Won't Eat Hay & Diarrhoea

Zeik
Male
8 Months

My rabbit Zeik will not touch his hay, even when there is no food in his cage. The problem is that if he doesn't eat, he gets diarrhoea, but he absolutely refuses to eat his hay and will only eat pellets and greens. I have tried to feed him different varieties of hay and he will still not touch it. I have tried to leave nothing but hay in his pen and he just ends up getting diarrhoea because he doesn't eat.

I am getting super frustrated and I don't know what to do. I have read all the forums on how to get rabbits to eat more hay, and I still have no luck.

Can someone please help me...? I am sick of this diarrhoea. And I am sick of having to have his cage constantly stocked with pellets, leading him to gain weight.

I would take him straight to the (rabbit savvy) vet and get him checked out. Maybe he's having digestive or dental issues. That's not normal for a rabbit. Good luck!

stevesmum said:

I would take him straight to the (rabbit savvy) vet and get him checked out. Maybe he's having digestive or dental issues. That's not normal for a rabbit. Good luck!

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I second stevesmum on this. If the hay is fresh and you're topping it up every few hours and he still won't touch it, then there must be an underlying health problem that should be addressed right away. Off to the vet with Zeik! Good luck!

Well, it's "fresh" out of the bag. So I was thinking of looking at farm hay. Perhaps he would enjoy actual "fresh" hay oppose to bagged hay. Perhaps that is the issue. If that doesn't work, then vet time.

I know that when my rabbits have their rare bouts of GI stasis hay is the one thing they don't want (ironically the one thing they really need to be eating). I try hand feeding those bushy tips of the Timothy hay and sometimes that works. But still please get him checked out, you'll both feel better.

Have you had a vet rule out dental problems as the cause for lack of hay eating? It is common for a rabbit to only want to eat selective foods when they are experiencing mouth pain. It could be from overgrown incisors, molar spurs, elongated tooth roots, or an infection, so a visual exam would be needed, but xrays may be needed as well. If it is mushy poop that your rabbit is having, this can be a common side effect from dental issues due to lack of hay eating and not enough fiber in the diet. If however, it isn't just mushy poop, but is watery diarrhea that your rabbit is having, this is a usually a symptom a much more serious problem and you should get your rabbit to the vet immediately.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/D_problems1.htm

It is also possible for lack of hay eating to be due to pickiness, and also rabbits that aren't used to eating hay can sometimes not want to eat it. With a picky rabbit you just need to keep trying different kinds until you find something they like. Even a different batch of the same variety of a grass hay can make a difference. I have several different batches of timothy hay, and my rabbits definitely prefer one particular one over the others. Grain hays like rye and oat are real favorites for many buns. If you try one of these, it is best they have little to no grain heads(even if you have to remove them by hand), as that can add too many carbohydrates into the rabbits diet adding to the mushy poop issue.

For a rabbit that isn't used to eating hay, you will have to try different things. Sometimes feeding fresh grasses is a good place to start, if you are in a part of the world that is entering summer and not winter. If your bun doesn't have bladder sludge or kidney issues, you can try mixing in a little alfalfa with the grass hay, as most rabbits like the taste of it. If you are in europe, you can try mixing in some Readigrass with your grass hay. Or there are plain hay pellets. I had a rabbit that had never had hay before and wouldn't touch it. I was able to get him eating it by starting him out with a plain timothy/alfalfa hay pellet made for large livestock. I fed enough of it that he would still run out a few hours before next feeding, then I still offered a small pile of hay he could eat after that when he got hungry. Eventually he did start trying the hay out, and in a few months he was eating hay just fine. Long stem hay is better than hay pellets for the longer fiber length, but hay pellets can be a good temporary substitute to provide your bun with the necessary fiber for good digestion, until you are able to sort the hay issue out. So for some rabbits it can take a bit of experimenting.
http://standleeforage.com/featured/pellets?gclid=CPz5zsO0-MECFa9j7AodfHEAGg

But if your bun has dental issues causing the reluctance to eat hay, no amount of experimenting is going to get your bun eating hay until the dental issues are sorted.

If ur rabbit doesnt eat hay or grass u should go to the vet and ask 4 fiberflex

I've had issues with getting my rabbit to eat his hay, as well. I tried a ton of different types and brands of hay, and he hated them all. It might have just been because he's young, though, because I recently brought home some Oxbow Botanical Hay, and he can't get enough of it. I think it's because it's got herbs in it, and he loves when I feed him fresh herbs. Maybe try some of that? In addition to seeing a vet, of course.

My rabbits are sometimes picky too. I suppose there are some kind of grass or plants they don't really like. Don't know if it can help, but when it happens, I dry a handful of mint leaves (on the heater or in an open oven after I cooked something in it) and I crush them and put them in the hay bag so it "flavors" the hay. It works for me.
But, of course, I also think you should rule out any kind of medical problem by going to the vet first. Never know, it might hide a bigger problem...

I figured out what the issue was. I was storing my hay incorrectly. I kept my hay in large bins and didn't allow my hay to "breathe". Now I keep it in the bag and it seems to work great for him. I also started mixing the hay in with the pellet food to encourage him to eat it! I haven't had a diarrhoea episode in more than a week and he's munching away on his hay again!
Thanks for all the advice everyone! <3