Rabbit just simply won’t eat hay/ Also very disappointed with Small Pets Select.

[mschoonover11]

Hi all. 

I know I post like everyday but it’s been a very stressful journey with Toby. Yes, I love him, he’s cute and all, but I’m just at the point where I’m done. Definitely not going to re-home him or anything, but I tell you, it’s been STRESSFUL. So a lot of you that have read my most recent posts know that I just ordered SPS to give it a second chance. Well I did and it took a whole week to arrive to my house. The day it arrived, it was raining and the stupid mail man left it outside my house instead of putting it on my porch that has a roof over it I freaked out cause I knew it would be damaged. Turns out, it was fine. This time, the hay was mostly green, but I was quite disappointed cause it looked like 1st cutting. It has a TON of seed heads. It has more seed heads than it actually does hay. This definitely did not look like second cutting at all. Did they get my order wrong? I tried giving him the stuff and obviously he didn’t eat it. I ordered 10 freaking pounds of it for $30 + shipping and he still won’t eat it… I tried mixing it up in the box maybe to give it a fresher smell, and still he won’t eat it. My mom spoils my bun like crazy, so she decided to go buy him Kaytee or Forti Diet(same thing I think) and he loved it. It’s low in fiber, and is shredded yellow hay. I don’t wanna give my bun that crap! I order him the good quality expensive stuff and he won’t eat it. then my mom takes a trip to Walmart and buys crappy hay and he eats it! I’m so annoyed and confused at this. yes, I may sound bratty or like I’m over exaggerating but I’m really just done with this. I’ve spent so much money on him it’s not even funny. What do I do with 10lbs of fresh hay? I’m not just gonna waste it! I have decided to leave it there until he eats it. I’m not going to try anymore hay brands cause he’ll just waste them. I even tried orchard grass and still nothing. I’ve tried the top of the knotch brands and he still won’t eat it. I even bought him these expensive papaya treats and he hated them. I read all these forums of people buying treats and goodies for their buns and they get happy. I wish I could do all those things for my rabbit but it just doesn’t work with him. I tried bringing him upstairs to my room and he just goes under the bed and sleeps. What’s going on with this rabbit?! Geez

Again, I’m just disappointed with all of this, and wish my bun would be like other buns. He’s just picky and spoiled and always expects me to buy all this stuff for him to waste. Yes, he’s an animal but still… I’m done with this.

I would just really appreciate advice from those of you who have had rabbits for a long time, or maybe have gone through something similar like me. Thanks…

[mschoonover11]

And I am planning a vet visit soon, but my parents won’t allow it this month. Maybe next though. All of you are probably going to say dental issues. You could be right. I checked his teeth today, and they don’t look overgrown at all. They’re really white and look healthy. But maybe they’re not. there’s sadly nothing I could do at the moment to detect whether it’s dental issues or not since my parents won’t let me take him to the vet this month.

[DanaNM]

You wouldn’t be able to see molar problems yourself (24 molars in that tiny mouth!), and you’re right, dental problems could be at play.

How many veggies and pellets does he get? Often too many veggies or pellets can cause them not to want much hay.

You can always use the kind he doesn’t like in his litter box. Mixing some in with the kind he does like might also encourage him to try it.

He prob hid under your bed in your room because it was an unfamiliar area and he was scared…

Side note, bunnies do not expect you to buy expensive treats or toys. Most bunnies are quite happy with no treats, and cheap toys (mine love toilet paper tubes, cardboard boxes, and phone books). It’s easy to get swept on by cute bunnies on instagram with fancy toys, but honestly I think the bunnies are just as happy with cheap ugly stuff.

All your bunny needs and expects from you is love, a healthy diet, and a safe habitat. Focus more on spending more floor time with him, instead of money, and you will probably feel better about things.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[mschoonover11]

Very well said Dana. Thank you

My bunny gets a 1/4 cup of pellets daily. The pellets I feed are Sherwood Forest. For veggies, I don’t really measure the amount, but I’ll tell you what I give him daily. I give him about 2-3 strands of cilantro, a teaspoon of bell peppers(mostly yellow ones) and 2 cups of spring mix daily. To funk it up a bit, I sometimes throw in some mint and parsley.

