Tips to get rabbit eating hay???

[Bunbun]

My rabbit has a very, very bad habit of not eating his hay. He simply refuses to eat it, choosing instead to toss it around his litter box!

I’ve tried to feed it to him one by one myself, which kind of worked but was much too time consuming to do everyday. He also wasn’t to pleased that I was shoving hay in his face…  He thought he could get away with simply biting the hay into smaller pieces then dropping it on the floor instead of eating it.

I also tried changing hay — I bought alfalfa hay and mixed it with his regular timothy hay. It didn’t work.

As a last resort, I put small pieces of shredded hay and mixed it with his pellets. This works (since he loves his pellets and therefore has to eat hay in order to get to his pellets), but it still isn’t the amount he SHOULD be eating everyday, which is about his body weight’s worth I believe (1.5 kg or 3.3 lbs).

Please help, it’s been like this since I got him (about a year ago) and I’m worried if I don’t do something now, I’ll never get him to eat hay like a normal rabbit!

Also, how often should a rabbit get to eat greens? I usually feed Bunbun about a cup of vegetables on the weekdays, along with some fruit. We usually run out of vegetables by the weekend, so he doesn’t get any then.

Thanks in advance for reading this extremely long question! 

[Vienna Blue in France]

Hi. If a rabbit isnt eating hay, then too much other stuff is being given to him. Hay should make up atleast 50% of a bun’s diet (much needed & necessary fibre)
Only a very limited amount of pellets should be given and greens on EACH day of the week.

So reduce the pellets and your bun will turn to the hay to eat… Make sure its nice and fresh too.

[Bunbun]

Actually, I’ve tried that before as well!! I cut down his pellets to 1/4 cup a day, which I read online is the appropriate amount for a rabbit his weight. However, he seemed to feel it just wasn’t enough pellets. He banged his pellet bowl around when it was empty, and when nobody came to fill it up again he would toss a couple of other things then go chew on the house plants!!! So I gave up on rationing his pellets and now give him about two medium-sized handfuls of pellets a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. 

Any other suggestions?

[DorothyTheMiniSatinBun]

When my bunny gets fussy over timothy hay, it’s usually because it isn’t that fresh. Make sure you’re giving fresh hay. You can also try Oat hay, Orchard Grass, or Botanical Hay mixed in within the Timothy Hay. I agree with the above poster – limit the amount of pellets. I only give my bun timothy pellets once a week or less, it’s just an occasional treat. I give about 2-3 cups of salad a day. 

Lastly, you can try hay toppers – they’re little bits of herbs and other sweet things rabbits like. I don’t know the name of any specific companies that sell them, but if you go to the Binky Bunny store, they have some available for purchase there. Good luck!

[Alfreds minion]

but it still isn’t the amount he SHOULD be eating everyday, which is about his body weight’s worth I believe (1.5 kg or 3.3 lbs).

That would be a huge amount of hay. I think it is said they should eat a pile of hay the size (volume) of their body, not their weight, which would be a much larger amount.

You should definitely try different hays (including different brands) and reduce pellets.

[Theodorusrex]

I would persevere with cutting down his pellets – though bunny may not be too happy about it at first he will get used to it and will consequently definitely eat more hay.
Small handfuls of hay added to their hay feeder regularly I’ve found is better than stuffing it full every few days. This keeps the hay available fresher – theo won’t touch hay which has sat out for more than half a day (diva). Make sure the hay itself is fresh too – I buy bagged oxbow orchard grass hay. Once it has been open for a couple of weeks theo won’t touch it and I buy a new bag regardless of how much is left in the old bag. I tend to put the less fresh stuff in his litter tray where he is less fussy.
Try different types too – Theo won’t eat timothy, meadow or oat hay but loves orchard grass hay. You could have a fussy bun on your hands!

[Kat9055]

I agree with the other posts so far about sticking with the pellets. 

One of my bunnies, Barnaby, is pretty picky (and he HATES trying new things) and when I first switched him from alfalfa to timothy hay, he pitched a HUGE fit for about 2-3 weeks. He refused to eat hay and I, like you, tried everything I could think of. Finally, I cut down his pellets and he stomped, grunted, and was pretty grumpy, but he loves his hay now. I can give him unlimited pellets and he will still eat a ton of hay, so stick with it! It you are still worried, I would give him different blends of hay and, if you are really desperate, sprinkle some diluted fruit juice (just a little) or hide small amounts of shredded carrots or apple in it.

It also may depend on the kind of pellets you are giving them. If you are giving them the colorful food with treats and “vitamins”, he is less likely to move over to hay than a timothy pellet (which is usually healthier). 

Good luck!

[Peri and Poe]

Our Peri was particulary picky as a young bun and it was really hard to get her to eat her hay. However, when we introduced Readigrass (which i really recommend for fussy buns) she would eat it all day happily, and she became more willing to eat other hays.
One thing i would reccomend to try is the hay expert website for their sample packs of different varieties of hay- there’s bound to be one your rabbit will like to eat,
All the best.

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