Rabbit hay

[Oreo_101?]

Hello,
I am new to binky bunny and I have a question.I have a one year old male dutch rabbit called Oreo and I brought him a bag of meadow hay from a pet shop called jollies (in England).The hay is very good, it smells lovely, quite greeny and long and a nice texture.Oreo can eat the hay but I don’t think he eats enough of it.The hay feel like normal hay so a little dry and a little hard but when I take it out to feed it to him, after an hour the hay goes really soft like grass and he doesent eat.Is this normal with other types of hay?I store it in a a plastic container, when I take it out from there he will eat some but a little while later he won’t.Am I doing some thing wrong?Please help, thanks in advance.

[tobyluv]

Welcome to Binky Bunny!

Hay should not be stored in totally closed containers. It needs to have air circulation, otherwise it can get damp and moldy from moisture building up. If your container doesn’t have any ventilation, maybe you could put some holes in it or keep the top slightly open. I have fed Oxbow meadow hay to my bunnies, but I have never noticed it getting soft after a while. Maybe you should only give him small quantities at a time if he doesn’t eat it after it goes soft. Rabbits do need to have hay available to them at all times, though.

There are a lot of different hay varieties that you can try – timothy, orchard grass and oat hay are all good for bunnies, as well as any of the grass hays. One way to measure the amount a rabbit should eat each day is that they should eat a quantity equal to the size of their body. My rabbits are good hay eaters. They get a variety of hay that I replenish throughout the day.

Are your rabbit’s poops good? Large and kind of light and airy when pulled apart? That’s what you want. Some rabbits are not great hay eaters, but you need to try to make sure they eat as much as possible. Sometimes you have to cut back on the pellets, if you don’t think they are eating enough hay.

[Bam]

Agree with all Tobyluv said. I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong. Hay comes in many qualities depending on when it’s harvested. Some buns like softer hay and some like crunchy. And they can certainly be picky!
I try to serve hay in smallish portions, enough so my bun never runs out but still so I can top up with fresh hay several times a day. My Bam likes oat hay best, but I had to try many kinds before I found that out.

[Oreo_101?]

I have the hay in the container where it does have little gaps for ventilation, so I don’t think that’s the problem but I will give him smaller quantities of hay at a time.The poops look normal brownish colour but at times they can be some that look black ,small and hard but that’s quite rare.I give him lots of water but it is REALLY cold and windy here so he doesen’t drink much.I feed him his veggies which is mainly salad. I will also reduce some of his pellets as it could be why he doesen’t eat much hay.
Thanks tobylove for your help!?

[Oreo_101?]

Thank Bam
I need to try different types of hay.I do feed him Timothy hay also.He prefers it a bit more but the hay is really Brownish yellow and not green at all.It’s quiet crunchy but I don’t think its as good for him as the greener meadow hay.
Thanks for your advice☺

[Author]

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