I have put some of the hay that doesn’t like into his litterbox, but not with the SPS. It’s wayyy too expensive to just throw in a litterbox for him to pee on.

I’ve given him toilet paper roles to chew on in the past, and he didn’t like em much. I also gave him news paper to play with last week, and he chewed on it a bit, but then stopped. When I let him out for free time, he doesn’t like chewing up cardboard or anything. He just sits there and chews holes in the wall an carpet.

Your so right when you said that instead of spending money on him, I should spend more time with him. I’m still in school, and it’s hard but I still do it. Question: how long should bunnies be out daily?

The whole night, he stays in his 2 story bunny condo made with Nic grids. And in the morning until late afternoon, he stays in a huge xl dog x pen. Then I let him out with me a bit but there’s not a specific amount of time when he’s with me. It’s maybe for like an hour but he just sleeps under the bed the whole time and won’t come out.

Me and him have a good bond though. He licks me every day and we cuddle a lot. I’m trying my best to give him the healthy diet he needs, but I tell you, he just won’t eat hay. I have tried not to give up on giving him hay, but I’ve just switched around with soooooo many brands and I can’t seem to find one he’ll actually eat.

I’m pretty much desperate right now. I know I give him the best diet he can get. As far as time, not every one can dedicate a whole day to a rabbit. I have school and it gets hard to give him all my time and attention. At least he’s not like my friend’s bun who stays in a pet store bought cage all day and night. He rotates spaces throughout the day. he gets enough time with me daily at least in my opinion. It’s just really concerning me that he won’t eat hay. My other concern is the time gets out of his cage. I wish I could just let him free roam for a long time and destroy boxes but when I do, he just chews human things and I don’t know what to do.My parents get so mad when he destroys things. And they won’t even let me bunny proof. They say they don’t ant to spend money on fixing up a house for a rabbit. I have tried asking my parents on tips for bunny proofing, but they don’t pay attention to me on rabbit stuff. I just really need tips and advice. Sorry if I’ve come off as a bad bunny owner. I’m not and I try my best not to be…

[DanaNM]

His diet sounds good, but what’s his weight? If he’s tiny, 2 cups of spring mix might be too much.

For chewing carpet, the best solution I’ve found is cermaic tiles to cover problem areas (they tend to get obsessed and work on “projects”) and cardboard cat scratchers for them to chew. I think they are satisfying to shred, and give the same feeling as carpet. The tiles are cheap (i got mine for about 85 cents each for large ones), as are the cat scratchers if you buy them online or at trader joes.

You can also make a newspaper mat: http://www.bunssb.org/buns-newsletter/september-2013/make-mat/

As for exercise, mine get about 2 hours out in the morning, and 3-4 in the evening. They are often out all day as well if my husband works from home, but they usually just sleep all day in their condo, even when they have free run.

Mine usually like the phone books better than just paper, as they like to shred the pages. I will also stuff hay into the toilet paper rolls to make them more interesting. Cardboard egg cartons are also a huge hit!

It will prob help to try to give him free run time with you when he’s most active. For mine, that’s morning and evening BEFORE meal times. After they eat, they conk out for a while.

It can take time to figure out what your bun loves, keep experimenting!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[kurottabun]

Toby seems really young still – I recall seeing some other threads you posted and had the impression he’s a young bun? As he grows older, his personality may change and stabilise.

It’s normal that they love unhealthy food over healthy ones because it’s always tastier. I’d say the same logic applies to human food too. Burgers > vegetables lol! I currently also have 3kg of unhealthy pellets that my bunny LOVES and I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them. He always eats those first over the expensive Oxbow pellets I bought him.

You mentioned bringing him upstairs, which sort of implies that he is usually downstairs? Like Dana said, since he hides under the bed, it probably means that he is in an unfamiliar place and is not comfortable in being exposed. Give him some more time and he may start exploring They sleep A LOT through the day too, so just sleeping is quite normal.

