What if he won't eat

Hershey is around 7 - 8 months old. He weighs about 3.25 pounds. When I first got him (6 months ago) he would eat pellets only. Then he started eating a little veggies and some alfalfa hay from the pet store. I also had a bag of Timothy hay from the pet store that he wouldn't eat. So I bought a bale a alfalfa hay (second cut) from the feed store. He won't eat it!

On the plus side he LOVES his veggies! I buy a big box of organic spring mix. It is fresh leaves from various plants, it's supposed to be a salad mix. This is what he mostly eats. Plus I pick some wild carrots, dandilion leavesand clover now and then, which he loves.

So daily, Hershey is eating about 1/4 -1/2 cup of pellets and 1 - 1 1/2 cups of spring mix, and whatever little bit of hay that sticks to the leaves (I mix the leaves in with his hay.) He drinks water and poops good! He's active and seems happy and healthy. Is this a healthy diet for him? Or do I need to push the hay more? If so, how would I go about doing that?

Thanks!

Have you tried putting the hay in a toilet paper roll tube? That's what I do with Angel, otherwise she doesn't eat hers either, this seems to work well for me. It makes it a little fun for them.

Have you tried getting a variety of different hays to entice him to eat it?

Also, some people spray a light mist of unsweetened apple juice over their hay to encourage the bun to eat it.

Maybe those are worth a try.

Hiya,

Nutrition wise your rabbit is probably getting a good balence but hay is also necessary for the strands of fibre and the chewing action which wears the teeth.

If your rabbit likes greens then grass is a perfectly acceptable alternative to hay. You can buy seeds for timothy grass and grow it in your garden or in pots (which you can let your rabbit nibble then remove & regrow). Like with all new foods you need to introduce it gradually.

There are more tips on getting rabbit to eat hay here: http://therabbithouse.com/blog/?p=14

Tam

I would push more hay. Not only for fibre, but for the chewing action to keep his teeth trim.

Have you thought of hay cubes? They come in timothy and alfalfa.

I tried the toilet paper roll before without success, but I just stuck some hay in one to try again. I have seen hay cubes, but haven't tried them. I will get some. When I take Hershey outside, I don't see him nibbling grass, but maybe he is just too busy playing! I will see about trying to grow some Timothy grass. That could work!

Thank you for your replies! I figure at least he is not eating mainly pellets, he very much prefers his veggies to pellets!