Hay Eating

[mdith4him]

Nibbles has never been much of a hay eater. He'll munch on it from time to time, but it seems like his hay rack is never really empty or that he's eaten any kind of appreciable amount. We've tried to encourage him to eat more by putting it in different places (hay rack, hay ball, in the litter bin), but none of that seems to matter. We've made toys with hay inside and he munches at it, but is more interested in the rest of the toy than in the hay. We've recently cut back on his food (no more unlimited pellets like when he was a baby) and have introduced greens. He gets about 1/3 cup of pellets in the a.m. and a cup or so of veggies in the p.m. He seems eager to eat (read: he practically attacks me to get the food) when it's time and we hoped he would eat more hay if he got hungry during the day. Nope.

So last night, I thought I would add some new hay on top of the hay he had in his rack. I pulled the huge bag of Timothy hay into his NIC cage and he FLIPPED OUT. He was running all around me, pulling at the bag, sniffing everything, hopping up on my lap...he became crazy bunny! Finally, I pulled the bag edges down and laid it on the ground so he could see it was just that hay he doesn't like. Well, you would've thought I'd given him a bag of raisins or something. He was eating the hay out of the bag like there's no tomorrow! After several minutes he seemed like he'd had enough (and was trying to eat the plastic bag) so I tried to show him when the hay was in his cage. Hasn't touched it all night.

What to do? He'll eat it out of the one thing I can't leave in his cage all the time! I tried putting a bunch in a box and all he did was treat it like a new litter bin Any ideas?? Junie (our new girl bunny) eats tons of hay each day. I don't want Nibbles to have digestive problems down the road.

 

[ZRabbits]

mdith4him wrote:

Nibbles has never been much of a hay eater. He'll munch on it from time to time, but it seems like his hay rack is never really empty or that he's eaten any kind of appreciable amount. We've tried to encourage him to eat more by putting it in different places (hay rack, hay ball, in the litter bin), but none of that seems to matter. We've made toys with hay inside and he munches at it, but is more interested in the rest of the toy than in the hay. We've recently cut back on his food (no more unlimited pellets like when he was a baby) and have introduced greens. He gets about 1/3 cup of pellets in the a.m. and a cup or so of veggies in the p.m. He seems eager to eat (read: he practically attacks me to get the food) when it's time and we hoped he would eat more hay if he got hungry during the day. Nope.

So last night, I thought I would add some new hay on top of the hay he had in his rack. I pulled the huge bag of Timothy hay into his NIC cage and he FLIPPED OUT. He was running all around me, pulling at the bag, sniffing everything, hopping up on my lap...he became crazy bunny! Finally, I pulled the bag edges down and laid it on the ground so he could see it was just that hay he doesn't like. Well, you would've thought I'd given him a bag of raisins or something. He was eating the hay out of the bag like there's no tomorrow! After several minutes he seemed like he'd had enough (and was trying to eat the plastic bag) so I tried to show him when the hay was in his cage. Hasn't touched it all night.

What to do? He'll eat it out of the one thing I can't leave in his cage all the time! I tried putting a bunch in a box and all he did was treat it like a new litter bin Any ideas?? Junie (our new girl bunny) eats tons of hay each day. I don't want Nibbles to have digestive problems down the road.

Have you tried putting the hay in a big paper bag? Put the hay in a big paper bag and take it into his crate, like you did with the big plastic bag of hay. See what his reaction is. Hopefully he will be the same crazy bunny again, and go in the paper bag. That bag you can leave because paper won't hurt.

I have one the same way. Same food but you need to give it to him his way. Maybe this will be Nibbles way for hay.

Hope this helps. Wishing you all the success on getting Nibbles to eat what's good for him.

K

 

[oryctolaguslady]

So last night, I thought I would add some new hay on top of the hay he had in his rack. I pulled the huge bag of Timothy hay into his NIC cage and he FLIPPED OUT. He was running all around me, pulling at the bag, sniffing everything, hopping up on my lap...he became crazy bunny! Finally, I pulled the bag edges down and laid it on the ground so he could see it was just that hay he doesn't like. Well, you would've thought I'd given him a bag of raisins or something. He was eating the hay out of the bag like there's no tomorrow! After several minutes he seemed like he'd had enough (and was trying to eat the plastic bag) so I tried to show him when the hay was in his cage. Hasn't touched it all night.

How very like a rabbit! I liked ZRabbits idea of the paper bag - if you ever get this figured out I would love to have your permission to include this story in a future edition of one of my books.

 

[LakeCondo]

The hay is always greener on the other side of the cage.

 

[buster2369]

Your rabbit sounds hilarious! When I first got my rabbit I though he just didn't like hay. I had a hay rack, a tissue box filled with hay and his hidey house filled with hay. One day I decided to put a plate out with some hay. He gobbled it right up. It was so odd, he will only eat things off plates. Although sometimes he likes to 'dig' at his hay plate and it goes everywhere, but at least he's eating it now

Rabbits are very particular. The paper bag idea sounds like a good one though...
Good Luck with your picky rabbit :biggrin:

 

[mdith4him]

OK, I've put a bunch of hay in a brown paper bag. When I brought the empty bag into the cage, he was very excited and was trying to snatch it away from me. I filled it with hay and rolled up the end to see if he would like a toy or game of some sort. He sniffed it and wandered away. Then I opened it so he could see what was inside...no interest. That was this afternoon. This evening, he's eaten a bit out of it, but doesn't seem overly interested. I'll see what it looks like in the morning.

Maybe I'll try the plate idea tomorrow!

 

[mdith4him]

Nibbles Update:

I've kept the bag of hay in his pen along with a shallow box filled with hay. Initially, he wasn't really interested in either one, but over the last few days he's been eating more and more! The paper bag is almost empty. He seems to like digging it out and eating it off the floor (or just digging it out and leaving a mess). Either way, I'm so excited he's finally eating more! Thanks for the help, all!

 

[Bonnie Lee]

:clapping:

 

[LakeCondo]

congratulations

 

[ZRabbits]

mdith4him wrote:

Nibbles Update:

I've kept the bag of hay in his pen along with a shallow box filled with hay. Initially, he wasn't really interested in either one, but over the last few days he's been eating more and more! The paper bag is almost empty. He seems to like digging it out and eating it off the floor (or just digging it out and leaving a mess). Either way, I'm so excited he's finally eating more! Thanks for the help, all!

So thrilled. Seems he just needs a challenge to get the hay to eat. So glad the paper bag worked. Mine love the paper bag because they can go in it, they can dig in it, they can rip it, bite it and toss it, and still get the hay.

Mental stimulation! Is truly mandatory for having a happy bunny. Congratulations the break thru.

K