There are a lot of people who go to school or work full time so it’s understandable that you can’t give him attention 24/7. One question though – how did you find out that he doesn’t eat hay? It may seem like a stupid question but I’m actually quite curious. Is it that he’s just eating less, or do you see him not eating it at all when you are around to observe?

[Sirius&Luna]

I think you’re taking this too personally. He doesn’t ‘expect’ you to buy him things so that he can waste them. Bunnies can’t think like that. He doesn’t even think that he’s wasting them. You’re just giving him something that he can’t or won’t eat, so he doesn’t eat it. I really think its worth getting his molars checked out.

You could donate the nice hay to a rabbit shelter if he won’t eat it Or mix it in with the hay he will eat. It’s good that he’ll eat some hay, even if it doesn’t look as good to you.

I think it would be good to start letting him out for more than an hour. Mine have about 6 hours on weekdays, and much more than that at the weekend. Can you not let him out in the room that he lives in? It might be stressful for him being carried around, and that’s why he always hides under the bed.

[sarahthegemini]

I mean, I understand it is stressful but it can be dangerous to just ‘leave him with the hay until he eats it’ because he might not eat it. And if he does eat it (so he doesn’t starve) if he really dislikes it, he’s not going to eat the amount needed to keep him healthy. You can’t blame him for not liking something. At the end of the day, hay is such a huge part of their diet. It should be a hay he likes! You’d be better off giving him the Walmart hay if he eats that rather than giving him hay he won’t eat. Yellow hay is better than no hay…

In the future, before buying such large quantities, buy smaller bags/samplers as a tester so you can avoid this issue.

I really think you should get his teeth checked, immediately. Instead of waiting til ‘maybe next month’ I advised this on your previous thread that this would be a better use of your money/parents money. If he has dental trouble, there’s no use buying tons and tons of hay because he won’t be able to eat it. And if he’s in pain with his teeth, it’s unfair to leave him to deal with it for another month or so.

He doesn’t expect you to buy him stuff so he can waste LOL.The amount of toys, plush beds and awesome things I’ve bought for my rabbits just for them to turn their noses up is terrible. It also took me a while to find hays that they loved as they weren’t great hay eaters when they were little. I ended up giving them Readigrass and then transitioning over to healthier hay. I spent a fortune. But I don’t blame them…

As I said, hay is a huge part of a rabbit’s diet. It should be a tasty one so that they’ll enjoy it and eat plenty of it. Finding a hay for your rabbit to enjoy doesn’t mean he’s spoiled.

I’ve always donated hay that my bunnies disliked.

[mschoonover11]

Thx for the responds guys. I definitely came off dumb when I said “he expects me to buy him stuff” LOL. I know they’re animals and they can’t think like that, but I was just really stressed about this yesterday.

And yes, it may seem like I’m overreacting and taking this too seriously but I’ve just had a lot going on lately, and the minor stress with Toby just makes it worse.

@Dana, thx for the toy recommendations I will definitely start making him cardboard toys. Maybe now that he’s older, he’ll like them better.

@kurottabun, I’m currently homeschooled, so I do check up on him during the day and his hay rack doesn’t look any different than when I filled it. Sometimes I’ll see him picking out they hay and eating the seed heads. It worries me that he just picks out the seed heads and doesn’t eat the regular hay. When I fed him the cheaper brands, his poop looked bigger and better.

@SirusandLuna, you’re right. I am taking it way too personally. I just ned to chill out, and keep searching for hay brands. I have found 2 that he likes. Tractor Supply hay and Walmart hay. Is it ok to feed him a not so good brand? Those 2 brands come in very small bags so it gets expensive to buy a bag weekly. I just wish I could get a big box of hay that he likes that will last me a while.

