rabbit wont eat hay

ldoerr wrote:

Sometimes you just have to tough it out with them. Beauty was HORIBLE about eating hay for over a month. I bought 2 full sized bales and 2 mini bales trying to find something that she would like. What ended up working was giving it to her in a different way and having a friend to share it with. You could also try giving him it in 2 different places in his cage. In one place you could put some hay and leave it there till he eats it no mater how long that takes. In the other place you could replace the hay each day so that it is always really fresh. (this works out better if you buy your hay by the bale, MUCH cheaper).

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i have it in 4 diff places in cage, by food, by water, by liter box, on his shelf. i add some fresh to it daily.

but im not gunna just tough it out for months on end, because before you know it he'll have a GI problem, if it was just a matter of toughing it out no big deal i wouldnt go to the vet over it.




@sugarbunnies
yeah grass hay are just different types of grass if im not mistaken, its just over grown and never cut till they wanna harvest it. so i mean technically rabbits have unlimited hay access, i believe thats why their bodies are so dependant on it for their digestive system

vet said he's pretty sure its his teeth, so he prescribed ears an antibiotic and a food supplement to get his GI back to good health and then next week he has his teeth checked/trimmed

Mine are picky too when it comes to hay but they love their pellets. Is it OK to just give them hay to "force" them to eat it and hopefully start to appreciate it?
Is it the way they are raised as babies in a cage on just pellets and not exposed to a variety of foods? The bunnies we had in the past were raised on a farm on fresh grass and hay and they ate everything we gave them. I don't know the history of our current bunnies.

Dutchbrothers wrote:

Mine are picky too when it comes to hay but they love their pellets. Is it OK to just give them hay to "force" them to eat it and hopefully start to appreciate it?
Is it the way they are raised as babies in a cage on just pellets and not exposed to a variety of foods? The bunnies we had in the past were raised on a farm on fresh grass and hay and they ate everything we gave them. I don't know the history of our current bunnies.

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well i mean they always have hay, always.. and they dont always have pellets, so i guess thats kind of forcing them when they get hungry, but baby bunny we have no problems with, just our two year old. and the problems only started about 2-3 months ago and we've had him a year and a half, so its not how they were raised, so im just going with what makes sense and what the vet agreed with me on, and thats that it has to be the rear molars having burs on them. hes on meds now and getting check in a couple days

Are you feeding Timothy? My guess is that to some rabbits not raised with it, it is perhaps a little bitter. I had a couple sisters a few years back who came from a petshop and hated timothy. First I got them oatstraw, which they adored, then orchard grass, which they also liked and finally alternated them between timothy, which they never greatly liked, and the orchard grass.

I wanted to know what are the best options for rabbit diet. I have looked through many reviews (http://www.pissedconsumer.com/consumer-reviews/veterinary.html) trying to find out what foods are the best for rabbits. Still no idea.. I'm afraid of giving something dangerous to my rabbit!What would you recommend?

Vets and breeders have different views on what is appropriate. Vets, for house rabbits, typically recommend a feed in relatively small bags and which is relatively expensive called Bunny Basics, which has a low protein content and is largely Timothy Hay. Breeders tend to get large bags (50lb) from local farm supply stores/farm animal feed mills. These are generally distinguished by their level of protein content. Some breeders feel the size of the rabbit, as well as whether it is lactating and there are kits around, influence the percent protein there should be. The highest protein feeds (18% protein) will most typically carry further supplements- probiotics, a certain enzyme that reduces the smell of the urine, extra vitamins. These are generally referred to as "show" feed varieties.

I raised Flemish Giants and many breeders felt they needed a minimum 17-18% content but more recently some breeders have been going down to 16% with their younger rabbits. It also makes sense to use lower protein feeds with older rabbits-- their bodies are not telling them to maintain so much muscle mass or reproductive hormone. Many smaller rabbits generally do well on 15-16%. At least that is my limited understanding.

we use bunny basics, young adult for our thrianta and bunny basics adult for our black bunny.


but hes actually started eating alott of oat hay ever since the vet gave him his antibiotic, so the vet said hell just check the teeth while hes down for his neuter.

I'm glad you were able to figure out what was wrong. Spay/neuter was when I had all my rabbits teeth checked. It's a pretty convenient time to do it. I hope all goes well with the neuter and tooth trim.

we have a rabbit that is not eating like he should is pellets and hay we have to play game with him and force him to eat is pellets should i cut down is green i so afraid he will get sick please any advice !!!!