not eating hay but eating pellets/veggies

Hey there my munchlax has not been eating his hay except for his pellets, and veggies. I know that hay is typically 80% of their diets but also have read or watch youtubers whos bunny only been eating pellets. Now I did get him from a show breeder who had only been feeding him pellets. So i was wondering if its totally okay to just feed my fur buddy pellets and veggies and no more of hay. let me know your opinion or your bunnies diet.

When we first got Peter from the shelter he didn't know what hay was. We gave him only a tablespoon of pellets with a hay rack by his pan and a couple of dishes full of hay. 2 days later he was a hay eating machine--plus, we never give ours more than a small amount of pellets and never more than twice a day. Some of them hardly eat pellets now--I do use Orchard Grass as I'm allergic to Timothy. Also, they only get greens/veggies in the morning and at night so they never get too much at one time.

What type and brand of pellets? How much does he get of the pellets each day?

Too many pellets will discourage hay eating. Hay is just so good for their gut and more closely resembles a natural diet than pellets which were originally formulated to grow rabbits fast for meat.

It may just be a matter of reducing the pellet amount and refreshing the hay daily. That often gets them eating more hay.

Blue eyes said:

What type and brand of pellets? How much does he get of the pellets each day?

Too many pellets will discourage hay eating. Hay is just so good for their gut and more closely resembles a natural diet than pellets which were originally formulated to grow rabbits fast for meat.

It may just be a matter of reducing the pellet amount and refreshing the hay daily. That often gets them eating more hay.

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the pellet brand i am not sure as the breeder gave me about a months worth of pellets. And I have been feeding him according to the breeder feeding routine which is like a quarter of a cup in the morning, then in the evening about under a quarter.

Nancy McClelland said:

When we first got Peter from the shelter he didn't know what hay was. We gave him only a tablespoon of pellets with a hay rack by his pan and a couple of dishes full of hay. 2 days later he was a hay eating machine--plus, we never give ours more than a small amount of pellets and never more than twice a day. Some of them hardly eat pellets now--I do use Orchard Grass as I'm allergic to Timothy. Also, they only get greens/veggies in the morning and at night so they never get too much at one time.

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I have used orchard grass before for my previous lionhead bunny and he did enjoy it. but i will keep orchard grass in mind for rotation.

MunchLax said:

the pellet brand i am not sure as the breeder gave me about a months worth of pellets. And I have been feeding him according to the breeder feeding routine which is like a quarter of a cup in the morning, then in the evening about under a quarter.

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The food given by the breeder is supposed to be used to transition your rabbit to whatever feed you plan to use in the future. Should not switch brands suddenly but gradually over these weeks. That is why the seller provides those pellets.
Here is a list of several good options to switch to and instructions on how to use your current feed (before it gets too low) to switch/transition to the new feed:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/pellet-food.html
(A breeder's feed is typically too high in protein for an indoor fixed rabbit, but is suitable for breeding rabbits.) High protein feed is quite rich and could be contributing to your rabbit's lack of interest in hay.

A veterinarian suggested "spritzing" hay with apple juice. It worked for us. A Flemish Giant who had been more interested in pellets than in hay is now eating hay every day.

Blue eyes said:

The food given by the breeder is supposed to be used to transition your rabbit to whatever feed you plan to use in the future. Should not switch brands suddenly but gradually over these weeks. That is why the seller provides those pellets.
Here is a list of several good options to switch to and instructions on how to use your current feed (before it gets too low) to switch/transition to the new feed:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/pellet-food.html
(A breeder's feed is typically too high in protein for an indoor fixed rabbit, but is suitable for breeding rabbits.) High protein feed is quite rich and could be contributing to your rabbit's lack of interest in hay.

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thank you, we are just leaving his hay out for him incase he ever does eat it, but i will keep this in mind

MunchLax said:

thank you, we are just leaving his hay out for him incase he ever does eat it, but i will keep this in mind

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Funny but for some reason I'm getting the sense that I may be getting misunderstood? To clarify, this is the time to decide upon & purchase a new pellet brand. If your new bun has been home a couple weeks, it's time to begin mixing his new food in with the old per the link.

If you're leaving hay out & it hasn't been refreshed every day, it's doubtful he'll ever eat it. Even a rabbit that is a good hay eater will often reject hay after it has sat awhile. Something about new hay being put down entices them to eat it. So "just leaving his hay out for him" isn't going to make him suddenly start eating it. Adding new hay twice daily, on the other hand, is a common method to encourage hay eating.

Blue eyes said:

Funny but for some reason I'm getting the sense that I may be getting misunderstood? To clarify, this is the time to decide upon & purchase a new pellet brand. If your new bun has been home a couple weeks, it's time to begin mixing his new food in with the old per the link.

If you're leaving hay out & it hasn't been refreshed every day, it's doubtful he'll ever eat it. Even a rabbit that is a good hay eater will often reject hay after it has sat awhile. Something about new hay being put down entices them to eat it. So "just leaving his hay out for him" isn't going to make him suddenly start eating it. Adding new hay twice daily, on the other hand, is a common method to encourage hay eating.

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Hello, here in Australia Timothy hay is sooo dear! $38-$45/kilo

Elf does love it when we first got him ( wanted the best for our bub)

But now we rotate his hay with Oaten n Timothy/Rye.

We did find that, when you give Elf the pellets he will reduce his appetite for hay. So we reduce his pellet to half an egg cup holder in the morning n then offer a few bigger pellets by hand which he loves in the evening. Extra bonding time.

We also found that yes Elf is picky with his hay n we now put an handful in at a time n he will jump straight away. But
if we give a large amount n it is left for over a day he refuses to touch them

Just keeping an eye on what they do, what their personality is like… like our three kids, all different n all fussy in their own ways…

Elf is sneeky yet smart though, he has worked out that he can lie near the fridge and if someone goes near it, he looks up at you with his beautiful eyes begging for more veggies. My hubby said he was up n went to check on Elf n found him guarding the fridge at 3am in this morning