@sarahthegemini, I really do need to get his teeth checked. I’ve BEGGED my parents to let me take him and they keep saying no. I’ve explained to them that it will save money to take him right away instead of waiting till he gets worse and they will have to pay more. I’ll keep trying to ask them and will keep you guy posted on whether I take him to the vet or not and what the vet said, When he went in for his neuter in January, they did a mini health check but it’s not like I got to have a conversation with the vet or anything. And also, I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only one who’s spent a fortune on the buns. I’m still under my parent’s roof so it’s not like I can spend all this money on him. If it was just me, I wouldn’t mine it cause I love Toby, but since I don’t have the flexibility to do that, I can’t. And I would love to donate it to the shelter buns, but the hay was very expensive. My bun has tried SPS in the past and liked it fairly well but this time, he doesn’t. I’ll see how he does with eating it today and I’ll keep you all posted.

Thanks again

[mschoonover11]

Ohh and also one of you said that if he’s a baby, 2 cups is too much. Idk how much he weighs so I can’t really determine how much to give. For now, should I just feed 1 cup? Since I don’t know how much he weighs.

[Sirius&Luna]

If you’ve found a type of hay that he likes, keep feeding him that! It doesn’t matter if its not as good as the other types – to be honest ‘junk’ hay isn’t really a thing like junk muesli mixes. Almost all hay is good hay! If there’s hay that he eats, I really wouldn’t stress about it not being good enough.

I think it’s 2 cups per 6lb of rabbit – a 6lb rabbit is a pretty medium sized bunny. Could you maybe post a photo of him next to your hand or something else for scale, and we could estimate his weight? Or you could try getting a rough weight in regular baking scales or human scales (you might need to weigh yourself holding him and not holding him then subtract).

[mschoonover11]

1 more question: when you guys let your buns out for like 3 hours, do you let them have a whole area to run in? or just a room? Toby lives in my basement so when I let him out, he has the whole basement to play. The whole basement is carpeted so he has a good grip. Also, when you guys let them out for that long, do they have to eat hay during that time? I always just put a litter box with hay in it when he free roams but he never goes in it or eats hay cause he’s so busy exploring

[Deleted User]

My boys have the whole room to roam in, and they’re always eating hay at that time. I usually just leave the hay bag wide open and they go inside and munch most of the time they’re out.

[mschoonover11]

Posted By Sirius&Luna on 4/03/2018 9:53 AM

If you’ve found a type of hay that he likes, keep feeding him that! It doesn’t matter if its not as good as the other types – to be honest ‘junk’ hay isn’t really a thing like junk muesli mixes. Almost all hay is good hay! If there’s hay that he eats, I really wouldn’t stress about it not being good enough.

I think it’s 2 cups per 6lb of rabbit – a 6lb rabbit is a pretty medium sized bunny. Could you maybe post a photo of him next to your hand or something else for scale, and we could estimate his weight? Or you could try getting a rough weight in regular baking scales or human scales (you might need to weigh yourself holding him and not holding him then subtract).

Sure! Right now, I’m not home, but when I return, I can either take the pic of him or weigh my self while holding him. I think I’ll just do the weigh method cause it seems easier than the other one.

I will give him 1 more day with the SPS hay and see how he does. If he still doesn’t react well to it, I’ll just buy him the other hay he liked

[BB8]

I just got my bunnies a big box of Standlee Jojo’s second cutting hay and they like it. Although I had bought a small bag of American Pet Diner Timothy Gold hay while I waited for their regular hay to arrive in the mail, and they loved it! It was the only hay that looked green at my local petco I think they liked it better than alfalfa which is great!
Best of luck with Toby! I hope he’s just a picky bunny and doesn’t have dental problems!

[mschoonover11]

Posted By BB8 on 4/03/2018 11:27 AM

I just got my bunnies a big box of Standlee Jojo’s second cutting hay and they like it. Although I had bought a small bag of American Pet Diner Timothy Gold hay while I waited for their regular hay to arrive in the mail, and they loved it! It was the only hay that looked green at my local petco I think they liked it better than alfalfa which is great!
Best of luck with Toby! I hope he’s just a picky bunny and doesn’t have dental problems!

Thank you so much BB8! 

I also hope it’s just pickiness and not dental issues.

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