Bunny will eat everything but hay

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fiver_dimples

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So I started giving Fiver some greens and pellets specifically at 9:00am in the morning, each day. Then at night at 9:30pm this has been a daily routine since I first got him. I give him loads and loads of hay! but he refuses to eat it. Instead he just wants the greens and pellets, it's also obvious I'm spoiling him to the core, as he's a bit overweight. He's goes 12 hours without greens and pellets, because again, he gets plenty in the morning and at night. The hay basically just lies there untouched. Can anyone tell me if I'm doing something wrong? I don't wanna make a habit of it if I am. I need him to start eating hay again.
 
Okay. So if his diet is unlimited hay, 1/4 cup of pellets, and a cup or two of veggies, a day. That should be fine. What I would suggest is lessening the pellets and veggies and just topping up the hay.
Some rabbits are more picky about hay, and some store bought hats aren’t good enough for them. Ideally, hay should be bright green, with long strands and not a lot of dust.
You could also try a few different cuts or types of hays to see their favourites. Oat hay is a favourite of my rabbits. It’s also a good idea to feed a variety of hays. I mainly feed Timothy hay as it’s the most widely available in bulk in my area but will often pick up a few bags of oat hay and orchard grass hay to mix in.
Including hay in their toys is a fun way to make it more interesting too.
Adding a bit of forage to their hay could make it more likely for them to eat too.
This is only what I’m thinking, someone else might have something that works 😅
 
1/4 cup twice a day? And how many cups of greens/veg per day, and what greens/veg? Also what's his weight? Has he ever eaten hay and he stopped recently, or has he never been a fan of hay? Have you ever had him to the vet for a dental check?
 
1/4 cup twice a day? And how many cups of greens/veg per day, and what greens/veg? Also what's his weight? Has he ever eaten hay and he stopped recently, or has he never been a fan of hay? Have you ever had him to the vet for a dental check?
Twice a day yes. I give him one cup of spinach and kale. I do not know his exact weight however. And he was a hay fan, I recently moved him into a free roam room and that's when it started, I've taken him to the vet for checkups, but not recently.
 
Approx. weight then? 4 or 5 lbs?

There are a few possibilities. He's getting too many pellets and filling up on those so isn't hungry for hay, his hay has mildewed from humidity and is no longer good for him to eat, you have a new batch of hay that doesn't taste very good, or he has developed dental problems and it hurts for him to chew hay.

I would check the hay, make sure it doesn't smell musty or sour, have white or black spots in it, or have a white dust. If you had started a new bag/bale of hay when he stopped eating or his current hay may be bad, buy a fresh batch(different batch number than the last) and see if that makes a difference.

If it's not the hay then check for signs of dental problems like drooling and a consistently wet chin(not just after drinking) especially during and after eating, exhibiting a strange chewing motion or strange head movements, dropping food from his mouth, drinking excessively, not eating cecotropes normally. If he's having any of these signs then a dental exam is necessary.
Medirabbit (dental problems in rabbits)

If he's about 5 lbs or less, then maybe he's just getting too many pellets in his diet for his size, and if so I would try reducing the pellets a bit, especially if he really is a little overweight. I would go down to 1/8 cup twice a day and try that, and keep a close eye on his eating of hay and his poops. You just don't want him to still not eat hay and have his gut slow down and his poops get really small, as this could risk GI stasis occurring. If his poops do start getting small then I would put his pellets back to normal for several days until back to normal, and then try a more gradual reduction like a tablespoon or 2 less each feeding and see how that goes. But if it's the hay or a dental issue causing the lack of hay eating, reducing pellets isn't going to help or make a difference.
 

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