Pellets as hay supplement?

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ShreddersMom

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My rabbit really does not like eating hay. I have to really limit his pellets for him to eat his hay even to the point of starving him for a bit. Eventually he just starts eating paper and cardboard over hay or starts chewing things around the room. I bought "timothy hay pellets" the brand is Little Friends I believe. Are these or any other pellet a good enough supplement for hay?

Rabbit is 2 ish year old male neutered lop.

Thanks!
 
What are the ingredients in the pellets? They do make pellets of just hay for horses, etc that would be alright, but when you feed just pellets or hay cubes you're eliminating a lot of the longer stem fiber.
Has he had his teeth checked out? Dental issues can make rabbits not want to eat their hay. You might also consider offering a different, more "tasty" variety of hay. Consider something like oat or orchard if you're currently feeding timothy, for example.
 
http://www.martinmills.com/small_pets_rabbit_timothy_adult.php

This is the pellet website.

Also, he was neutered awhile ago and I do believe they checked him over then. So I'm pretty sure it's not health related. Would his teeth affect all chewing because he absolutely loves eating paper and ripping up cardboard!

Is it not specifically timothy hay they need? What other kind would you suggest? Are the oat or orchard still okay as a substitute for timothy? What is the most popular hay choice after timothy for picky rabbits?
 
Martin makes good food and ive used that formula for YEARS and love it. But it shouldnt make up more then 1/4cup per 5lbs body weight daily.
He really needs to eat hay.
Pellets are not a substitute.
Try other types of hay (not alfalfa) timothy. Oat. Orchard. Botanicle. Meadow. Etc.... Nice grass hay.
 
Your rabbit is turning to ingesting cardboard to try and get the fiber he needs for good gut motility, which he should get from hay. The problem with a rabbit eating too much cardboard and paper, is that it can form a gooey mass in a rabbits digestive system, that has the potential of forming a GI blockage.

Those pellets aren't actually a plain hay pellet. They are a normal food pellet with the added vitamins. Plain hay pellets only have hay in them. Like this. http://standleeforage.com/product/timothy-grass/timothy-grass-pellets And these are usually found in large feed bags at livestock feed stores. They do fine as a temporary measure or if there is just no other way to get a rabbit eating hay, but loose long stem hay is really the best thing for your bun to be eating, if you can get him eating it. But until you can get him eating hay, you still need to make sure he is getting enough food as you don't want his digestion slowing down too much, or risk him losing too much weight. If he is used to eating normal food pellets, then continue feeding him as you normally do until you can find a hay he is interested in. Then you can gradually start to reduce the amount of pellets he is used to as he starts eating hay.

If you haven't tried a different variety of grass hay, that would be a good next step. Timothy is just one type of grass hay. Basically any grass hay will do. Some other types are orchard, oat, bermuda, coastal, meadow, etc. The one you don't want is alfalfa, as that is a high protein legume hay, and not really good to be feeding most adult rabbits. Some rabbits can just be quite picky about their hay. And even with a particular variety like timothy, it can vary quite a bit with each crop. I have several different bales of timothy from different crops, and I can tell that my rabbits do prefer one over the other, even though all of it is the same grass, timothy. You could start with orchard or oat, they seem to be fairly well liked by many rabbits. Just the one caution with oat hay is if it has a lot of mature seed heads in it. This can sometimes put too much carbs in a rabbits diet leading to mushy poop and/or weight gain, so if this is the case, you may need to pick out some of the seed heads.
http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/grass-hay.asp

If you try a couple different hays and he still isn't interested, then the next step I would take is having his teeth checked. With dental problems, rabbits can start to selectively feed. Meaning they will only eat certain foods and tend to avoid eating the ones that cause them the most pain to chew. So yes, dental problems are also a possibility and can really occur quite rapidly, in a matter of weeks, due to the rapid rate that rabbits teeth grow.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html
 
Okay, I will try some different hays then first and see how it goes!

Those links are so helpful I will definitely get him checked for teeth trouble if the hay fails.

I'm hoping he finds one he likes so fingers crossed. Thank-you so much for the helpful replies I will keep you posted on how it goes!
 
Since you were asking about the different hay, just wanted to be sure you knew to avoid alfalfa. It is a legume and not a grass hay. The other posters listed many other grass hay options.
 
I had a boy who wasn't a big timothy hay eater.the only one I found he liked instead was orchard.
 
What's wrong with feeding a rabbit pellet?! I apologize, I don't mean to come off as harsh, but starving a rabbit at all (let alone to the point where it's regularly eating non-food items) isn't right.

Rabbit pellets are formulated to be a complete diet. The claims about "high-protein, high-fat meat builders" is false. There ARE those feeds for production rabbits, but there are also many feeds formulated specifically for dry/pet rabbits. The fear about basing a diet on rabbit pellets is unnecessary. Quality feeds, fed in appropriate amounts, keep rabbits happy and healthy. If I have a rabbit that isn't a big hay eater, I still offer hay. But I don't agree with limiting or eliminating pellets in an effort to force hay consumption. Opinions vary, of course, so it's okay if there are folks who disagree. I'm just putting it out there because I'm concerned for the health of the bunny.
 
I agree that there's a limit to how far you should go to make a rabbit eat hay. For picky hay eaters, try all kinds of hay and grass. Chances are you'll find something they will at least eat some of.
 
What's wrong with feeding a rabbit pellet?! I apologize, I don't mean to come off as harsh, but starving a rabbit at all (let alone to the point where it's regularly eating non-food items) isn't right.

Rabbit pellets are formulated to be a complete diet. The claims about "high-protein, high-fat meat builders" is false. There ARE those feeds for production rabbits, but there are also many feeds formulated specifically for dry/pet rabbits. The fear about basing a diet on rabbit pellets is unnecessary. Quality feeds, fed in appropriate amounts, keep rabbits happy and healthy. If I have a rabbit that isn't a big hay eater, I still offer hay. But I don't agree with limiting or eliminating pellets in an effort to force hay consumption. Opinions vary, of course, so it's okay if there are folks who disagree. I'm just putting it out there because I'm concerned for the health of the bunny.

:yeahthat:

Not all rabbits will take to hay no matter how hard you try. Pellets are not the devil's cereal as some might say. There are plenty of good pellets out there formulated just for pet rabbits with the fiber they need.

While I do feed hay as a majority of my own rabbit's diet, I know many people who feed exclusively pellets with a very small amount of hay whose rabbits live very long lives and do quite well.
 

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