Unlimited hay...

[Richard0600]

Recently I started giving my rabbits unlimited hay(huge handful of hay every time i see that its almost empty..),
which most of you suggest...and now they've become picky eaters..and only pick the best parts out (the leafy soft bits)
and leave huge amounts of the bad stuff (brittle hard hay)... does this happen with you guys? I currently feed them oxbow timothy hay...

 

[Richard0600]

I also feed them both a little under 1/2 a cup of timothy hay pellets each day..oxbow as well...

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Some rabbits are picky with hay. There are those who like the stocky bits while others like the softer hay.
Sometimes the hay is get is just not the best. I don't know what the hay situation is like where you live, but you can try to find some from a farmer or pet store that has more of what your rabbits like. Horse people tend to have good hay that is usually timothy.

 

[Richard0600]

they didnt use to be picky until i started giving them obsessive amounts of hay...yesterday i reduced it back to 1 big handful of timothy hay and now half of the stockier bits are gone...but there is still a lot on the floor...

 

[Maureen Las]

If you reduce the amount and the eat the harder pieces that is fine . The coarser hay is really good for their teeth...as long as the hay is fresh and they have access to some hay all the time ..

I also get western timothy from oxbow and give huge amount but my rabbits just seem to eat huge amount and don't leave much...
rabbits are strange....

 

[kirbyultra]

I think some rabbits are just choosey. One of my rabbits doesn't seem to care but my older one won't eat pieces that are too yellow/stiff.

Brittle/hard pieces are good for them like angieluv said. The more they eat of it, the better so if your budget allows for a little "wasted" hard hay, and they eat a total of more hay with the unlimited availability, I would keep feeding them an unlimited amount... keeps the gut going strong too

For a while I didn't know any better (I had no experience to compare it to) and I fed some pretty dry hay to my bun. He would eat but not a whole lot no matter how much I gave him. He would eat ALL his lettuce in one sitting and all his pellets as soon as I put the dishes down. I didn't really pick up on it but I think he wasn't eating nearly enough hay because of his own choosiness, and was always pretty hungry. As soon as I switched to a softer batch of hay, he started to eat TONS of hay, and then lettuce and pellets became a 2nd priority. He took his time eating a little bit throughout the day instead of scarfing the whole meal down. Are your bunnies doing the same sort of thing? Do they seem hungry to you?

 

[BethM]

I have one rabbit that will eat all of her hay, no matter what. Two others will be picky, but end up eating the "rejected" hay during the night, after they've eaten all of the good stuff. And my fourth is super-picky. He will only eat the freshest hay, and will pull the rest out and throw it all over his pen. *sigh* He acts like he's starving for salad and pellets, though.

I sweep up the rejected bits from the floor and toss them in the litter boxes. Sometimes they'll snack on them while using their box.

 

[Maureen Las]

When I first had rabbit years ago in chicago i had no idea what good hay was and bought this awful yeloow stuff from petco which my rabbit didn't eat....eventually i just stopped feeding hay ..
hard to believe i was so ignorant but the bun did OK despite all my errors.

 

[okiron]

Mine gets unlimited hay and we never had a problem with her only eating certain parts of it.