Rabbit only eating seed heads and pellets/treats/oats.

[Rain]

Hey everyone, recently, I have noticed that Rain has not been eating his hay as much. I don’t think it’s GI stasis or a health problem, because there are still tons of healthy, but slightly darker, poops. Those are probably because of the pellets he eats. I think it might be because of the brand of hay, Kaytee Fori-Diet. It’s cheap timothy hay that I saw at Walmart. Why didn’t I buy Oxbow? Well, when I tried to give him Oxbow Alfalfa when he was a baby, he didn’t touch a single strand of it. I’m afraid of spending so much money, especially since it’s my parent’s money and I’m not old enough to get a job, and then see him waste it or not eat it. Do rabbits usually like any brand of hay as long as it’s the type that they like? So, like if he does like timothy hay, but I change it to Oxbow Timothy hay, will he still like it? The thing about Forti-Diet hay is that it’s fifty-fifty. Fifty percent chance of long, green, and fresh hay. Fifty percent chance of a bag of dust. I think the current batch I’m using is dusty, and not fresh. I don’t think it’s moldy, but it’s kind of gray and stuff around the edges. He only eats the seedheads. And his own poop. It’s been a month guys, and he still does this. I make sure he is in a safe environment, with no new people. I make sure his cage and litter box is all clean. And yet he still does it. The batch of hay I had before this one, like a couple weeks before I think, had good hay, and at the time, I also noticed that he did not eat his poop. (I’m talking about the regular, round poops.) I know the main reason this would be is either to conceal his scent, or to gain more nutrients. He doesn’t eat it all the time. And if I catch him doing it, I take it out of his mouth. Is that bad because he won’t get those nutrients he needs? Should I let him do it? I noticed there were particles of hay in the poop , but that could either be because of the seedheads or his pellets. He does eat Oxbow Pellets. He loves those. 

The closest time from now that I can actually go out and buy him some critical care in case of sickness, or better hay, is this Thursday. My whole family has a bad case of flu and nobody can drive or do anything at all until then. I don’t know if this requires a vet visit? If it’s because of the hay, then he’s not sick right? Does anyone know any other reason he might not be eating hay, or eating only seedheads and poop and pellets and stuff. And if he doesn’t eat his Oxbow hay, then that’s probably a sign something really is up. He’s had Forti-Diet since I bought him, and the times the hay was bad he usually just ate it, or at least some of it. Please reply as quick as possible!

[Deleted User]

I would never recommend Kaytee Forti-diet because it teaches buns to be selective. There are other brands besides Oxbow. My boys love Oxbow orchard hay and the botanical hay, so I buy them that. I know there’s also Pet Select you can try, which is available on Amazon. Every bunny is different with preferences on brands.

[Deleted User]

How much pellets/treats/oats is he being fed? It’s really important to make sure that he eats hay, so maybe he is being over indulged in another aspect of his diet and has learned not to eat as much hay and just to wait for the really yummy stuff.

[Rain]

He gets a fourth or sometimes less of Oxbow Young adult and Adult pellets. He’s currently transitioning. Oats isn’t really measured, but I give him like two tiny pinches a day to get him to go back in his cage sometimes. Or I use pellets to do that too. Treats, he ran out of, so he doesn’t have any to wait for right now. But he usually gets like one Oxbow Simple Rewards treat. Sometimes two if he’s extra good, but that’s rare. But he could be just waiting for the yummy stuff. I noticed the second he gets out of his cage, he goes straight to the counter, expecting pellets. I break up the fourth of pellets into handfuls throughout the day. Should I just not give him anymore until he eats hay? I don’t want to risk him getting GI stasis because of suddenly having no food.
Asriel & Bombur, thank you! I’ve heard good reviews about Small Pets Select. The only problem is that Oxbow and basically every other company sells hay in bulk, and if he doesn’t like it, well it’s a huge waste of food and money. I don’t know if the store I go to does returns. I doubt it. I could try giving him Meadow hay or Botanical as I know a lot of bunnies like that. But it’s so risky! It’s like ten dollars for a 15 ounce bag. I’m going to check on Petco’s website if they have cheaper stuff. I heard that they do. Luckily, Petco is also closer to my home, so I could get there sooner if my poor dad feels any better soon.

