Not Eating Pellets...

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FallingStar

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My two female rabbits aren't eating their pellets. I filled their feeders yesterday and then this morning there was the same amount of pellets left. And then today when I got back from school, still they haven't eaten any pellets.

They have water and hay. They are poo-ing and acting normal. They have been eating alot of hay. Could that have anything to do with it?

Thanks.

Karlee
 
When did youbuy thepellets? Is it a new bag?Odd that both aren't eating the pellets.

If it was just one, I would maybe suspect a tooth problem or an upset tummy. But with both suddenly not eating pellets, my thoughts go to the freshness/state of the pellets.

Maybe try a fresher bag of pellets? What kind do you feed? Maybe they have gone stale or bad?

It's good that they are eating hay! I am not sure if sunflower seeds could tie in with not eating pellets, so I'll see what others have to say. Howmuchdid you give them? :)
 
It's Honor Rabbit Feed and it's a brand new bag. I give them about a half a cup of pellets in each feeder. (I have two feeders in their hutch.)

I put some treat mix in their food a little bit ago and they ate some of the pellets. I think it may just be from eating the straw becaue they ate alot. So I think they must just have full tummies. And the feed is in a container. I wouldn't think it would be stale or bad. I just bought it.


And if they do have a tummy ache, how can I tell? What could I do?
 
Does the pellets have a best before date on them? Best to just double check, since sometimes pellets can sit on the shelf for a bit before being sold.

Did you notice the decrease of pellet intake before the new bag of food, or when you started them on the new bag of food you bought? I am not familiar with Honor Rabbit Feed, but is it just plain pellets, no little treat or coloured bits in it?

Has anything in their diet changed? How were their appetites for pellets before they stopped eating them? Generally with my guys, they keep a steady appetite and I try to keep it as routine as possible. So if one all of the sudden doesn't rush at vegetables and start eating or leaves most of their pellets, etc. then it could be a red flag that something isn't right. Other than a few off days my guys have had, they generally keep the same or similar eating habits.

Hopefully someone else has more suggestions for your guys!
 
No, it's just regular pellets nothing else. Nothing really changed in their diet. Except I gave them some sunflower seeds. But that's it. And I put that treat mix in there and they ate that and some pellets. So I think that they were just had full tummies of straw. :D

But I'll see what anyone else says. Thanks.
 
Since we're talking about two buns, I guess there's a lesser chance that a medical problem occured to both of them at the same time (hope not!). Unless it's a dietary issue.

Sunflower seeds are fattening stuff, so maybe their bellies are, indeed, full. Is there a medical reason for which you provide sunflower seeds? I'm asking, since they are usually fed to bunnies which need to gain weight. Or else your buns don't need them.

What is the treat mix made of? Also, bunnies will prefer treats over regular food, as it's tastier, to their opinion. Giving treats is not a good idea, so, stick with the pellets, in the right quantity for their size.

Marietta
 
Hi,

I agree with others that it is probably a pellet quality issue. I wouldn't take the chance and out the door it would go. And if they are eating hay....and hay should be the vast majority of their diet anyway...I wouldn't be overly concerned. I don't care if my rabbits eat pellets or not as long as they eat hay. And we have some that don't get pellets at all.

Randy
 
In December of 2005 - we had a feed issue where several of my buns would not eat all of their pellets for several days. As I do now, I had mixed in with the pellets some calf mana (Tiny was eating the pellets too and it was easier to mix it in for everyone plus they're a wool breed - and it wasn't that much), oats, barley and I think sunflower seeds.

It came to a head when I had several does give birth to stillborn kits - and I noticed that several of my bucks were losing condition....and in fact, I lost one orange buck (Aslan).

The night I lost him, I was talking to a breeder friend here in Texas and we were discussing what could be happening - we talked about new toys (none), possible paint poisoning if they'd chewed on wood (none), their location in the rabbitry (all over the place), etc. etc. When I mentioned the brand of food I was using - she practically cussed me up one side and down the other and told me to get the bag and read the label. Turns out the #1 ingredient had the word "by products" in it (I forget byproducts of what). That brand (a national brand) had a horrible reputation here in Texas and most of the breeders don't use them....that same week - a lionhead breeder in Washington state asked about the same brand because they had lost a number of their weanlings all in one week.

The lesson I learned from this is....if your rabbits aren't eating the pellets (and they haven't been superspoiled by having those food with the colored "treats" in it)...there is usually a reason...especially if it is more than one.

That night I dumped every bowl and gave them only hay - I made an immediate switch the next day (throwing out two bags of food) and we think that the fact I'd been adding in some calf manna and oats and stuff was what kept most of my herd alive.

If your rabbits continue to refuse the food - I'd suspect the food...

Peg
 
Are they still not eating?

Hmm.. maybe you could post the ingrediants of the pellets for RO members to check them out.

Did you reduce the sunflower seeds to only a couple? I'd also check the quality of the sunflower seeds - was anything added? Maybe try researching the company - any negative feedback for anything?
 
I know your feed is Honor Rabbit Feed, and it consists ofpellets and a varietty of other things, right? We feed our bunnies Dels Rabbit Ration 16% which is just plain pellets. I suggest you may want to switch them over, if they stop eating again, that is. Have you bought several brands/kinds of pellets? Because I thought the last time I was there the bunnies were just eatingplain pellets like our brand? Where do you buy your feed? Dels or the Feed Bin? I know the companies that Dels gets their rabbit feed from has been switching the bag's designs,so it's been hard for us to get the correct food , as it always looks different, but the bunnies like the 16% feed. In the spring time they make the transition from this feed to show food. Maybe your feed is like show feed? You can still feed it to them in the winter, but regular pellets may be better? I'm not totally shure, as long as they're eating, drinking, and defecating, I'm shure they should be fine.

Emily


Edited to add: I agree with PixieStixx, if you still have the feed bag, could you post the ingredients? Thanks
 
Glad to hear they are eating :).

Even so, it may have been just an off day.. but there could have been an issue that caused it. Doesn't hurt to look at possible reasons of why this happened, so you can prevent it if it happens in the future. :).

I would recommend if your brand of pellets has coloured bits, seeds, pieces other than just plain pellets (treat bits), to slowly switch over to just a plain pellet. Bunnies can get malnourished and unhealthy since they usually just pick out the yummy coloured extra bits and leave the healthier pellets! Who wants to eat something healthyish when they can eat junk food? ;).
 
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