Won’t eat hay

[Rippy]

I am in a bit of desperate situation here and I have no idea what to do but I know that if i don’t act quick my bunny will probably be in stasis in the next day or two.

Thing is ever since Shmoo was a baby he was a very bad hay eater and generally never ate that much but still kept a healthy weight. Two-3 months ago he started shedding his fur and went into stasis 3x in a period of 10 days. The reason was not enough fibre in his diet which I have slightly corrected till now. He is a very stubborn bunny and even if he is very hungry he wont eat much more then a few strands of hay and would rather starve till he gets new greens.

But a few weeks ago I ordered Alfalfa hay which he loved and ate enough to keep him healthy and moving. Now I got a fresh batch and he does not like this one…still looks good, smells good -bit less intense so it might be slightly older hay but still green. He is more or less digging for the “good” bits and not eating much but before he would eat everything. I got him another brand as well to see if he might like this more so I could switch if he does but still nothing. I have tried with Oxbow Orchard hay which is great quality but he wont even touch it (even if Pika says its very tasty and give me more), standard hay consumption is very bad at best of times. Last 10 bags of Oxbow Alfalfa was tasty to him but these 4 are not (Pika sampled and said its all the same and tasty).

The Alfalfa hay – green balance was decent (fibre wise) before but now if he wont start eating more fibre it will be problematic very fast.

What should I do ? Reduce or cut of the greens to leave him no choice? I’m scared if I do that it will only make things worse. But if he wont get more fibre no amount of belly massages or cleaning his fur will keep him healthy as he is still loosing fur and digesting it as he cleans himself.
 

[Monkeybun]

I’d cut out the greens and make him need to eat the hay.

[Sarita]

Well alfalfa hay is not going to give him the same benefits as grass hay or greens.

[Monkeybun]

True. He needs to get onto a good grass hay, like timothy or orchard. Making him have that, and only that, will likely be the only way to get him to eat it.

[Sarita]

You’ve cut out his pellets haven’t you?

[Rippy]

But wont that cause a problem as well ? (I wont convert this out of metric but you will get the idea) Pikas poop “cross section” is about 5-7mm (very large)…shmoos is 3-4mm. That is probably mostly greens at the moment. If I remove that there wont be much to keep the fur moving and if he ceases up it might be a lengthy stasis. He is very stubborn and it might be a day or two till he “gets it” and I am worried that it might cause a stasis before he does. But if I do nothing its probably still the same.

[Monkeybun]

Doing nothing would just make him have the issue over and over and over. He NEEDS to eat hay. YOU need to be strong for his well being, and only give him the option for hay.

[Rippy]

Yes I have removed him pellets months ago..but I still give him 3-4/day as a treat (Oxbow so they are small). As for Alfalfa hay…well the idea was that its better then nothing…it is still fibre.

I can’t get good hay in the local stores it is just decent grass hay. As I said orchard even if the bag I have is great quality he had it on display for 2-3 months now and did not eat a single bit. Only time I got him to eat some was when I tangled it up with a dandelion.

[Otti]

This might not solve the problem that quickly but I find my rabbit is more drawn to his hay both when he has a pile of it to access directly in addition to his hay rack hay (not sure if you already give him direct access) and also when he has dried flower mixes sprinkled over it.

Binkybunny sells a dried flower and herb mix (hay topper – not sure if it’s sold out) that my bunny loves. He acts like it’s treats and it probably provides similar ‘fiber’ to what hay would do, in addition to get him more interested in the hay it’s sprinkled over.

Other online rabbit stores I’ve visited have similar mixes or flower-specific mixes (like lavander buds etc.).

[Rippy]

So a clean cut off from anything not hay ? (ie not gradual)

[Monkeybun]

Yep, hay only. If he gets anything else, he will just wait for that, and not eat the hay.

[Rippy]

It was his bed time now and he looked at me disappointed that there where no noms. But the problem is that I have to use something to “bait” him in to his cage once a day. I’m using weeping willow at the moment.

[Otti]

Is he eating the willow? That would count as good fiber too right?

[Monkeybun]

not really Nothing is a replacement for hay.

[Rippy]

Willow is natural aspirin so in any case its safer not to give too much.

[Rippy]

Well we skipped two meals already (one yesterday) and he only ate a bare minimum of hay. He is hungry but still not desperate enough or just waiting. I am very worried that I will indirectly kill him as this is causing a perfect window for a bloat or stasis as he is probably “eating” loose fur and not enough to push it. Another issue will be hydration as most of the fluids came from greens.

If he starts feeling bad hay will be the last thing he will want to eat

[Karla]

Freddie wouldn’t eat hay either when I got him. I forced him to by having days with only hay and nothing else.

Is the reason he is not overly hungry perhaps the fact that he is already feeling full from a hair blockage? Perhaps you should treat him as if he has a blockage.

I’m sure you’ve already read quite a bit on stasis, but take a look at these links, if you don’t know them:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171342.htm

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-7/gi.html

http://www.joyofhandspinning.com/angora-care.shtml (scroll down for the part on wool block)

[Rippy]

Karla Shmoo is not in stasis…he was but he has been eating fine and gaining weight for a few months now. But yes he should have some fur in his GI tract because of the shedding and constant grooming. While his overall appetite is was never stellar I think that hay just does not taste that good to him when there are “better” things to eat…or not taste good at all.

Thank you for the links tho.

[Rippy]

Just a quick update since it is very late (here). I took him off greens for 1 day and then back again 1/3 of his normal, removed the Alfalfa because he was just to picky and spent too much time digging for bits. He is eating decent amount of hay now because he is hungry…still not perfect but his poop size went up again. He is even eating Orchard now and then which is great because he can’t be too picky with that.

I am wondering…since he does like Oxbow Bunny Basics T (as a small treat)…is there a good chance he might like high quality timothy hay (if it tastes the same?). I need advice here because as it is I spent so much money for the hay I ordered and I have 6 bags of Alfalfa and if I get him something else he wont like I might as well open a hay discount store soon.

[Monkeybun]

If it is a good quality, fresh hay he should like it I would think. Alot of the hay you buy in pet stores is just nasty, all dusty and not tasty at all.

[jerseygirl]

Rippy, why don’t you request sample sizes of the new hays you’re trying? Otherwise, I suppose Pika will eat most of it. :o)

I have read that some rabbits that wouldn’t eat hay grew to love it after the “tough love” approach. So I have my fingers crossed for you. If he won’t won’t won’t, then try him on fresh grass. Even grow your own varieties.

[Author]

Messages