[Rain]

Just checked on Petco’s website and a 15 oz bag is 5 dollars! Although, they don’t have any timothy. Maybe he’ll like orchard grass?

[Deleted User]

Oh I feed Small Pet Select. Ophelia loves it to bits and it’s always great and fresh. I’m a little salty at Small Pet Select right now, but that’s personal haha. Anyway the hay is great and ultimately I don’t think that expensive. I’ll get the 20lb box which is $45 but that lasts at least 3 months for just one bun. I’m not sure what people are used to paying for hay though, since I’ve been ordering from them since I got Ophelia.

Have you looked into teeth issues that might dissuade him from eating hay?

[Wick & Fable]

It’s good you’re being observant and noticing the decline in hay consumption; as you know, it is paramount for rabbit health.

Your rabbit may not go crazy for hay, but there’s a good number of rabbits (including Wick) who also follow suit. In comparison to treats, pellets, and veggies, hay is like an unappealing salad; regardless though, it must be eaten.

Timing can be very important. Giving as much time with only hay as the available option as possible helps boost hay consumption. Typically, people offer hay all day, but only offer non-hay foods once in the AM and once in the PM. Wick gets AM veggies, afternoon pellets, and PM veggies. The rest of the time, he has not bowls or plates out; just hay. Breaking up the pellets throughout the day may be continually dissuading him from eating hay, since he knows he’ll get pellets.

If the hay is fresh and hasn’t been sitting out too long (over 24 hours), it’s a logical jump for your rabbit to begin eating that when he’s hungry. GI stasis is an important concern, so monitoring his pooping will be important. He may not like the transition, but it must be done for his health!

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.

[Deleted User]

My boys absolutely go CRAZY for the orchard hay. I think they prefer it over eating their greens at times. My goodness the second I pull out the bag to top it up they go insane. I’ve started leaving a huge bin for them to hop in and munch while they’re out too. KMS Haystack I’ve heard is pretty decent too. Stay away from Carefresh though. My boys got mites from it, and it’s always super brown and dry.

What if you ordered some on Amazon? I also think Tractor Supply Co can be pretty good, at times. There’s a few in San Antonio area.

[sarahthegemini]

Rabbits will rarely eat old dusty hay – and they shouldn’t anyway. They need good quality hay at all times. I understand your parents don’t want to waste money but finding a good quality hay that your rabbit will enjoy is essential. I don’t know why they are so against spending money on this rabbit? (Based on previous posts of yours – they don’t want to use too much litter and they don’t necessarily want to neuter him)

Oxbow hay is something my buns personally love – the orchard and now the timothy. You don’t have to buy it in bulk first. Buy a small bag and go from there. Of course there are other brands.

By the way, it’s actually normal to see hay particles in poop.

[Rain]

