Benson won't eat his old pellets....

[undergunfire]

I have been mixing in a little Oxbow BBT in with Benson's "rabbit kibble" food. Uhm...he is only eating the Oxbow now and won't touch the "kibbles".

Is this bad for him? I obviously can't force him to eat his old food, but would feeding the BBT right away be all that bad for him? He doesn't eat much hay at all, so I can't start off with just a few Oxbow pellets and gradually increase each day....he'd probably starve since he's most likely been free-fed his whole life?

 

[Marietta]

Clever bun! He knew right away what's the healthy stuff to choose! Well, the reason why we mix the old and new food and go on gradually with the new one in case of dietary changes is, as you probably know, to avoid GI tract imbalances. I guess that he eats up the Oxbow pellets right away and ignore the previous food, but won't he eventually eat a bit of the old brand, if he gets hungry? If you see that he won't touch the "kibbles" no matter what, just go on with the Oxbow pellets plus hay and watch out for any soft poop.

Marietta

 

[trailsend]

I agree - just watch his poop. I've had lots of buns come here who had been eating junk food (and piggies too) and they have almost immediently choosen the good food - and they did fine, I've actually not had one single problem with that.

They are smart! They know what is better for them and obviously tastes better. I got one bag of food full of like green, pink, purple, and other colored things in it, I didn't even read the bag, just tossed it.

 

[undergunfire]

The food switch is going okay. Benson seems to be eating a little more of his old pellets now rather then the Oxbow. I still worry that he is not getting enough food because I am sure he has been free-fed his whole life and eats little hay.

Hopefully everything goes smoothly and he can get healthier with eating Oxbow!

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Amy? You might not have thought of this being so busy and all. But, maybe try spritzing his hay a tad with apple juice? Maybe that will help attract him to it.

 

[Hazel]

I wish Bew was like that. Unfortunately she's eating her old pellets and leaving most of the Oxbow pellets alone. >.<

 

[luvthempigs]

I have had some of my guinea pigs refuse Oxbow pellets. I haven't tried the buns with it though...

 

[undergunfire]

AngelnSnuffy wrote:

Amy? You might not have thought of this being so busy and all. But, maybe try spritzing his hay a tad with apple juice? Maybe that will help attract him to it.

I am worried about that...I don't like the idea of wet hay. I guess I shouldn't be too worried about it, as they pee on their hay and eat it anyway....lol!

I suppose I can try to do that.


Now, I just wish they made "Juice Spritzers"...along side "Salad Spritzers".

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

undergunfire wrote:

AngelnSnuffy wrote:

Amy? You might not have thought of this being so busy and all. But, maybe try spritzing his hay a tad with apple juice? Maybe that will help attract him to it.

I am worried about that...I don't like the idea of wet hay. I guess I shouldn't be too worried about it, as they pee on their hay and eat it anyway....lol!

I suppose I can try to do that.


Now, I just wish they made "Juice Spritzers"...along side "Salad Spritzers".

Yeah, I totally understand your concerns about wet hay. Maybe just do small amounts at a time.