will not eat pellets

[mattmar]

I've recently taken over care of my rabbit from my mom, who was looking after her while I was away at school. My mom had been feeding her Kaytee Fiesta Max, which in addition to pellets contains assorted seeds and biscuity things, apparently bunny junk food. She now just picks out all her favorite bits and leaves the rest, even if I just leave it there for over a day. I'd think if she got hungry enough she'd eventually eat them but I really don't want to test that assumption out by starving her.

She's 6 yrs old and eats plenty of hay every day as well as veggies and she absolutely loves oatmeal, but no pellets.

I've tried mixing in other kinds of pellets with her normal stuff and just giving her straight pellets, different brands too, but she just refuses to eat them. Any advice?

 

[hillrise]

As long as she's eating her veggies and hay, she won't starve, so I would say go ahead and feed her straight pellets (maybe switch her over slowly by mixing the pellets from the Kaytee mix [sans junk] with the healthy straight pellets you want to switch her to). She should figure it out. Maybe try mixing some rolled oats in with the pellets.

 

[bennibunny]

I switched Benni from Fiesta to straight pellets and she loves her pellets now. I just mixed the Fiesta in with the pellets in gallon Ziploc bags, putting less Fiesta in each time, until she got to just pellets. She had hay and veggies, so she didn't starve, but when the only option became pellets (no junk), she started eating them.

 

[Dustiechick]

I used to feed Dustie one of those "fun feeds" and she would never eat the seeds so I started slowly introducing her over to just fortified Timothy pellets I think its called "healthy Timothy formula" or something. And she loves them, and now it's just routine that she gets the same amount in the morning and night (with hay) and always finishes it before the next fill up no leftovers and no seeds all over her cage.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Yep, as long as she has hay, veggies etc. give her plain pellets. She'll get hungry enough so eventually she should eat it.

 

[Must_Love_Pets]

:yeahthat:

 

[sophiegirl81]

I gave my first bunny, Sophie, that Kaytee Fiesta brand, and she did the same thing, only ate the junk and not the pellets. She died last fall at only 5 years old from cancer because I didn't understand how important fixing females was to prevent cancer. Once I started volunteering at the animal shelter where I adopted my last 2 bunnies, I found out they actually can't even digest the nuts and seeds, besides them being "junk food". It's going to have to be tough love with her, keep offering plain pellets and if she doesn't eat them, clear them out after a day. Keep offering them at the same times though, and like others have said, eventually she will realize that's all she's going to get and she will eat them. It may take a while though, as in my experience bunnies can be extremely stubborn when it comes to food (and everything else come to think of it). Maybe increase the green leafy veggies (not carrots or other "treat" veggies), and the hay until she actually starts eating the pellets.

 

[SweetShuga]

When I first brought Mocha home she wouldn't eat anything but romaine lettuce and small bits of apples (not even carrots). I let her eat all that for a while every now and then substituting other greens. Eventually I tried the Pellets again but I crushed them up (almost powdery) and sprinkled them on her washed, still wet veggies. Once she got the taste of it, I stopped crushing them up and gave her the full Pellets. Now she loves pellets (still alfalfa because she's only 4 months old) and will eat them up before her veggies (unless it's romaine lol). Give it a try. Hope it helps for u! Let us know and good luck!

 

[avarocks]

My vet (an exotics dude) tells me bunnies don't actually need pellets. He said they generate their own vitamins. You can give pellets if you want to, but your bunny does not 'need' them. What they really need is hay, if your bunny is eating a load if that, you're okay. He also told me, lots of green vegetables.

Sarah

 

[jeanluc_pippen_merry]

From what i understand, older bunnies are not supposed to be eating much pellets anyway (unless they're breeding does i think) and their diet is supposed to be mainly hay and green veggies. So it sounds like your bunny is on a very good and healthy diet. =)

 

[mattmar]

thanks everyone. i'll try just giving her straight pellets along with her greens and may resort to that sneakier tactic of crumbling them in her hay and veggies if she's especially obstinate. the hard part will be mustering the willpower to resist that cute little face.