Picky with hay, small poops

[lyndym]

Hi everyone!

I brought home a new bun a couple of weeks ago, and she has been quite picky with her hay. I am highly allergic to timothy so we use orchard grass, but I believe the shelter had been feeding her timothy. I broke down and got some timothy, and even after all my suffering while I mix both hays together in her box, she still doesn't eat much of it. She'll pick through it and bite several strands in half before she considers actually chewing any of it. She's very good about eating greens and pellets, though I've only been occasionally giving pellets since her poops have become a little small. I am getting a little worried though since almost exactly a year ago I had another bun succumb to stasis complications. Is there anything I can do to get her to eat more hay? I know she is still getting used to her new home and her new neighboring husbun, but I feel like it is high time her instincts for fiber kicked in and she dug into her hay!

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

How much pellets do you feed? Usually if you decrease pellets they will eat more hay. If they are filling up on pellets they won't be hungry for hay I would imagine.

 

[PaGal]

You could try putting hay in paper towel tubes and placing those around, in and outside of the cage. Also, if she is given time outside the cage you could place a dish or two of hay where she plays. Sometimes they will seem to eat more if they can come across it while playing or investigating rather than having to go back into their cage to eat hay.

I will at times braid some strands of hay together sometimes even then making it into a mini wreath and will leave those lying around for the buns to find.

You could also try another type of grass hay if it is available in your area or order it online.

 

[whitelop]

When I was trying to get Foo to eat more hay, I bought some botanical hay. Its just timothy with herbs and flowers in it, but it smells really lovely and has treats in it. So she like it better than "regular" timothy and started eating more hay, then realized that hay wasn't that bad and started eating a lot of hay. But she was also on a no pellet diet, so that could have helped in her hay eating.

Maybe you could get some flowers or dried herbs and put them in the hay for her. Just make sure the flowers aren't treated with anything, of course! Putting treats in the hay might entice her to eat it some more. I used to put papaya chunks in the hay for Foo, she would root around and eat some hay while she was in there.
I didn't have to worry about hay with Ellie, she eats a ridiculous amount of hay.

I might take the pellets down to like a pinch at a time. That might make her want to eat more hay.

 

[JBun]

Have her teeth ever been checked? If she is normally a good hay eater, it's possible she has some sharp points on her molars causing her to not want to eat her hay. You can try different varieties of hay to see if she is just being picky, but when a rabbit that usually eats hay well, goes of it's hay, teeth problems are often the cause.

You do want to be careful about introducing any sugars into her diet while she is already having problems with a GI slowdown and small poops. Adding more sugars into it could possibly make it worse. Using herbs though, would be good and may help encourage the hay eating.

 

[lyndym]

Thanks everyone!

A couple of you asked about her pellet consumption - I try and keep both buns on a low pellet diet, so they share about 1/4th cup a day. Before I bought her timothy hay, I stopped giving her pellets for a few days until she began pooping more while eating timothy hay. She didn't seem more hungry for hay without pellets, I think she just prefers timothy to orchard grass. I sure hope that ends, I have been sneezy and itchy-eyed for days!

I'll try making her hay more "interesting" with non-sugary treats and toys, that sounds like fun for me too!

Jenny, I'm not sure when she was last at the vet. I'm sure our shelter takes them from time to time, and also the woman who runs it is quite knowledgable, and I know she checks their teeth. I was really hoping to not have to take her in since my last vet visit after Doc and Rory's big fight really cost me. Not to mention I took Rory in at one point because I was worried about one of her ears and basically ate a vet cost for the shelter.. I don't want to worry about her over Thanksgiving, though.

 

[JBun]

It's possible it's just pickiness and not her teeth, but it's just something to consider if you aren't able to get her eating more hay. I would suggest calling the shelter and asking them if they have ever had a vet check her molars. And try a few different varieties of hay to see if that helps at all. Maybe try reducing her pellets a little for a few days, just to see if she picks up on her hay consumption.

How's Doc doing? Have you had any progress with bonding them? Oops, nevermind. I see you've just updated your blog

 

[lyndym]

Would teeth issues affect her consumption of other foods? She finishes her greens every time I give them to her.

I just tried the paper towel tube stuffed with hay, she loves it! Not sure how much she's actually eating, she started by just pulling a ton out, but she's having a ball either way.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Lyndy, I´ve just started buying hay mixed with types of herbs and plants, such as camomile and dandelion. Mine are loving it and are eating much more now, I still have some of the bale I bought but use that for play now as it´s quite dry but they do eat that as well. I try and spread it out around their living area so in their litter tray, hay basket, in Houdini´s cage and I also have it in a box in their outdoor area so they seem to be eating more. I have also cut back on their pellets a little bit to encourage them as they also their veggies and herbs at bedtime which they love. I also have an apple branch in the living room for them to chew. What we have to do for these buns lol :biggrin2:

 

[JBun]

Teeth issues can cause them to selectively eat, or they may start eating and drop food out of their mouth frequently. Some rabbits may stop eating their pellets and still eat hay and veggies, or may stop eating hay but eat the other food. It really depends on what the dental issue is and how it is causing pain.

Not saying it's a dental issue though, just might be. I had one of my rabbits suddenly stop eating his hay a couple weeks ago. He was still eating pellets and veggies, but wouldn't touch his hay. I was initially worried it was a dental problem. I tried giving him a little bit of alfalfa hay and he ate it just fine, so I was a bit confused why he wouldn't eat his grass hay. I tried a couple different grass hays, but he wouldn't really touch those either. Then a few days later he started eating hay again. All I can figure is that there was something in the hay that may have given him an upset stomach, though he never showed signs of digestive problems.