Will he be picky forever?

[Moonlightbunny66]

Pinky has been having what I assume is gas issues yesterday (smelly Pinky). We gave him some Simethicone drops to try to help him.
I was thinking maybe it’s because we bought new hay from a farm feed store, and he’s not eating much of it. He was eating it the night we brought it home, picking through and finding the pieces he likes. Then he stopped and only was taking a couple bites after. I bought him some Timothy hay from a new brand I haven’t gotten before and he only took a few bites then stopped. He would eat the Oxbow hay and some Kaytee hay that we bought before. He also likes Oxbow orchard grass hay.
Are we going to have to always just give him Oxbow, or can we transition him to the new farm hay? It’s much cheaper to buy a ton of farm hay. Would he get used to the new hay overtime if we mixed it in? Or just pick out the store bought hay? Advice please, thanks!

[Wick & Fable]

It depends on the rabbit I feel.

In my experience, usually the rabbit will give in and eat the “less preferred” hay when they realize it’s all they got. Rabbits are foragers and part of that behavior is going through all areas to get the best bits, and only revisiting those sites to get the next best, then the next best, etc… Because of this, I think mixing in new/old hay can give mixed results? There might be a period when they eat less in total, but hopefully that would get better as time goes on and they realize it’s all they got. Now if the farm hay is objectively bad, then we wouldn’t want them eating it generally. You might need to take some time to experiment!

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.

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thank you! I couldn’t get any hay today since I forgot to get some on my way home, and now I don’t know what to feed him during the night. The other hay he’ll eat that I have is alfalfa cubes, my parents bought as a treat (I wouldn’t have picked it but we have it now so). But I know they can only have a little bit once in a while. I don’t want him to starve… I don’t know what to do.

[DanaNM]

I would just keep offering the new hay in the meantime, in different ways. Sometimes holding it out by hand can entice them to take a piece. Sometimes they prefer softer pieces or more stemmy pieces so try both. Also sometimes they just want a fresh handful, so giving smaller amounts throughout the day can encourage them to eat it.

. . . 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.  

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thank you. I kept giving him new handfuls of the store bought hay and farm hay, he would pick up pieces and drop it. I saw him eat a couple pieces though.

I tried hand feeding but he didn’t care, he will usually take it but not this time. ): I gave him toys with hay in it and half a cube of the alfalfa hay. He ate the alfalfa. One of the toys is destroyed this morning since I put a couple pellets in it with the hay, but not sure if he ate the hay to get to them. I also sprinkled around some pellets last night hoping they’d last longer (of course he found them all lol).

Gonna get some Oxbow today and see if he’s just being picky or if something’s wrong. But I fed them breakfast early today to make sure there’s food in his belly. Made sure to put water on the veggies since he hasn’t been drinking much because he hasn’t been eating much hay.

[Littlemouse93]

My Honey Bunny is picky about hay, too. In the past I tried to get hay from tractor supply in a large bale because it was so much cheaper, but he just wouldn’t take to it. I tried so hard to get him to eat it, but he just wouldn’t eat enough of it and it caused a bout of stasis. I ended up having to go back to giving brand name hay to avoid gut issues.

I think that some rabbits just don’t like to eat hay as much as others. I think they just have individual preferences. Some are just more picky than others.

That’s just my experience with my picky eater. Hopefully you’ll have better luck with Pinky and he’ll come around to the new hay!

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thank you littlemouse93! Yeah I think some are just pickier than others too. Muffins been eating the new hay and enjoying it. Pinky liked it the first night but not anymore lol. But we’ll have to see  if it’s because he doesn’t like it or if there’s an issue.

The shelter he came from said he was picky with his hay and would only eat it if they mixed in orchard grass hay into the Timothy hay. I did that with him but then he started eating the Timothy hay alone too. They didn’t eat much hay for about a week, I tried different things but I think it was the stress of a new environment. He may come around to the new hay… I just want him to still be eating in the meantime. 🙁

We’ll see if he’ll eat some Oxbow Timothy hay today!

[LBJ10]

Once picky, always picky… unfortunately. Sometimes bunnies are just picky when it comes to hay. You can even buy the brand they normally like and it will somehow be a “bad batch”.

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thanks guys lol. For some reason Pinky decided that the farm hay is good today, and has been stuffing his mouth with it. He climbed up to eat out of the hay box so I put some in his litter box to see if he would eat it and he’s eating it right now… We’ll see how long this lasts!

I feel like he either just wasn’t feeling good a couple days ago, or he likes the hay more towards the middle of the bale. But I don’t know if he’s going to continue eating it or if it’s just today lol!

[DanaNM]

Way to go Pinky!

. . . 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.  

[Starlightbunny]

I feel your frustration, some daysvI tell myself ” I have the world’s most picky and spoiled lionhead rabbit” I had to try different brands and cuttings to get it right. Of course then after she got spayed I had to start all over again. Starlights current favorites are APD timithy gold and feedtastic hay and bb oat hay, but who knows….maybe in 6 months she’ll like something else. Lol.

 

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