Shadow doesnt like hay?

[LuvMyRabbits]

Hello everybunnyHere again today with another concern...I dont think that Shadow likes hay to much....he ate the alfalfa okay when we first got him but he was younger then and I know that he is not supposed to have that now that he is older..but the problem is he does not really eat hay at all..I have tried a few different brands of timothy hay thinking that maybe he doesnt like a particular kind but that didnt change anything..I have also tried putting the hay in different places, at first it was in the hay bin attached to their cages..didnt see him eating it that way so I put a piece of newspaper on the carpet and put a bunch out on there and he wouldnt eat it that way either. I even put the food bowl with the pellets up so he didnt even have that as a option..still do not see him eating it. I also have it put in their litter boxes that are out in my room ( they have 2 ) Spirit goes in there and eats it but he doesnt...there is one way I can get him to eat it and that is to give it to him piece by piece when hes in his cage..he will take it from me and eat it one by one but wont eat it if I put a bunch in his cage at the bottom or any of the other way..He eats everything else just fine..the vet recommended last time that I give them 1/2 a cup of pellets a day ( each )and I'm giving them different greens everyday along with that..I know that hay is a very important part of their diet so I would like it if he would eat it more often..if he wont I have no problem feeding it to him one by one but I'm not sure how much I should try to get him to eat?? Anyone have any thoughts on this??Idont think he issick..he eats and drinks just fine..everything is normal with his behavior and bathroom habits..and this isnt something that has just started this has been going on for awhile with him..Thanks for your advice :biggrin2:



KoReY

 

[anneq]

Just a suggestion (I'm no expert by any means).
Perhaps try cutting back a bit on his pellets, cut out the greens, and push the hay.
Usually the babies start nibbling on they hay that's in or near their nestbox or cage - perhaps he didn't have this opportunity when he was a baby.
Mine also seem to prefer at the moment Orchard Hay, but I just bought 45lbs of 2nd cut Timothy and all of them seems to enjoy it.

I think giving them a good variety in hay (Orchard, Timothy, Oat, etc) to find out what he likes.

A couple of web-sites I've order through:

http://www.kmshayloft.com/hay.html

http://www.sweetmeadowfarm.com/nh_timeastern.html

http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com/hay.htm

 

[SweetSassy]

Does he have teeth-molar problems? My Sassy wouldn't eat much hay either. I found out later she had molar problems and a slight under bite. Just a suggestion. April

 

[anneq]

SweetSassy wrote:

Does he have teeth-molar problems? My Sassy wouldn't eat much hay either. I found out later she had molar problems and a slight under bite. Just a suggestion. April

Ah thank you for remembering this, April - I had completely forgotten that one.
Knock on wood, none of mine so far have had this problem

 

[SweetSassy]

anneq wrote:

SweetSassy wrote:

Does he have teeth-molar problems? My Sassy wouldn't eat much hay either. I found out later she had molar problems and a slight under bite. Just a suggestion. April

Ah thank you for remembering this, April - I had completely forgotten that one.
Knock on wood, none of mine so far have had this problem

Yes, unfortunately that's how I lost my Sweet Sassy. :cry1:She went in to get her molars done and she passed away.

 

[Maureen Las]

Everyone above covered all possibilities here


First of all if the hay is really good hay most rabbits will eat it unless they have dental problems which cannot be seen except usually by x-ray; a visual exam of the molars is not really adequate. A really good rabbit vet or dentist can do this without too much risk to the rabbit. many of us have had rabbits that have had a lot of dental work done without anesthesia being a problem ( vet needs a lot of experience and knowledge of the correct anesthesia and it"s effect on a bun)

The other option (as described above ) is that the bun is preferring to eat pellets and veggies. So cutting back on those and pushing hay is the first step. if your bun can chew hay piece by piece he may just be filling up on the other food.

 

[SweetSassy]

I didn't mean to scare anyone. My vet is the best around. He does rabbit (wildlife) rescue & rehabilitation on his farm, so he knows alot about rabbits. Very up to date on his knowledge of buns. The Doctor believes Sassy had underline problems that a regular checkup didn't catch. She started bleeding in her mouth and medication wouldn't even stop the bleeding. Then her breathing went, then her heart. So it was more complicated.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

we use the Kaytee Timothy Hay. Have noticed that all the rabbits will eat the pellets over hay, so, they get a limited amount of pellets--especially when they don't eat any hay. Have even eliminated the pellet food for a couple of days so that they would eat the hay--so far, has worked like a charm. Of course, none of our rabbits look like they are hungry.

 

[LuvMyRabbits]

angieluv wrote:

Everyone above covered all possibilities here


First of all if the hay is really good hay most rabbits will eat it unless they have dental problems which cannot be seen except usually by x-ray; a visual exam of the molars is not really adequate. A really good rabbit vet or dentist can do this without too much risk to the rabbit. many of us have had rabbits that have had a lot of dental work done without anesthesia being a problem ( vet needs a lot of experience and knowledge of the correct anesthesia and it"s effect on a bun)

The other option (as described above ) is that the bun is preferring to eat pellets and veggies. So cutting back on those and pushing hay is the first step. if your bun can chew hay piece by piece he may just be filling up on the other food.

When I took them to the vet he did an exam on them both which included looking at their teeth and inside their mouths..he said they both had excellent teeth..and he chews on cardboard and books and even the bars in the cage..as well as the vegtables that are harder like carrots..so I dont think its in his mouth but then again I'm new to all this soI could be wrong...he does eat pellets like there is no tomorrow..I was giving them unlimited until the recent vet visit when she told me to give them each 1/2 cup a day along withveggies and hay..he pigs out on every vegtable I give him and the pellets when he has them..just doesnt eat the hay unles im feeding it to him through the bars..maybe hes just spoiled on the other foods and prefers them over hay..So should I take away the pellets and the veggies until he starts eating the hay?? Spirit is starting to get a dewlap and I was considering stopping the pellets all together ( the vet told me they can cause the rabbit to become obese and that a rabbits natural diet doesnt even consist of pellets but just veggies and hay and some fruit, and that pellets are basically hay already chewed up for them ) I dont want them to become obese because that will bring a whole different set of problem..so if I were to take the pellets and veggies away and just have hay available..how long should I do that for? Just until I see him eating the hay?? I dont want him to starve but I think he may just be spoiled on the pellets and veggies..I've created a monster lol:muscleman:

 

[SweetSassy]

I'm glad your bunniesarefine. Sassy didn't like to eat her pellets or hay(She ate very little). All shewanted was her Veggies. So the doctor had me take her off the veggies for 2 weeks. She only got pellets and hay for those 2 weeks.

Just a suggestion. :biggrin2:April


Edit: It was hard cause she didn't want to eat at first. But after a day or so she did start to eat.

 

[golfdiva]

Hershey's order of preference is: veggies then pellets. He doesn't really care for hay. If I get some third cut, he will nibble on the leafy bits. I told his vet this and he was not concerned as long as his diet was mostly veggies. Hay is just dried vegetable matter, so really, Hershey just prefers fresh to dried. As long as your rabbit is eating mostly veggies, I wouldn't worry about the hay.

You can pick wild plants and that will keep the cost down to free!

 

[Maureen Las]

Don't cut out the veggies and hay just cut the pellets by 1/2 and give less veggies. My rabbits were getting to be little porkers and I cut back on veggies and pellets and now I cannot order enough hay to give them

Don't cut out anything suddenly ,reduce it gradually so it is not a shock to the rabbit's system. Very sudden dieting will create liver problems. just slowly cut down.