Hi trying to get my bunny to eat more hay ;(

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Bobbles

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She is bit under the weather ??? She as sprained ankle and vet as said for her to rest for 5 days got her some new hay yesterday and she was munching on it all day but today she no????? t bit worried about her but she as had her nuggets fiber first and small amount veg ;( :bunnydance::nosir::pink iris::sleep:

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Sometimes not eating something specific can be a sign of health problems (usually tooth issues)... however, because you just got a new batch of hay and she's still eating her veggies and pellets, I think the issue is probably that she doesn't like the new hay as much as the old stuff. Even if you got the exact same kind of hay as she had before, it could be a different cut - hay varies in texture, flavor and softness from one cut to the next and some bunnies are very picky. Sometimes two hays that look "the same" to us humans can be *very* different from a bunny's point of view!

If you still have some of her old hay left, the first thing I would try is to mix the old and new hay together to see if you can gradually get her to warm up to the idea of eating the new hay :).

Here's a good article on getting your bunny to eat more hay: http://www.therabbithouse.com/blog/2007/06/20/5-ways-to-get-your-to-rabbit-eat-more-hay/

I've also heard of people using a spray bottle to mist the hay with apple juice... if you do that, though, you need to be careful not to use too much (because extra sugar can cause health problems) and to change out the hay frequently so that it doesn't get icky from the juice. This might be a good trick to use temporarily while she gets used to a new hay - use a little less juice each day until you're not using any at all.
 
To get Bella to eat more hay, I'll rearrange it and move it to different areas/piles and it always seems to spark some interest. I think she eats a lot while I'm sleeping. :)
 

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