Yet another question about Hugo – food

[AbbyGirl]

Sorry to bother you all again.  Hugo has had an incredible appitite today.  The only thing is, he is becoming a little aggressive about food.  He acts like he is starving.  I know he wants more pellets.  He already has had 5 or 6 cups of veggies and a whole cup of pellets.  He is still only picking at his hay.  I’m not sure what I should do.  He nips at you when he wants his food and I could barely get out of the kitchen.  He has been trying to get in the cabinet where his pellets are.  Should I give him more?

[AbbyGirl]

Sorry.  I didn’t mean to post it here.  I must have clicked the wrong link. 

[Monkeybun]

Did you cut down the pellets gradually, or all at once? If all at once, I would give him more. Gotta make the transition gradual so he is used to it, rather than an abrupt change.

[AbbyGirl]

OK. I didn’t think about it like that. He’s on an alfalfa pellet until my order gets here. The shelter was letting him eat 3-4 cups a day. Yesterday he barely ate one cup. He also won’t touch his hay if his pellets are in there. Should I leave his pellets in there overnight?

[Monkeybun]

If he doesn’t finish his pellets, thats a good place to start with his limit. Lower it from there, maybe space out the amount over the day. So if he were to get to 1 cup… give him 1/2 cup in the morning, 1/2 cup in the evening. It’s helped mine not get so cranky about lack of pellets, cuz they seem to think they get more that way

[AbbyGirl]

OK. That might help. I’ll try giving him smaller amounts more frequently tomorrow. I think he just got spoiled with pellets. I don’t think he has ever been on a well balanced bunny diet. He has been eating his hay for the last 10-15 minutes without stopping now. He’s never done that before. Usually a few pieces and he’s done.

The shelter I got him from said he never really ate much hay. I also know that before they got him he was at another shelter where he was dumped into a goat pen. They must have had them for a while because they told me when the first shelter got him he wasn’t full grown yet. I wish I knew more of his story. He probably use to only eating pellets because a lot of the shelter around here can’t afford the hay.

[Monkeybun]

Which is odd, my hay costs a ton less than my pellets

[RabbitPam]

He’s probably really enjoying the taste of all the new delicious foods your are giving him in the form of greens, and he’s discovered the keys to the kingdom. (the kitchen) I would let him try a few more good greens; romaine, red or green leaf, cilantro, mint, carrot tops, kale. Not all at once, but if you let him know the good stuff is in his cage along with the hay, he might associate his dishes with tasty food and be there more.

Poor guy. Pellets and goats.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

Okay, this is going to sound really silly, but you might want to try letting him eat hay directly from the bag. Our buns get SO EXCITED when I just let them go directly into the hay bag to eat. I don’t know if it’s the thrilling crinkle of the bag itself, or perhaps the scent of the hay in a confined space is potent enough to be more delicious… who knows. We joke that hay in the bag tastes better, hehe.

Also, not all Timothy hays are the same. Different brands smells different. For instance, some smell sweeter. Oddly enough, our buns love the Timothy hay from our Super Target more than from our local pet store, lol.

So give the “eating from the bag” thing a try and let me know what he does : P

[AbbyGirl]

He did eat a lot of veggies before I got him. So that is not new to him. I give him cilantro, parsley, romaine, parsley, celery and carrot everyday.
As for the hay, I have tried to get him to eat it out of the bag. He’ll pick at about 2 pieces. The bag is more interesting to him.
He really just wants a constant supply of pellets. I know alfalfa pellets aren’t very good for him either. He was getting so many pellets right before I brought him home (about 4 cups a day). Since he doesn’t early eat the hay it makes sense that he would be more hungry. I’ll try a new hay this weekend.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

Well, it’s a risky venture anyway. Just a half hour ago, Remy was deep into a hay bag and then something spooked him and he tried to run… while still in the bag.

Hay *everywhere*

[AbbyGirl]

So, I emailed a vet about how to feed him correctly. They said to always offer the hay, follow the guidelines from the House Rabbit Society (that’s what I go by) and to cut back his pellet gradually until he’s down to 1 cup per day.
Does anyone have an opinion on how to do this? If he’s use to eating around 4 cups a day should I cut back by 1/4 cup per week so he’s doesn’t really notice the amount and won’t be so aggressive?
I assume he’s so hungry because he doesn’t pick at hay all day long. Thanks again!

[Sarita]

I think 1/4 cup sounds reasonable. Hopefully he’ll get that taste for hay eventually.

My rabbit Pepe is very food anxious too and he gets plenty. I have to wonder if it’s just a behavior related rather than he’s hungry. Maybe some food anxiety.

Maybe instead of giving him food when he gets this way, try to pet him. You want to keep him on a routine as far as his food too so that he doesn’t have these food anxiety behaviors. Don’t just give him food when he thinks he wants it, give him pets.

[AbbyGirl]

Thank you. I pet him when he’s like that so I don’t have to worry about my toes. I let him calm down for a few minutes before he gets his food. I don’t want him to THINK he’s getting his way. =) I give him his veggies at the same time everyday. When I make breakfast and dinner. Once I get him cut back on pellets I can get him on a good schedule with that too. I can’t wait until his Timmy pellets get here so I know he’s on a healthy pellet.

[Sarita]

He sounds like he’s got lots of spunk and character LOL.

[Beka27]

His background might dictate how he behaves too. If he didn’t always have access to food or hay, that can make a bunny go nutty. I also think that splitting the feedings up might help him, but try to maintain the times so he will know what to expect when.

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