Ways to encourage rabbit to eat more hay?

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amandaaaa_xxo

amandaaaa_xxo

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My rabbit had a dental surgery last week to file down pointy teeth and to treat the ulcers it caused on its tongue and cheek. I've started to notice that he only eats a few pieces of hay and won't eat anything unless I put leafy greens or pellets in his cage. He'll just bolt to those and finish it in a hurry basically. Since he isn't eating hay as much, (probably because it is still painful for him as he is trying to recover still), his poo aren't pea shaped, they have deformed due to the lack of fibre.

I feed him oaten hay. What kind of hay do rabbits like to eat? Oaten hay I think is a little course in texture. What kind of hay is a little soft? (Not as crunchy; perhaps this will be more managable to chew). I really want him to feed on hay to have a well healthy diet. How do I get him to eat more hay? Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
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Well, I think simple green grass would be ok too when available, I would reduce pellets if he's eating enough grass and weeds. That's what their teeth and digestion evolved for.
Caution, do any transition of foods very slowly.

Can't tell about hay, here it's a mixture of dozens of plants, none of this single species hay available here.
 
Thanks for your reply :) regarding the transition, how do you think I should go about it? Constantly add grass to the hay and gradually building up the grass quantity over a few weeks?
 
Adding fresh grass can be risky and is considered a diet change. The nutrition of fresh grass also changes with the seasons. Prietler may (?) keep his rabbits outdoors (hence weeds and grass).

Indoor rabbits typically stick with a diet of limited pellets, unlimited hay, and daily grocery or herb garden greens. I know your rabbit has been going through a lot of issues. I wouldn't recommend potentially causing more issues by also introducing fresh grass.

There are many types of hay available. Bermuda grass hay is usually very fine (thin) and may be a "gentler" option as bunny recuperates.
 
amandaaaa_xxo said:
My rabbit had a dental surgery last week to file down pointy teeth and to treat the ulcers it caused on its tongue and cheek. I've started to notice that he only eats a few pieces of hay and won't eat anything unless I put leafy greens or pellets in his cage. He'll just bolt to those and finish it in a hurry basically. Since he isn't eating hay as much, (probably because it is still painful for him as he is trying to recover still), his poo aren't pea shaped, they have deformed due to the lack of fibre.

I feed him oaten hay. What kind of hay do rabbits like to eat? Oaten hay I think is a little course in texture. What kind of hay is a little soft? (Not as crunchy; perhaps this will be more managable to chew). I really want him to feed on hay to have a well healthy diet. How do I get him to eat more hay? Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

My previous experience was with a bunny that lived to an old bunny age (11 1/2 years) without dental filing. She always had oat hay in her litter boxes to chew on. Oat hay is abrasive. Luckily we can buy oat hay because there's a food and grain store nearby that services horses in a neighboring expensive neighborhood that allows horses. My previous rabbit, and my two now rabbits just love to eat oat hay in their litter boxes. They sit in the litter boxes, and oat hay goes in one end and then goes out the other end as they sit in their litter boxes. (We have multiple litter boxes for them...they are still babies...our previous long term house adult rabbit did excellently with just one litter box in the house. Her box was in our bedroom. Laying asleep in our living room, she would wake up, run to her bedroom litter box, do her business, and run back to the living room to go back to sleep. )
 
Preitler said:
Well, I think simple green grass would be ok too when available, I would reduce pellets if he's eating enough grass and weeds.
Click to expand...

Our previous rabbit, Bunny, did get to be a picky eater in her old age...for indoor hand feeding that is. But, it was astounding to watch her when she had an outing outside. She would start eating grass...green grass and brown dead grass. A dry brown leaf was also good tucker. Dandelions (weeds) were also eaten...she loved to eat the yellow flowers. She couldn't access them herself, but she also really liked to eat rose petals.
 
My little guy refuses anything grass hay like. I refresh his hay multiple times a day and he would dismiss it. I would give him fresh grass from the garden and he wouldn't even nibble it. I'm scared that he completely went off his hay since his dental problems? It's been three weeks since his surgery now. He just seems to eat his celery stalks, celery leaves, parsley, Apple and banana, and a bit of the pellets. There's no fibre anywhere in those foods. His poop hasn't been the same (deformed and it's dark). How long will he take for him to eat his hay again? And for his mouth (teeth, tongue and cheek) to heal? And also, the foods he is eating, will that make him lose weight? He honestly looks smaller to me now!
 
How about quaker oats, will he eat a teaspoon of those? Have you tried some critical care? (Basically mushed pellets) Three weeks out he really should be ok to eat normally. The best way I've found to encourage hay eating is to limit the pellets. For my 4 pound bunny, 1/4 cup a day is plenty. You could try some alfalfa hay also, just to get him going.
 
No I haven't tried the oats. Ive never fed him oats. The surgeon whom operated on my rabbit told me that I don't need to feed him critical care at this stage because he IS eating. He's eating everything but the hay. They told me when they were filing his teeth, that they came across quite a big ulcer to the side of his cheek and tongue. Perhaps this will take weeks and weeks to heal? I know eating hay requires a different chewing motion and perhaps it's still hurtful for him to eat it. I tried chopping the hay in 3-4 inch lengths for it to be easier for him. I tried mixing oaten hay and grass to get him moving. I tried spraying Apple juice to sweeten the hay. Nothing worked, and these were all the surgeons suggestions. And yes, I only provide him with a tablespoon of pellets. Literally.

She hasn't mentioned to me about the alfalfa hay. She's just happy that he IS eating and told me eventually, when his mouth is healed, that he will eat his hay. I'm just a little impatient and I know I shouldn't be because he needs to recover at his own pace but, he's just not getting any fibre in his diet, and this of course is affecting his faeces output (deformed)

I'm seeing the surgeon this week for a regular check up and will discuss this with her. She may give me further alternatives.

Thanks for all your replies :)
 
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I would think maybe he knows he's going to get yummy food off you so didn't bother with the hay? I find that if my bun hasn't been chewing her hay, the next day she doesn't get her fresh stuff until night time so she has no choice but to nibble on hay. I also find that my bun prefers to be following me or close to me at all times which means she's away from her litter box and hay. I sometimes confine her to one room (for me it's the bathroom), and she usually sits and eats hay because there's nothing else to do. Again I only do these if I feel she hasn't had much hay. I also find she prefers to eat it if I'm in the bathroom with her. She's very needy! So sometimes I bring her hay to wherever we are hanging out in the house. I'm in Melbourne and I also use oaten hay. I've been told it's the best for their teeth.
 
A reasonable that he's associated eating hay with pain from his previous teeth problem. If he has no pain eating hay, I'd guess he will ultimately start eating it again. Do be careful monitoring his weight. If he starts loosing weight significantly, something is definitely wrong.

My thoughts are that rabbits are very robust hearty animals with one exception...their gastrointestital (GI) system.
 
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