Ugh. Hay Off-Season

[Binkles]

Grrrr it’s that time of year, isn’t it? Hay off-season..

Little-Bit seems to have lost the furvor she once had for hay-eating right now. She’s acting fine, eats everything else fine. She still does bunny 500’s and burrows underneath my covers at night, still binkies around and attempts to cause general mayhem. I only give her three mid-sized leaves of romaine, a sprig of parsely, and a dandelion leaf everyday, so it’s not that she’s full.  At first I thought that it might have been just a bad bag, but I’ve bought two more, both with different consistancies, with the same result. She’s just…not interested.

Right now, it’s only beginning to affect her poopies a little, but it inherently worries me. :\

What can I do to stimulate her interest in eating it? (Short of hand-feeding it all to her. She accepts about every other other one..)

Ugh. Why do bunnies have to go through these…phazes?? It’s so human!

[MimzMum]

I found that with Mimzy, the consummate hay snob, it helps to put some in a little cardboard tube. He loved it! Never really played with tubes before until I put some hay in it.
Wow, that seems like a lot of greens during the day to me. I find all mine get by with just one leaf of lettuce per day (or parsley sprig or whatever), but then I also feed mine pellets, so perhaps cutting that down isn’t an option for you.
I have had nothing but bad luck with hay for months now. Just ordered some from the Binky store to make up for all the crummy product we’ve been getting up here. Can’t WAIT for the grasses to grow in my yard, the buns will be in hog heaven! ^_^

Does Bit like any other hays besides timothy? Perhaps Orchard grass or even Oat would tempt her tummy?

[TARM]

I get my hay from our rescue. It’s trucked in from Idaho and I’ve only seen one batch that wasn’t as pretty as it normally is…but my bunnies snarfed it down anyway.

[Binkles]

Hmm…I MAY try to tempt her with some Alfalfa or something, that’s an idea. Do you think that it would make her tummy upset to give her a handful?

[MimzMum]

I give Mimzy a little alfalfa as a treat when he gets persnickety, but I don’t do it often as I don’t want him to turn into a butterball.

Worth a try I suppose…how old is she now?

[Binkles]

She’s a little over a year and actually maintains a very healthy weight. Not too thin, not too thick. I’m proud of her. ^^

[TARM]

Heh, Mimz said “persnickety”.

[jerseygirl]

different varieties are grown different times of year, so maybe look into one that is more in season. Sorry, I don’t have any particular one to suggest.

[BinkyBunny]

You might want to try a different brand? I have had great luck with hay this year, and the 2nd cut Timothy from APD seems to be really good too. So you might try looking for other suppliers?

I don’t know what your feeding schedule is but I feed Jack in the evening only so he will only eat hay in the am and throughout the day.

[Binkles]

Yeah Little-Bit eats most of her hay in the evening-early morning.

Does anyone think that switching brands would upset her tummy? Not the type of hay, but just the brand. I mean, is there any real difference in the actual hay that different brands provide?

Hmm, I’ll have to look around some. Gosh, though….I don’t know if Little-Bit will like anything other than Oxbow. Spoiled thing has never had anything else.

[BinkyBunny]

I don’t think switching brands of hay would make much of a difference.   As far as the types based on brand, the only hay that I know of that can actually have different types is Orchard.  There are actually a few different types of Orchard, but most people who grow Orchard and sell it do not specify what type of Orchard it is.  I was amazed when I found that out, but even then the different types of Orchard don’t have a huge caloric or fiber difference.

The only other thing is different cuttings – like with Timothy, there is usually a first and second cut, and sometimes even a third (but not that often).

[MooBunnay]

If you are still feeding the same amount of veg as before, it may just be a phase that Little Bit will get over in awhile. Perhaps there is something else affecting her appetite? Have you looked at her teeth lately to see if anything may be bothering her and making it harder for her to eat hay?

As long as her poops are still looking good and she is still eating (even though it is a little less than normal) – I wouldn’t stress out too much.

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