Not eating his hay-should I be worried?

[RubyRain]

My 5 mos old male is very grumpy because we seperated him from his mate (both were supposed to be females ).

We are getting him neutered next week though.

However, he has not been eating his hay for the last 2 weeks and barely any veggies-like maybe 2 small pieces of romaine a day. I don’t know if he was getting much of either before we adopted him so he could still be transitioning. He eats his pellets just fine though.

His mate eats her hay and veggies like crazy though. Of course, she could be eating for more than one……we’re waiting to see.

So should I be worried that Leo is not eating hay? I’ve tried timothy hay and orchard grass and he nibbles a little bit but certainly not a handful each day. I’ve only added hay to his box once in 2 weeks! I’m not sure how much he ate and how much he just scattered around.

His mate eats at least a handful of hay (or more) each day and a cup of veggies in addition to her pellets.

So not sure if I should be worried or will things improve after he’s fixed?

[mocha200]

You might want to try to a different kind of hay. You can try:
. Oat Hay
. 3-Hay Blend
. Timothy
. Orchard Grass

Even though you have tried Timothy Hay and Orchard Grass you might want to try different brands or a different cut. Like you can try 1st cut, 2nd cut, or 3rd cut timothy hay.

[LBJ10]

I’ve found that I have to mix up the hay selection. Mine get bored with only one kind, so I have to have a variety on hand.

[Otti]

Well if he hasn’t been eating hay in the last two weeks, and his veggie eating has decreased significantly at the same time, maybe you should be worried. Is he eating all of his pellets? How much do you give him? Has his poop remained normal during the past two weeks?

[RubyRain]

Posted By Otti on 03/03/2011 09:29 AM
Well if he hasn’t been eating hay in the last two weeks, and his veggie eating has decreased significantly at the same time, maybe you should be worried. Is he eating all of his pellets? How much do you give him? Has his poop remained normal during the past two weeks?

He’s eating his pellets just fine and his “output” is the same. He was eating hay until I separated him from the other rabbit. I’m wondering if he’s just depressed?

I can’t say he stopped eating veggies because I don’t know for sure who was eating them-they were just gone when I’d look again. It might have only been the other rabbit eating the veggies. Since he’s still young, I’m wondering if he wasn’t getting much veggies from the person I adopted them from so they could be new for him. We’ve only had them 3 weeks. The first week he ate hay fine, but these last 2 weeks he’s been separated from the other bunny and not eating the hay.

I’m not sure where else I can get other cuts of hay. The local feed store just has the small bales of timothy that I have and big bags of alfalfa which I don’t want. The orchard grass is Kaytee brand but it’s soft and smells good. I did order some Peter’s brand of timothy hay and that should be here soon so we’ll try that too.

[LoveChaCha]

My bunny snubbed vegetables until she was 6-7 months old.
I’ve heard of some rabbits being influenced by others to eat certain veggies.
Does little boy sulk? Do binkies?

[Elrohwen]

Is he getting unlimited pellets? Otto wasn’t interested in hay much until I cut back on his pellets when he got older. He was also extremely picky about veggies and while he ate a lot, he would only eat lettuces. Now that he gets less pellets he eats a much wider variety of other foods, including hay. I wouldn’t worry just yet.

[RubyRain]

Thanks everyone, I’m more reassured now.
Went to the vet today (for the pre-neuter exam) and she confirmed what was said here. Not to worry and to keep offering it.

[Otti]

Yeah if he’s pooping regularly and normally then that should mean he’s fine.

[Author]

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