Oooh thank you SO much for the fast and helpful replies everyone.
I think if Oxbow doesn’t work out, I will definitely try out Pet Select. It seems like a good brand, according to everyone’s recommendations. I’ll look into that if Rain rejects Oxbow. He so far only rejected the Alfalfa. My friend who bought the same type of rabbit from the same pet store and bought the same Alfalfa hay told me hers didn’t touch it either, but went crazy for everything else. Especially Botanical and Timothy. I might try Orchard grass, because it seems that’s the one most rabbits like from Oxbow. Then again, most rabbits also like Alfalfa. At least I thought so. It seems more than a coincidence. Maybe nethies just don’t like alfalfa as much? I heard it often causes diarrehea with them. I guess I’m just so set on Oxbow because of it being one of the best brands. I will try others though.
Wick, I thought as much about the pellets. How do I give him all his pellets at once though? He usually gets a full stomach after eating like an eighth of them. Or maybe that’s because he’s used to eating them little bits at a time. I will definitely try to start feeding them at one time of the day by adding up slowly. I’m currently staying away from veggies because of the E Coli outbreak! I’m scared. I know it’s mostly in romaine lettuce, but it’s just frightening that it might be in something else too.
My parents are mostly just against WASTING things. They don’t mind spending. It’s just the matter of whether or not it is needed. I told my dad about the cheaper prices at Petsmart and he said “Wow. Definitely, we can try that, as long as he eats the stuff.” And about the matter of neutering (or spaying?) he said that because he has the flu right now, he will wait until he is better to talk to a professional (hmmph. I did research dad. Lots. ) about the risks and benefits of fixing.
Thanks sarah! That must mean he’s eating some.
I will head out ASAP to get a couple bags of different hays from the store. Probably timothy and orchard as that seems the most popular. Also I discovered in the most unfortunate of ways that his big hay pile is wet. Covered in pee. Which is why he won’t eat it. I think he seperated the pile into halves and ate from one side and pushed the rest back so that he pooped and peed on there while he was eating. And I must have thought that he just didn’t want it. The hay is still not good though so I’m still changing it. Thanks guys!

[Deleted User]

Hahahaha Bombur has been doing this for the past two weeks, it’s not funny because he could possibly have a UTI, but I’m glad I’m not alone in my suffering.

[Wick & Fable]

Wick doesn’t eat all his pellets at once either so I keep the bowl there until he eats it all. Having the bowl there with a finite amount is still much better than repeated new presentations. He has to unlearn the thought that you will always present this. It will be presented once a day — no more!

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.

[Rain]

Oh, okay that makes much more sense! Thank you Wick! That’s so strange. My mother thinks of all animals as just things who need food and water, and don’t really feel anything. But it’s much much more deeper than that in my opinion. He’s like a toddler. A forever toddler. It’s like teaching a little kid something! Wow!
Uti? Should I be worried? Does this mean he has UTI? His bum looks clean to me. Is it like dirrahea or something? I hope Bombur is well. If he does have one, I do hope he gets better!
So, feeding schedules also need to change. Okay, got it.. He might also not be eating hay that much at this time, because usually on Mondays I’m at school but flu hit me so, extra day with bunny. When I get home on regular days, the hay is always gone. Maybe because I’m here today and giving him pellets throughout this time, he isn’t eating hay. Multiple things though. But I will start with what I can fix right now, such as feeding times. Okay!!! Thanks again!

[Rain]

Also, I know that when you switch pellets or veggies for a rabbit, you have to slowly transition them, but what about hay? Especally if it’s the same type of hay but just a new brand. By the time I head out and buy new hay, his old hay will already be finished probably. Can I just give him new hay without a slow transition?

[Wick & Fable]

With hay, you can just throw new hay at them. Hay is hay. Mixing sometimes helps taste-bud wise for the transition, but drastic change in hay type/brand typically isn’t harmful unless your rabbit is allergic or very irritated by the new brand.

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.

[Rain]

Um, I don’t know if I did it right or not. I put a bowl of a fourth of pellets in his cage, and now he just eats those until he’s full and then goes back out and plays. He did eat hay, but now he’s focused on his pellets.

[Wick & Fable]

He has 24hours so when he’s hungry again he’ll eat hay! Just don’t feed him any more pellets for the rest of the day.

Edit: Also how old is rain now and how much pellets do you give him?

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.

[Rain]

Rain’s about six months. And I give him about three tablespoons of timothy pellets and one tablespoon of alfalfa pellets.
That’s true. He won’t have any choice other than to eat the hay in the night. Sadly, my bun doesn’t have skills in the savoring and slow eating department. He just wolfs all the good stuff down.

[Wick & Fable]

Majority of rabbits scarf down pellets. Some will pace as they get older because food security sets in (pellets will be there later; don’t need to eat it all), but some rabbits stay white ravenous, haha

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.

[Rain]

That’s how much he’s eaten so far.

That’s the poopies.

