I have a VERY picky bunny who will not eat pellets

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ccottr

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Okay first off I should tell you Penny has always been very picky from the start. She's about 4 months old now. I started her off on oxbow pellets (the ones for young rabbits) she ate those for about 2 weeks then all of the sudden stopped. My youngest sister has two guinea pigs and she was nosing around in their food one day so I decided maybe she will eat that. She did. Today I just bought her some kaytee Timothy complete and she just loves it. I know kaytee is not the best brand. I was just trying things out to see if she would even eat something that is timothu based. I know young rabbits are supposed to have pellets that are alfalfa based for 6 months because alfalfa is high in calcium. Is there any harm in feeding her adult rabbit food that is Timothy based? Any suggestions or thoughts are helpful.
 
Does your rabbit also get fed hay? There is nothing wrong with feeding timothy-based pellets at 4 months of age even though it is generally recommended to wait until 6 months of age to switch from alfalfa to timothy pellets.

Are those pellets plain pellets or are they mixed with seeds and colorful bits? As long as they are plain pellets, then that is ok to feed.

You could easily offer a mix of alfalfa hay and timothy hay for the hay if you want to ensure he gets some alfalfa.
 
Actually the Kaytee Timothy Complete pellets are a perfectly good pellet to feed.

Its not the end of the world if she doesnt eat the pellets. There is such a small difference between the calcium and protein in the oxbow young and kaytee timothy that it wont matter.
You can offer loose alfalfa hay but caution that its hard to get some bunnies off that because its so rich and tasty in comparison to regular hay. Some buns are tough cookies to crack ;)
 
Rabbits being picky with hay are common. Being picky with pellets is a lot more unusual - mine have all always looked like junkies waiting for their dose whenever I take them out. Pellets without alfalfa isn't really important. Not eating pellets is not really a problem either. The important thing is hay, and then vegetables (that you should begin to introduce soon if your rabbit isn't all that interested in pellets). Just in case your rabbit ends up not wanting to eat her pellets again, you might want to read about a pellet-free diet:
http://rabbit.org/pellet-free-diet/
 
Does your rabbit also get fed hay? There is nothing wrong with feeding timothy-based pellets at 4 months of age even though it is generally recommended to wait until 6 months of age to switch from alfalfa to timothy pellets.

Are those pellets plain pellets or are they mixed with seeds and colorful bits? As long as they are plain pellets, then that is ok to feed.

You could easily offer a mix of alfalfa hay and timothy hay for the hay if you want to ensure he gets some alfalfa.

Yes, she goes crazy over hay I usually give her a big handful in the morning and it will be almost gone the following morning. She loves her hay. They are the plain pellets. No seeds or colorful bits, I know those are so bad for bunnies
 
Rabbits being picky with hay are common. Being picky with pellets is a lot more unusual - mine have all always looked like junkies waiting for their dose whenever I take them out. Pellets without alfalfa isn't really important. Not eating pellets is not really a problem either. The important thing is hay, and then vegetables (that you should begin to introduce soon if your rabbit isn't all that interested in pellets). Just in case your rabbit ends up not wanting to eat her pellets again, you might want to read about a pellet-free diet:
http://rabbit.org/pellet-free-diet/

My sister also has a bunny around the same age and hers eats whatever even pellets. Not picky about anything. Penny I guess just has to be the unique one :) she has been eating vegetables. Even there she's picky, but I know what she likes so right now that's not a problem. Sometimes I think she just gets bored and needs something new.
 
It's fine not to eat pellets as long as she is a healthy weight.
But She needs unlimited hay in her cage at all times. Not just a handful a day. Do you use a litter box for her? You can put a bunch of hay in her litterbox and refresh it twice a day. Or get a hay rack. I have an empty tissue box that I make sure is always fill with hay.
And look at the website the above poster posted :)))
 
The thing with rabbits is they are completely different then, let's say dogs and cats. Dogs/cats are feed 2 or 3 times a day. Rabbits need to be eating and pooping all day/night for their guts to work.
A dog that skips a meal might not feel well, might be sick. But a rabbit that doesn't eat/poop for a couples hours is an emergency and needs to be brought to the vet asap. (And could die).

As a new bunny owner I obviously suggest doing some research, but do it on professional rabbit website like rabbits.org.
There is so much wrong information about rabbits on google, and rabbits are unlike other animals in a lot of ways. Look up things like rabbit diets, and GI stasis. :)))
 
Yes, she goes crazy over hay I usually give her a big handful in the morning and it will be almost gone the following morning. She loves her hay. They are the plain pellets. No seeds or colorful bits, I know those are so bad for bunnies

That's great that she loves her hay! Give her lots of it! A rabbit should eat about her body size in hay every day. Don't wait until it is almost gone to refresh it. They often like to pick through it and choose certain pieces. So just keep refreshing it and let her eat as much as she wants.

I'd suggest giving her hay both morning and night.
 

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