Lucerne Chaff ... she just won't eat it!!!!

[Sox]

The vet was saying not to feed the grass mixture with seeds in them so I threw out the whole packet and bought what the vet sells, Lucerne Chaff.


Have been trying this on Sox for the last 2 weeks and she just refuses to eat them.The old grass mixture I had looks very much like this Lucerne Chaff and Sox ate that. She will shake the self feeder container digging out all the pellets eating them but just refuses to touch the Lucerne Chaff. She did eat it once when I intentionally gave her very little food; she must have been starving when she ate it.

I wet the Pak Choy vegetables (her favourite)and sprinkle the Lucerne Chaff over the wet vegies and she just won't touch it either. The Chaff smells very strong and fresh. Is it the smell?

Any suggestions?

 

[Hazel-Mom]

Lucerne is another name for Alfalfa, so if your bunny is an adult, I wouldn't give her that.
If she is a baby still, Lucerne, or Alfalfa, should be ok for now. I don't like the idea of it being "chaff", though... is it really small, cut up bits?
"chaff" to me is what's left over after winnowing the wheat, very dusty, not very nutritious, Not something I would feed to anyone.

Are you sure your vet is knowledgeable about rabbits? Maybe you should try finding one that knows more.

 

[Pipp]

Unfortunately, there is no timothy in Australia, and any type of grass hay is hard to find. I know that it can be had, though -- at least a grass/oat hay mix. Check out the horse farm/feed store circuit if you haven't already.

Failing that, I'd mix the original kind with the new kind and just slowly put in less and less of the old kind.

What kind of 'seeds' are you talking about?

Pipp won't touch any kind of hay, she would literally starve first. The little stinker. But I did get her switched from alfalfa to timothy pellets using the above method.

Good luck!


sas :clover:

 

[Pipp]

PS: Hazel is right. Chaff is the cut up bits, yup. The longer hay stems from a bale are much healthier.

PPS: When you say 'grass mixture', are you talking pellets or hay? Re-reading it, I think you're referring to pellets. Some pet store brands do come with seeds and dried fruits and they're very fattening. A lucerne (alfalfa) pellet is a lot better -- although still not as good as a timothy pellet, but again, Aussies are pretty limited. Just try for a brand that has a low protein count (12% to 16% is the usual), and high fiber (over 20%). The fat count should be considered as well.

Is your bunny overweight?

(My advice above re: mixing the brands still stands).


sas :bunnydance:

 

[Sox]

The packet states Lucerne Chaff and it is tiny bits like lawn clippings, not long hay. Sox eats Oates Hay and Meadow Hay (which I've been told is Timothy??). She also has pellets as well which I mix with the Lucerne Chaff. Don't know what sort of pellets they are but loves them.

Sox is now 16 weeks.

My vet is the only rabbit specialist vet in Western Australia, she is also a reptile vet specialist. The vet also owns a Rabbit Shop, breeds rabbits and boards rabbits ..... all profit making interests really ....ullhair::run: