He’s not eating his grassy hay?

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone! Hey, since getting Henry I have had conflicting advice on what a bun should be fed & how much? So far Henry has pellets, which he eats happily,  grassy hay which he rarely eats (& concerns me the most)….. and about 1 – 2 cups of veg a day (at night/bedtime to keep him busy while I am sleeping, lol…) and his favourite, a bit of ‘banana’ to get him out from under my bed and into his bed at night. Is this all good? All and any advice will be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

[Roberta]

Can you get some Oaten or Fescue Hay ? VetNPet Direct have the Vetafarm minibales.
http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/Vetafarm-Furry-Friends-Fibre-Rich-Fescue-Bale
http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/Vetafarm-Furry-Friends-Fresh-Cut-Lucerne-Bale

[Bam]

I’m not quite sure what grassy hay is, but rabbits can be very picky when it comes to hay. Mine want rather coarse hay, not the soft or wiry kind. I had big problems with my first bun who all but refused hay his first year with me. Maybe your bunny fills up on pellets so you could reduce the daily amount a little? They should get like 80% of their daily nutritional intake from hay, ideally, unless they are very young (6 months or less).

I had to try several types of hay before I found one my Bam would eat. But even then he prefers everything else, so I always need to be very restrictive with pellets and fruit/carrots. Rabbits can get fat. It’s not always obvious to the owner, I didn’t realize how fat Bam had got until the vet told me. And he wasn’t just a little on the heavy side, he weighed like a pound too much which is a lot on a mini lop.

[Kbana]

I agree that you might need to cut back on the pellets. I feed mine about 1/8 to 1/4 cup a day and he eats tons of hay. Before I did that he definitely ate less hay. Mine likes orchard grass and timothy, botanical hay, etc. Mine isn’t picky but you might need to try different kinds to entice yours. I would start with cutting back on the pellets for a few days if he is getting a lot (depending on his age) and see if that helps before spending a ton of money on hay. Or buy a small bag of something different and try it out.

[Elrohwen]

What amount of pellets are you feeding? One of mine didn’t eat much hay when he was young, because he was getting a lot of pellets. Now that he gets 1/8c daily, he eats tons of hay.

Otherwise it sounds good. You could try other types of grass hay since some bunnies are picky.

[Deleted User]

Hi and thank you! Grassy hay, which was suggested to me, is just grass cut from the side of the road or paddocks and bought in a bale from the produce store. Just thought hay was hay? I contacted a nutritional specialist who ever so kindly (& surprisingly) offered to call me – WOW! Suggested Henry may have been raised on a different form of hay and after a description of what he was bought home with, we think it may be the oaten hay? So am off to buy some tomorrow lol, fingers crossed he will start eating it again. I am usually suspicious of advice that I get from a product company, but to have this confirmed by my fellow BBer’s – I now have every confidence – thank you!
Also, I loved not just the suggestion of which hay I should try – but the advice! I knew bunnies were fussy, but didn’t know hay would be an issue??? And yes, I agree, he is having way toooo many pellets as I leave his bowl filled next to the dog dish (cause he was starting to nibble on there food), so am going to now only introduce a 1/4 cup a day. (& if I have to, put the dog food outside?!?!?).
On another forum, a member who looked at henry’s pic’s said that ‘Henry looked big, maybe it was the angle of the photo’? (so much for his modelling career?). Way Way toooo funny! But am happily taking that on board – thinking that for 8 months old maybe I am over loving Henry and need to be more responsible with his food habbits.
To everyone – thank you all soooo very much again! Cheers!

[Deleted User]

PS – I’ll have to get a pony now to eat the bale of hay, DAM!!!!!

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