i need help!!! buns have decided not to eat hay at all...

i dont know what to do man!

since ive changed food from excel to A&P, (about a month ago im guessing) they don't want to eat any hay at all.
they have free range of the garden all day, so theyre munching on grass basically all the time :lol: ive cut down on their pellets from 150g to 50g just so they start eating hay, but it hasnt worked (now i just feel bad becuase i basically starved them ) i give them the hay from the big bales (sorry i have no idea what type it is) and they have half of it in their enclosure, but nope... wont touch it. rather use it to do poos in :evil: ive even tried to cut it up in really small chuncks and put it in their veg bowl just to disguise it :lol: ....that hasnt worked either!

should i buy some other hay to see if they will eat it?
maybe some timothy or oat hay or something similar?
i dont know what to do!!!

they won't want as much hay if they're eating grass all day - do they really eat it though or just nibble a bit? Not sure how big they are either - full grown, average size or what? Mine just have a very small handful pellets morning and evening - less in the evening (I've got small hands too - I'm only 5' tall) - sorry that's not a more accurate measure

I give them pellets first thing in the morning, then let them have a run, then shut them up over lunch/early afternoon with a bundle of hay - they wouldn't bother eating it otherwise I don't think - you do need to shut them up with it as they eat it partly through boredom as well as hunger. Same at night - I give them a bundle of fresh hay in their trays before lock up.

I would try some other hay, got to be worth a try....my kermit can be fussy at times, so i generally have two kinds of hay that i feed him, he prefers each from time to time.

Timothy hay, or the timothy hay with herbs are his favourites.

I think the fact that they are eating grass too helps.

double post - oops!!

elve said:

they won't want as much hay if they're eating grass all day - do they really eat it though or just nibble a bit? Not sure how big they are either - full grown, average size or what? Mine just have a very small handful pellets morning and evening - less in the evening (I've got small hands too - I'm only 5' tall) - sorry that's not a more accurate measure

I give them pellets first thing in the morning, then let them have a run, then shut them up over lunch/early afternoon with a bundle of hay - they wouldn't bother eating it otherwise I don't think - you do need to shut them up with it as they eat it partly through boredom as well as hunger. Same at night - I give them a bundle of fresh hay in their trays before lock up.

Click to expand...

:wave: no they eat the grass i have been watching them :lol: they dont stop munching on it though! they are both giants, hermione is 4 months old, (4 kilos) and oscars 8 months old (6 kilos) - i dont know if that helps though.
ive been measuring their food,and giving them 25g of pellets each. i know this is wayy to little for their size, but i thought it would help get them eating hay :?

i usually feed them at night, when they get locked up, and they have a never-ending amount of hay! in the morning, they also get their veggies as well.

I have found that free range rabbits grazing and eating leaves all day don't eat much hay.As long as you put hay for them, then they have the choice. Mine like to eat the lawn grass but also the long grass growing against the fence as this is more like hay. As long as they seem well I wouldn't worry.-Sue:wave:

Yes I agree with Elve - put lots of hay in at night when there's no grass available.

ooh ok thanks guys

im so dense lol
i think i will try some new hay, just to see if they will eat it, but ive got 3 bloomin' bales of hay to use though :roll::lol:

and yes, they ALWAYS have hay when theyre locked up, but they choose not to eat it

If it makes you feel any better, my bunny vet said that rabbits don't really eat hay in the wild as they're munching on grass and other vegetation during their waking hours. So IMO, as long as they're eating fibre and plenty of it, I can't see that there would be too much of a problem. Let's face it, rabbits are designed to eat grass and yours are eating it all day long. Just my opinion though.