spoiled bun buns wont eat timothy hay

[sky bunny and the fufees]

My 3 girls don’t seem to eat the timothy hay at all?They were spoiled by alfalfa/fruits/pellets/grasses and weeds so my question is should I take everything away so they are forced to eat the timothy hay?Im just worried because if rabbits don’t eat they will have stomache problems I read that could be fatal so what should I do?

[Luna]

First, I would try a different hay (ie. Orchard hay) and see if they will eat that. Orchard is a little sweeter than Timothy so it might entice them more.

[sarahthegemini]

Try a different hay. Timothy wasn’t a big hit with my rabbits either.

[Jessica]

My bu. Really didn’t care much for Timothy until I found a fresher source. But also try other grass hays like orchard and meadow

[Bam]

Oat hay is yet another suggestion. It’s Bam’s favorite. But you often have to cut back a little bit on other food to motivate buns to eat more hay.

[Paige]

Trying different hay is a good suggestion. My fuzzy lop didn’t eat hay like crazy until I got Jojo’s best orchard grass. He went through kaytee, but it was too stalky(Timothy).He had forti-diet, which had more leaves, so he ate more of that(timothy). But now he has Jojo’s best and he eats lots of that. So maybe try different brands too.
Also do you think that you’re feeding them too many other things so that they don’t go hungry and have to eat hay?

[Paige]

Also you could try different cuts. Most pet store hays are 1st cut, and I know American pet diner has a 2nd cut called Timothy gold.

[sky bunny and the fufees]

Thanks everyone,The problem is I have about 60lbs of this hay,I buy it from cow and horse feed stores where I get 80lb bales for like $13 I have a tiny bit of alfalfa left and I mixed it with the timothy but they just picked out what they wanted and left the rest.I guess I will try meadow or orchard hay.Would the Bermuda grass that I have fresh in the backyard be just as good as hay for grinding there teeth and healthwise?  

[sky bunny and the fufees]

I found a local place that has bales of orchard hay and Bermuda grass hay which would be preferred?

[Luna]

I’ve never given Luna Bermuda so I’m not sure (she eats Orchard), but I think Orchard has more crude fiber content than Bermuda, and more crude fiber is better. Either way, it would be a good idea to get a small bag first before purchasing a bale so that if your buns don’t like it then you won’t be stuck with a lot of it .

[sky bunny and the fufees]

We decided to limit there pellets as well since they have unlimited supply of that and hay.so please help me decide how much they should get,Sky is a Flemish giant adult  abou 1 and a half years old so I would guess shes around 13lbs,fufu is a English spot adult 2 years old and around 4-5lbs and fee fee is a Holland lop 2 years old around 2-3lbs.I was thinking around 3/4 a cup to almost a full cup per day does this sound about correct?

Tomarrow we are going to by a small bag of oxbow or kaytee orchard grass to see if they like it before we by a bale,If they like it we will mix it with the timothy hay and use most the timothy hay for there litter bedding.

[Paige]

1 -1 1/4 cups would be right if it was all three of them combined
They don’t need that many so 3/4 would be okay as well, but I would stick with 1-1 1/4 cups.
But immediately changing them from unlimited to limited would probably upset their stomachs. If you could set out a measured amount then measure the rest that is left at the end of the day and subtract the two then you could figure out how much day put out each day, until that amount is 1 cup.
Good luck on getting them to eat hay.

[sky bunny and the fufees]

Thank you,Yesterday I gave them 3 handfuls and the next day it was all gone but I noticed they had eaten a bunch of timothy hay so they do eat it when pellets are not available and they eat ALOT of hay,Also when they lay around I put hay infront of there face which they then eat while they stare off in space.My only concern is GI stacis so I’m afraid for them to run out of pellets for too long but at the same time this is the goal for there hay consumption.tomarrow morning I will put 1 and a 1/4 cup of pellets (they have timothy hay pallets and diet pellets mixed) and see how much is left after 24 hours.

Just to be sure when they run out of pellets for the night this wont hurt them will it?As they will switch to the hay instead or do I want them to still have some pellets left in the bowl by the next day?should I split the pellets for morning and night?

[Paige]

I think most people feed pellets once a day, twice a day if their bunny can’t have veggies. My bunny finishes his pellets very quickly in the morning and I don’t give him any more for the rest of the day. Pellets are more like a supplement since they have so many vitamins and things so they don’t need pellets all day. My bunny is fine with 2tbsp of pellets a day because he will just eat hay if he is hungry.

[sky bunny and the fufees]

Ok so if I feed them 1 cup of pellets I would want them to run out of pellets completely by nighttime correct?so if by tonight they still have pellets I should lower the amount of pellets by 1/4 or 1/8 until it gets to the point they start running out of pellets by night does this sound perfect?This way they will be forced to eat more hay?should I do this slowly?sorry for all the questions I just want to be sure as they are our babys.

[Paige]

Yes, yes, yes and yes haha

[sky bunny and the fufees]

well as time went on they just don’t eat enough timothy hay as I think is normal,I tried oat hay timothy hay orchard hay and they love alfalpha hay so would it be wise to mix this with timothy hay?They also eat fresh Bermuda grass that I pick but every morning when I feel up there pellet bowl they come darting in as if there starving so I went from 3/4 cup to 1 and a half cups to 2 cups a day which seems like a lot and its taking up there entire diet.Im so scared that tere gonna get dental issues if they don’t eat hay should I just get the alfalpha?I feel bad because my fufu got skinny from the limited pellets and I gave in to feeding more but I’m gonna go back down to 1 1/2 cup this is eati in 12 hours and leaves all night for them to eat hay or be hungry.

[Lily]

as they’ve said it might be the type your buying. My bun enjoys Timothy but she absolutely loves the mix of both Timothy and orchard grass by Oxbow

[BunzMom]

My bun will eat ONLY Timothy (shes picky!!), But I would try Orchard hay

[BunzMom]

So right now I also cut back a bit on the food, I’m currently transitioning my buns food.
I give her 4 handfuls of hay per day and 3 small scoops of food every day, So as Paige said, You may be feeding them more other things than hay so they are not hungry for the hay??

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By BunzMom on 6/26/2017 5:51 PM

So right now I also cut back a bit on the food, I’m currently transitioning my buns food.
I give her 4 handfuls of hay per day and 3 small scoops of food every day, So as Paige said, You may be feeding them more other things than hay so they are not hungry for the hay??

Hay should be unlimited. 

[Author]

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