not eating hay and how to cut nails

[jayne fine]

I never seen my bun eating her hay and I’m not sure if I should be doing something to encourage it or what.  She eats her pellet food, but the hay she doesn’t really touch.  It’s store-bought timothy; not very high quality but I’m getting some oxbow soon; I had a little for about a week and I didnt notice her eating that overmuch though either.

 

Also, I’ve been putting off cutting her nails but they’re really long and it needs to be done.  I’m super worried about cutting into the quick.  She doesnt let me pick her up and I dont push it because there’s not really a reason to, but I’m really not sure what to do about these nails.  Wrap her in a towel?  I don’t want to hurt her, I’d like to avoid traumatizing her, but I didnt get her to the vet over fall break and I go to school in the middle of nowhere and can’t get her to a vet here to have it done, so I’m going to have to do it myself.  Any tips?

[OliverBun]

My bun only eats hay at night. For a while I thought he wasn’t eating hay, either. However, it turns out that it’s his midnight snack. Is it possible you’re just  not seeing your rabbit eat the hay? 

Also, the Oxbow may help. My rabbit refuses to eat some hay if it’s not to his liking.

Regarding the nail trimming. I have my vet do it. But they’ve told me that it’s really best to have someone help you, as it’s quite hard on your own. I’m not going to give you advice on how to do it, though since I’m not very good at it!

. If you look closely at your bun’s nails, you will probably be able to see the quick as a lot of rabbit nails are translucent. It’s actually really convenient. 

[OliverBun]

My bun only eats hay at night. For a while I thought he wasn’t eating hay, either. However, it turns out that it’s his midnight snack. Is it possible you’re just  not seeing your rabbit eat the hay? 

Also, the Oxbow may help. My rabbit refuses to eat some hay if it’s not to his liking.

Regarding the nail trimming. I have my vet do it. But they’ve told me that it’s really best to have someone help you, as it’s quite hard on your own. I’m not going to give you advice on how to do it, though since I’m not very good at it!

. If you look closely at your bun’s nails, you will probably be able to see the quick as a lot of rabbit nails are translucent. It’s actually really convenient. 

[litheandgraphic]

It’s really important that your bun is eating at least their body weight in hay every day. If she’s not interested in this brand, try another – as soon as possible is better than waiting, even if you can just get a small bag of something else until the Oxbow comes.

Clipping nails can be tricky. Many people go to their vets to have this done. But you can, as has been suggested, ask someone to help you – one person holds bunny still and the other clips. With Theodore, he is so distracted by his evening pellets that I can actually just clip his nails while he’s eating, but not every rabbit will let you do this. A “bunny burrito”, wrapping the bunny in a towel and coaxing out each paw as needed, is a used technique but can be stressful on the rabbit.

Many people recommend putting your rabbit up somewhere higher, and leaning in to them so they feel secure against your chest, and then lifting each paw as needed. Don’t force it – if the bunny is really struggling or in a lot of duress, let them go for the time being and try again later.

Do remember to avoid “trancing” your rabbit, which is lying them on their backs. Many people recommend this but it is actually very stressful for rabbits and should only be used in cases where there is 100% no other choice. If that is the case, then be sure to watch a video online of how to safely trance your rabbit (put those exact words into YouTube). There are tons of tutorials for clipping nails on YouTube that can be helpful, just remember to disregard the trancing ones.

Good luck!

[WildRabbitsRock]

I cut my rabbits nails with toe nail clippers for humans. Works perfectly! Just make sure you done go to far….don’t cut where the red is. That’s the blood and it will bleed really bad and make the rabbits toe hurt if you cut there. It’s called the “quick” also

[tobyluv]

Regarding hay, you may want to try some other varieties, such as orchard grass. That’s a sweeter, softer hay that some bunnies prefer. It may take some experimenting to find hay that your bunny likes. Oxbow is a good brand, so is American Pet Diner and Small Pet Select.

Since your rabbit is an adult, which you mentioned in another thread, you need to make sure that you aren’t giving her too many pellets. An average weight rabbit (5 – 7 pounds) should only get about 1/4 cup of pellets a day. Besides possibly causing weight gain, if they eat too many pellets, they probably aren’t going to eat as much hay.

You’ve gotten some good advice on the nail clipping. It is helpful to have someone help you. Since you are apprehensive, just take off the tips or a small amount this first time. That should hold your rabbit until you can get to the vet, or you can clip them yourself again in a few weeks. As you get used to it, you will become more confident, and can clip a little lower, so that it doesn’t have to be done so often.

[Callie]

It looks like you have gotten some great advise already I just would like to add in the event that you do clip the nail to short, please try not to, but if it happens it might be a good idea to have a jar of Kiwk Stop handy. It can be purchased at the pet store and you just tap some of the powder on the nail to help it stop bleeding. (Flower can work too in a pinch if you don’t have the kiwk stop.) I am a pet groomer and accidents do happen, just try your hardest to avoid it, and also be confident and relax you will get the hang of it in no time! !

[Emiline]

My rabbit doesn’t eat timothy hay anymore she only eats orchard grass, which my vet said is perfectly fine. And my rabbit is picky about the brand I buy, she only eats Kaytee which I can find pretty much anywhere. I also stuff some hay in a cardboard tube from paper towels rolls and she loves to eat it that way, you could try that.

I’m also nervous about cutting her nails too, I always have someone help me.

[MeowBun]

In regards to the hay, I find putting a small handful of “new” hay from the bag onto the old pile a few times every day is the absolute best way to encourage your bunny to eat it. It smells fresher or something, anyway they love it. Also, like other people were saying, making sure you’re only feeding about 1/4 cup of pellets for every 4 lbs. of rabbit, along with 2 cups or so of greens, will ensure they still have the appetite for hay.

When it comes to the nail trimming, I was absolutely UNABLE to do it for more than a month, since my bunnies don’t let me pick them up, but I eventually got them into my pet carrier and into the bathtub with the loud bathroom fan running and I was FINALLY able to do it with almost no fuss! Taking them to an unfamiliar location with unfamiliar noise (music would work) makes them just stressed enough to make grooming possible, but not as stressful for my bunnies as the bunny burrito towel technique. For my one bunny’s clear nails, it’s easy to see the quick and just cut a few millimetres away from it, but for my other bunny’s dark nails, I just shine a flashlight behind each one to see the quick’s silhouette.

Good luck!

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