[Wick & Fable]

Posted By Rain on 1/22/2018 10:23 PM


That’s how much he’s eaten so far.

That’s the poopies.

Can you use a site other than Photobucket? They changed their policy so you cannot post pictures in this site. You can post the links instead perhaps.

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.

[Wick & Fable]

Poopies are round and abundant, which is good. During a pellet eating round, Wick will plop out a bunch like that. The poops look great to me.

Every day, take some hay out and replace it with new hay. Put the old hay you took out somewhere else and cycle it back into the mix for later. I have a hay box system, where I pull from. Every time I clean Wick’s litter boxes, I put any salvageable hay in the box, shuffle it around with the new hay and other hay in the box, and put a new portion in his box. Something like this might help encourage hay consumption without buying new hay. Be wary of reusing hay that’s peed on though because it’ll get moldy.

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.

[joea64]

My schedule for feeding Panda and Fernando is as follows: hay refreshed in the litter box twice daily (morning and evening), supplemented by hay refreshed in the side-mounted hay rack once per day; 1/4 cup total of Oxbow Essentials adult pellets in the morning (working out to 1/8 cup total, as prescribed); a large bowl of green leafy vegetables in the evening, about 2 cups each per bun; two Oxbow Simple Rewards treats per day, given after the main meals; and a small bowl of plain oats once daily as an evening snack (I’m actually considering dialing back on that, I currently give them 1/8 cup, about two tablespoonfuls, each but I don’t want them getting fat). When they first came to live with me, P&F really went after their breakfast pellets, and their evening salad, every day, but as they’ve developed their senses of food security over the past five months, they’ve become a lot more leisurely about it. They do still generally go straight to the hay pile whenever a new one comes in, however, and naturally they still go wild for treats (and oats). It varies from day to day, but last evening, for example, they were quite energetic about eating their hay; I got a new bale of Standlee timothy this past weekend.

I don’t generally reuse hay because it’s often difficult to tell which is still clean and which has been soiled; that being said, Panda and Fernando tend to do their business toward the “rear” end of the box so that I put their eating hay at the “front” end. I change out the hay and litter (substrate under the hay) every 2-3 days, and clean the litterbox completely, wiping it out with white vinegar, each weekend.

[Rain]

Oh no, oops! I must have looked at a really old thread then. I was searching up how to post pics on here. I’ll try another way next time. I haven’t seen the new way yet.
Okay! Good to know! I’m glad they are okay poops. They look a bit dark to me, but that’s probably because it’s pellets. Sadly, my flu got worse today, so I will not be able to go out for better hay. I went to a doctor though, and she said I should be fine within a week. Hopefully.
Yeah, most of the time, any waste hay is covered with pee. He’s really picky with hay. If it’s been out for a day, he will not eat it. And he knows when I try putting it back. Smart bunny. He just throws it out of his litter box. I’m glad that he’s eating more of it though. This morning, I saw the pellets were all gone and he had eaten all the hay. I think I was worried he wasn’t pooping enough because covers it up when he’s digging in the litter. I looked beneath and saw a BUNCH of little poops. Thanks Wick! I will definitely try that system if there’s any good waste hay.

[Wick & Fable]

I’m glad your seeing good results! It always good to monitor both poop-look and poop-amount, so finding the treasure trove of poops is quite swell, haha.

Darker poops can come from more hydration as well, because typically darker = wetter. Higher water intake or more wet veggies can do this. Slight variation and darkening of color isn’t too problematic. When it gets too wet that it becomes the runny poop, then that’s cause for worry.

And picture posting can be difficult. If you’re on a PC, what you can do is have Photobucket open, then press your keyboard’s Print Screen (“PrtScn” sometimes abbreviated) button. Then, open “Paint” on your computer, and press Ctrl+V to paste your screen shot. Use the crop tool to show just the picture you captured. You can resize it to be smaller, so it will upload on the site too! After you’re done cropping and doing any necessary re-sizing, you can “Save” the photo as a .jpg or .png, and that’s acceptable to upload and add to your posts.

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.

[Author]

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