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Overweight and not eating hay

angeleyes

Warren Veteran
I took my Sisters bunnie to the vet for his myxi jab and the vet said he is overweight, he is 2.4kg she said he should be 1.8kg defo no more than 2kg so they have cut his pellets down to a spoonful and his veg down to a spoonful and piled in more hay but he barely eats the hay they have tried several different types and tried putting it in fun places but he won't eat any more, trouble is hes become depressed since cutting down the food the door of the hutch is open all day but he doesn't want to come out anymore and sits near the food bowl waiting to be fed.
There is a pic of him on the link below, what do you all think and where do we go from here, how do we get him to eat more hay?
Sorry if similar things have been asked before but you cannot search 'hay' on here.
Thanks x

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=105632
 
Aw poor thing :cry:

You could try different types of hay - the hay experts do a sample pack of about 6 types. Put it in with him with the bag open and he may get curious with it

http://www.thehayexperts.com/product_info.php?products_id=32

You could also get a treat ball and put any pellet food that he has in that, if he is going to have some then let him get some excercise and work to get it perhaps? (you know the balls that you can put food in? Can get in most places, poss PAH :oops: - got mine in a pet shop where the owners were rabbit mad and theirs loved it so I tried it with mine and they go mad for it!!)
Or try hiding the food in places he has to figure out, if he's that 'desperate' for it then he'll get some excercise with that too.

You could also try cutting up greens like parsley and kale with hay which is also cut and mix it together with a few pellets?? He'll have no choice but to rummage around and get used to picking up hay again.

Also if he is mostly interested in the pellets rather than hay, is he eating his cecotrophs? They can leave these out if they are more intersted in pellets/mix food too.

Bear with it tho, give him love and attention, but he will catch on when he is hungry. He may know if he sulks you'll give in, but make sure he keeps eating all the same, worse to stop altogether than being selective short term.

Hope some of this helps, bless him :D
 
He doens't look that big....

I have a fussy hay eater. I had great sucess with excel superforage (£2.99 for 1kg) which is a quite hay like dried grass. I've now switched to medow hay mixed in with some "just grass" which you buy in a big bale. Mixing the two together seems to make the normal hay taste better.
 
Good point!! Was going to add that in too lol

I have just got some hay with dandelion from hay experts and that goes down a storm. Or there is something called 'herbal garden' (also from HE) which can be mixed in.
But just adding some dried grass as said in post above me may do the trick...
 
We've tried timothy hay, meadow hay and superforage excel and the rubbish stuff he came with, i might buy them the selection packs and give him a go with that, they have been hiding the pellets so he has to search for them, i will also get a treatball, i know the ones you mean my lionel has one.
We have made progres with him though because when he came he had some horrible museli mix and was picking bits out of it but he is eating the pellets now :D
 
well pellets will make it easier for the ball :lol:

yeh try the smple packs, mine can be fussy but they love rumaging in the parcel when it arrives. They do dried mixed herbs too to mix with the hay... have also (ashamed to say) noticed that PAH have started to stock these things too - range called 'naturals' and can get a whole variety of dried herbs, mixed hay and herbs etc. Usually get mine from the hay experts but its the same stuff if you need it quick.
Mine also have a treat called 'fenugreek crunchies' from the range. All good to expand the pallet.

Good going on changing the food tho.. at least he cant pick and chose what he wants now :D
 
You don't have to cut down on his veg, he can have any amount of dark green stuff but not fruit. Give him no more than one tablespoon of pellets a day.
He will eat more hay once he realises he's not going to get any more of his 'easy' food.
I get plenty of fat bunnies in who's owners say they won't eat their hay - but it's cos they love them and they don't persevere and give in to them - I see the harm being overweight does to bunnies at work and I never give in to them anymore - they always start eating their hay x
 
I was same with Pipkin my french lop.. she not overweight.. she was ever so fussy about the hay.. when i got her, she refuse to eat the hay!! I went through about 6 different hay and she turn her nose on every single ones (I got other bunnies who munchy on those!) It was Ochard grass from hay expert that got her nose in!! now she only eat Ochard grass.. i put some herbs in to mix in.

try hay expert.. they have lot of different hay to try!
 
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