly the hay is getting stuck in a way that makes her prefer the pellets, so she’s eating those first.

[Jolene DuBelle]

She’s had two full examinations (One when she arrived at the animal shelter and when I adopted her)  and also has had monthy checkups by the Rabbit Haven professionals (they do free nail clipping and checkups once a month in my area) as well.  She is due for her yearly checkup in October where I’ll be taking her to her vet (rabbit savy.)

Shes about 2 year old, and is a vaccume where food is concerned.  She eats everything and anything in sight and wont stop there if it was her choice.  If it was drooling problem, wouldnt it also affect her when she is eating her hay, and/or pellets as well?  It would seem odd that she would only drool with vegetables and nothing else.   When I cut out all veggetables aside from Romain lettuse the issue subsides and voila it all goes away.  Its when I add an array of vegetables to her diet that I see that this happens.   She does receive dark leafy vegetables daily, and when I cut back, its just Romain and red/green leaf lettuce that I give her since I know that those ones do not do that to her.  This week I will be introducing Bok Choy again since I am trying to narrow down which vegetable it is and next week dandlion greens.  So far everything has gone smoothly with reintroducing vegetables.  So far the things I have avoided to add back into her diet is Escrole/Endive which I am suspecting is the culprit since all other vegies seems to be ok.

On a side note though, she has been picking through her new hay and is spending more time like before grazing.  Not as much but each day that goes by she eats more and more of it, so I am pleased that she’s eating it. 

[RabbitPam]

Well, the vegetables are usually washed just before being served, so you might pat them dry with a paper towel if that is adding to the problem. Often they provide a source of water other than the water bowl which can be good, but not if it adds to the drool. Next time you are getting her check up (once a month, you are lucky!) you could mention it to them. I know that Sammy gets orange whiskers under her chin from carrots, but doesn’t turn green from her leafy veggies.

[BinkyBunny]

Such an oddity being allergic to a particular green or greens. It sounds like you are trying to narrow it down. Let us know what green or greens that actually cause this reaction in her. Since this is rather uncommon, I definitely want to learn more which green or greens may be causing this and I wonder if they have something in common.

Please be sure to keep us updated!

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