She doesn’t know what veggies are… HELP!!!!

[Carolyn]

We rescued a 1yr old Netherland dwarf mixed rabbit this weekend.  “Bonnie” (her name for now) did not come from the best of places and probably isn’t sure of all the attention she is getting now.  She was never let out of her cage at all previously, and we’ve started her out with 30min per day of run time.

 Anyways, what we where told by her old owner, Bonnie has never had any veggies or fruit. She is eating her pellets (which is now a mix of old and new) and timothy hay like it is going out of style (she never had it before either)…  We have offered her veggies for the past two days and she won’t touch them let alone look at them. 

 

The way we feed our rabbits and Bonnie is started on this routine now because we know she is eating. Our bunnies get ¼ cup of the Martin’s less-active pellets and their hay for the day while we are away from work. In the evenings, they get their serving of veggies and hay top ups if needed.

 

So our question is what would be the best veggies to give that may get her to try them, ie starter veggies, and what’s the best way to offer them???  Or are we just over reacting because we haven’t had a new bunny in the house in over a year or more???  Is she just adjusting to her new surroundings and routine???

Please help….

[jerseygirl]

Wow, no veg and no hay? So glad she now lives with you! It probably is her adjusting to her new home. I’d start with a leaf of romaine or something fragrant like a sprig of parsley. Only a little bit of veg that she can sample. Can she see your other rabbits? Maybe if she’s sees them eating veg she may get curious. My doe started to eat more hay after I brought home my 2nd rabbit – who is a good hay eater. Maybe Bonnie could learn from the others also.

[Elrohwen]

My bun is also very anti-veg and the only ones he’ll eat are romaine and green leaf lettuce. Some folks suggest trying very flavorful herbs, but I’ve found that my bun only likes the most bland of veggies (won’t even eat parsley).

And hopefuly Jerseygirl is right that the new bun might pick up good behaviors from your other buns.

[Beka27]

Thank you so much for rescuing Bonnie! She’s a lucky girl to get a second chance at life with you!

I would just relax and take it slow with her. She’s eating hay which is AWESOME! Keep offering a leaf of romaine and a bit of parsley. You might have to offer it several times before she will try it. If she loves the hay, you could try to stick a sprig or two of parsley in there, maybe she’ll eat it “by accident”. ;o) At this point you’re going to have to “retrain” her eating habits.

How is she doing with the new and old pellets? Some buns will pick out the old stuff and leave the new… What was she on before, was it a pellet mixture?

[Carolyn]

I’m not sure what pellets Bonnie was on, When we asked for a small amount to of her food so we could swich her over to the new stuff. The lady went into another room, So I didn’t get to see the bag. The girl had two other rabbits she was keeping, She was claiming Bonnie was her roomates and he wasn’t looking after here and he left two months ago and she couldn’t keep looking after Bonnie.
Bonnie seems to be eatting both pellets, She seem to really love her hay which make me happy that way.

I’ll try putting some parsley in her hay to see if she’ll eat it…..I was thinking about shredding up some veggies for her pellets too, but worried a little they go bad in her pellets.

Bonnie is where she can see Lucy and maybe Olly. Lucy can be a bit of a grump at times so maybe I’ll do some rearanging and place Olly right next to Bonnie, he to keep her company, He a very quite rabbit that loves his veggies, so maybe she’ll see that he eatting them….

[Carolyn]

Just an up date, Bonnie had nibbled on a peace of collard greens last night. I place her veggies last night in the middle of her cage with some parsley and romaine, so she had to hop over it everytime she wanted to go from one end of the cage to the other end….she hoped over it for 20 mins last night and sniffing it…she really didn’t know what it was….This morning when I got up having my morning coffee I check on her and she was in the cage eatting it…..I’m so happy she trying it….its a start anyways……now I just have to get some pic’s of her.

[flippersmom]

Hey Carolyn – My Lola was the same way with veggies when I first got her. I was on here asking for any suggestions and trying them all to no avail (she did like to play with mint, though!!!!). We recently took in a new bun (I have yet to get pics up of him!!!) and on a whim decided to try them together (even though we weren’t sure he was staying long term!!). Needless to say, not only were they bonded in a very short time with no issues (sorry to all those whose buns take forever), but Lola now sits up and begs when she sees the “salads” coming and gobbles her share down next to her bud!!!!! So maybe the solution is having a friend??????????????

[jerseygirl]

Now that’s she’s tried them, she may be more excited next time you offer them – fingers crossed.

flippersmom – Wow! You got an instant bond huh? Sounds as if the Newbie is staying! I have also seen the benefits of one bun ‘teaching’ another and it’s great.

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