Rabbit who doesn't like vegetables OR hay? ( 2 questions)

[Lonannuniel]

I'm a bit worried about my rabbit Benji, I've gone through the list of vegetables rabbits can eat and he openly rejected all of them ( i.e when presented with a veggie, jerking his head away after smelling) . As far as hay goes, he won't eat it, i give him a large portion of hay, and at most he nibles on it, but i usually have to replace it ( as it eventually gets old ) I give him a high fiber pellets which has dried pieces of vegetables in it, which he eats, but thats it. The same goes for fruit also.
Is there something wrong or is he simply THAT picky?

Another problem with his pickiness is that i cannot give him treats. I have tried training through petting or not pettings -- and he isn't catching on. i'm avoiding the petstore treats, but it might be my last option, any advice?

 

[Tweetiepy]

I found that if I try to hand feed a new veggie to my bun, he flat out refuses to eat it - like he's saying, "I'm not gonna acknowledge that I like this while you're watching" and then if I leave it there, he'll eventually eat it all. Carrots were one example, he turned his nose at it, but he ate it after I left it for him. He also won't eat any food (except for oats) that I give him if I'm holding him or if he's out of his cage area.

Have you tried leaving it there for him?

As for the hay, mine goes through bouts where I'll have to refill his feeder twice a day, somedays not so much. I have found that if he isn't eating the hay, and I switch out for "new" hay, he sometimes will be more prone to eat it. What kind of hay are you giving and is this a different kind of hay than before? like switching from Alfalfa to Timothy I heard is hard. How much pellets are you giving? The quantity given depends mostly on weight and age

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

if he is picky, with my rabbits I've always depended on pelletts more then anything. I don't really feed hay nor do I give a lot of veggies. And in all the years I've had rabbits not had a problem.

Actually just took a rabbit I've had for 2 and half -3 months to get his teeth trimmed (came to me that way) and the vet checked him over while he was there and he's healthy as can be.

 

[BunnyLove06]

One of my bunnies doesn't eat most food from my hand. It has to be left for her...or I get the butt.
My other bunny, Sammy, doesn't care for hay. He used to be a biiiiggggg alfalfa fan, but we tried switching him and just won't eat the other stuff very much. We have tried 3 different hays for him, but he just doesn't really care for the stuff. He is on a timothy based pellet, so that's good.

 

[kirbyultra]

Where did your bunny come from? If you adopted him, he may be stubborn due to diet habits from a previous home that didn't feed him any of these wonderful things.

I agree that some picky rabbits may need more time before they accept new foods. Leaving it for them multiple days in a row may eventually encourage a sampling. If the bun has something else to munch on, they will most likely ignore what they don't want to eat. Hay hardly ever really goes "bad" unless it was urinated on or otherwise gets wet. You could leave it out for him for quite a while. As long as you leave it in a place that is highly accessible, he may eventually munch on it regularly. The other thing is make sure you are feeding the right amount of pellets for your bunny. The measure for house rabbits are 1/4 to 1/2 cup of high fiber timothy (or alfalfa based for younger buns) pellets per 6 lbs of bunny. If you feed the bunny more than enough pellets, he's full on pellets and has no reason to venture into good-for-him food like hay and veggies.

But encourage hay, you must! Fiber is a very important part of bunny's diet. It helps not only the digestive tract but also helps keep their teeth worn down to a healthy length.

My bunny Kirby has recently expressed his dislike for swiss chard by picking it out of his dish, squashing it up, and kicking the empty plate upside down over it. Just in case I wasn't sure how he felt about the new veggie addition to his salad! Some buns will not eat certain veggies no matter what, but they are bound to enjoy some other greens. You can leave a plate of greens out for him about 12 hours before they really become limp and unpalatable.

 

[Bunny parents]

I agree with Tweetiepy, when it comes down to experiencing new veggies, my girl prefers to eat it by herself. She will sniff a bit when I offer her by hands, but just sniffs. Then I leave it in a bowl, eventually she goes and eats it up.
About hay, my girl is a very picky girl. So I changed her hay daily. This is what I do ; I changed her hay in the morning, give her some amount, then at the end of the day, I change it again. I give her a full hand of hay every time, so it's obviously more than she can eats, but I don't fill it so full. Kimiko loves hay when it's fresh. Bunny happy,because of fresh hay. Momma happy too because I didn't waste much hay everyday. I hope that helps.

 

[Suz]

Mine will only eat basil and carrots so far. She has turned up her nose at everything else I've offered. And she won't eat any sort of hay what so ever. She was eating alot of it when she was just a baby, but it has now gone to absolutely none. And I've tried every sort of hay/grass out there.

I just gave into the fact she's a pellet girl, plain and simple

 

[Flash Gordon]

pellets are yummier to some buns and thats all they want to eat...if u really want them to eat other things u gotta cut back on the pellets...its that simple.
they are stubborn and will act like their starving but they will eventually cave in and eat hay...now veggies are dif i have a bun that was a "barn" bunny that was never fed hay or veggies and he was fed pellets in a bag that was wet ..the cages were so filthy that he was covered with pee from the bun above him..and he is a himalayan so he was pure yellow..anyways he didnt know what to do with veggies when i put them in his cage...it took weeks of leaving a small amount for him in there everyday and finally he realized ..THIS IS FOOD!..AND ITS GOOD!..he eats veggies now..but never in my prescence...hes a closet veggie eater..
also when a bun turns up their nose at a certain veggie ..try that veggie in a couple of months and they will like it...their weird.

 

[kirbyultra]

Yeah my buns used to turn their nose up at celery, but they eat it now after persistence. They now also eat chicory and kale. They used to only eat romaine and parsley willingly. It takes some persistence in providing it day after day. For fragrant veggies like parsley or cilantro I like to just press down hard on a leaf so the aroma bursts out when they sniff it. Sometimes it's enough to get them interested.