What would you do?

Hi all! Been away for a little bit. Rosie's been great but were still having feeding issues.

She LOVES her trail mix & doesn't mind grass but she won't eat hay Which is difficult because she's mostly an indoor rabbit.

I give her a bowl (about a 1/4 - 1/2 a cup) or trail mix daily & a handful of oaten hay (she doesn't eat the barn hay either I tried that one first) then in the afternoon I pick her some fresh grass & give that to her too.

Everyday I go to get the trail mix out she can't contain herself, she basically rips the bowl out of my hand as I try to give it to her, I don't know if she's super hungry or just really likes the trail mix?

I'm thinking about getting her a cage for the grass so she can graze through out the day. Any other ideas? I've heard hay should be their main diet.


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Hay is dried grass, so if she will eat fresh grass, she should be ok. You could try drying some grass your self (just spread it out in the sun and turn it over a couple times, it should take about 1-2 days to dry), and see if she likes that. Even mixing some dried grass with hay might help get her eating more hay. Giving her access to grass so she can graze can be a good idea. You do want to make sure she is protected from predators and the sun.

What is in the trail mix? Mixes are not really good for rabbits. Most contain things that a rabbit should not be eating, mostly things like nuts and seeds. It can also encourage picky eating as they tend to eat what they like first and leave what they don't like. A plain pellet is best. Some people do add things to pellets, but those rabbits tend to need something extra due to being bred or shown.

THANKYOU! You have described my Rose to a tee!

The trail mix is dried seeds, nuts, corn, veggie & fruit pieces. She's almost out so I will be buying a pellet mix. She does 'pick through' the mix and eat what she likes (seeds mostly)

I'm happy to continue picking her dress grass, we also have a veggie patch just for her (he face being the green leafy tops of carrots)

I will try mixing some grass through her hay, that is a great idea. I'll pick her up some pellets today & see how she goes.


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I would suggest you buy the pellet mix now so you can start mixing it in with the rest of her current food, rabbits stomached are very sensitive it is advised you wean a rabbit on to a new food type over the course of 10 days. I normally do the change over a week and seems to prove affective.

RosieTheRabbit said:

THANKYOU! You have described my Rose to a tee!

The trail mix is dried seeds, nuts, corn, veggie & fruit pieces. She's almost out so I will be buying a pellet mix. She does 'pick through' the mix and eat what she likes (seeds mostly)

Click to expand...

Toward the end of this article is an explanation of why seeds, and corn are not at all good for bunnies:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

The plain pellets you said you would buy, be sure it is not a "mix." You'll want plain pellets. And as megaminilops explained, it is important to mix the old food with the new over the course of a week or so as a transition period. There is an excellent food pellet comparison chart here to see which pellet types/brands are best:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp

Agreed, seeds are not at all good for bunnies. They love eating them, but they're very high in fats and sugars. It's junk food for bunnies.

Try to slowly wean her onto a good rabbit plain pellet brand like Burgess or Oxbow. They've got all the nutrients a bunny needs, so no need for extras like corn and fruit pieces. It will be hard to get her to eat plain pellets if she is too attached to her junky diet, but it will be better for her health in the long run!