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- Thread starter TNC
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I'm really not an expert here and I'm sure others will have much better suggestions, but just a thought have you tried adding forage to his hay? Or putting his pellets in his hay instead of just putting them in a bowl for him? Maybe if you put food with the hay, and don't put the hay anywhere but where there is food (and possibly in the litter tray with some other bits like pellets and forage so that if he wants to eat and use the bathroom at the same time like most buns he can do that too) he might get the hint that the hay is edible? If he really won't eat hay have you tried readygrass? Mine will dig through WALLS to get at readygrass, and it's still good for their teeth and digestion.
Jack's-Jane
Wise Old Thumper
Awwww well done for helping the little fella !! It may be that he has never been fed a good hay based diet, hence his preference for pellets. I think a thorough Dental examination by a Vet would be a good idea. 5 years of a bad diet is very likely to have caused some Dental problems. So not only may he not want to eat hay, he actually may not be able to do so due to problems with his molar teeth. The jaw action required to eat hay is very different to that required to eat pellets. Hence Rabbits with problems with their molar teeth often refuse hay but they will eat pellets.
Hopefully once any possible Dental problems are sorted out you can try to get him onto a more hay based diet. It may be trial and error until you find a type of hay he likes. There are a wide variety available these days, but am I right in thinking you are not in the UK ?
Hopefully once any possible Dental problems are sorted out you can try to get him onto a more hay based diet. It may be trial and error until you find a type of hay he likes. There are a wide variety available these days, but am I right in thinking you are not in the UK ?
Does it look a bit like this? https://www.qualipet.ch/shop/media/...8eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/4/0/402200_1.jpg
Another thing is now he's used to taking treats from your hand, try offering him tasty bits of hay by hand too. I find snapping the stalk to give a fresh end makes it smell tastier. I remember someone dipping them in a little apple juice too.
As Jane say's rule out physical problems with his teeth, but after that you're right it can be a case of bad habits you need to break.
As Jane say's rule out physical problems with his teeth, but after that you're right it can be a case of bad habits you need to break.
Jbun
Alpha Buck
I believe readigrass is rye hay, so maybe you can find it there in Japan by looking for rye. We don't have readigrass where I live either, but I did find some bales of horse hay that were rye, and it was my rabbits absolute favorite hay ever.
There are a few things that have worked well for me to get new rabbits not used to hay, eating it(once dental issues are ruled out as the cause). The first thing was to offer almost unlimited pellets so they didn't starve, but rationed enough to give them a chance to get hungry enough to want to try some hay out . So what I did is I fed twice a day, and I would feed enough pellets each feeding that my bunnies would be getting enough food, but I limited it slightly so that they would run out of pellets about 3 hours before the next feeding. This would give just enough time for them to get hungry and have an incentive to try hay, but not get so hungry that it could lead to digestive issues.
The next thing I did for one non hay eating bun, is to start him out on a plain hay pellet. I'm not sure if you have something like this available or not though. All it is, is a livestock feeding pellet made only from hay and nothing else. I used a timothy/alfalfa pellet because most rabbits really like alfalfa and are likely to want to eat it, but I also wanted him getting used to the timothy. I got mine from a livestock feed store. Using this, you would replace part of the rabbit food pellets with some of the plain hay pellets, and still limit the amount of both types of pellets to run out the 3 hours before the next feeding, still giving a chance for your bun to get interested in trying the long stem hay. This helped provide more hay in my rabbits diet, even though he wouldn't eat the long stem hay at the start. Eventually he did start taking nibbles of the hay, and gradually he started eating more. As he did this I started reducing the amount of the plain hay pellets, until he was eating the long stem hay just fine and I could give a normal pellet ration to him.
http://standleeforage.com/product-formats/pellets
With another new bun, she was used to fresh grass so I started gathering fresh grass to give to her. Then I started mixing it with some hay, and gradually increased the amount of hay and decreased the amount of fresh grass, til she was eating the hay without any problems.
It can be a bit of work trying to figure out how to get a new bun eating hay, but sometimes it is just a matter of finding the right trick for that particular rabbit. Best of luck!
There are a few things that have worked well for me to get new rabbits not used to hay, eating it(once dental issues are ruled out as the cause). The first thing was to offer almost unlimited pellets so they didn't starve, but rationed enough to give them a chance to get hungry enough to want to try some hay out . So what I did is I fed twice a day, and I would feed enough pellets each feeding that my bunnies would be getting enough food, but I limited it slightly so that they would run out of pellets about 3 hours before the next feeding. This would give just enough time for them to get hungry and have an incentive to try hay, but not get so hungry that it could lead to digestive issues.
The next thing I did for one non hay eating bun, is to start him out on a plain hay pellet. I'm not sure if you have something like this available or not though. All it is, is a livestock feeding pellet made only from hay and nothing else. I used a timothy/alfalfa pellet because most rabbits really like alfalfa and are likely to want to eat it, but I also wanted him getting used to the timothy. I got mine from a livestock feed store. Using this, you would replace part of the rabbit food pellets with some of the plain hay pellets, and still limit the amount of both types of pellets to run out the 3 hours before the next feeding, still giving a chance for your bun to get interested in trying the long stem hay. This helped provide more hay in my rabbits diet, even though he wouldn't eat the long stem hay at the start. Eventually he did start taking nibbles of the hay, and gradually he started eating more. As he did this I started reducing the amount of the plain hay pellets, until he was eating the long stem hay just fine and I could give a normal pellet ration to him.
http://standleeforage.com/product-formats/pellets
With another new bun, she was used to fresh grass so I started gathering fresh grass to give to her. Then I started mixing it with some hay, and gradually increased the amount of hay and decreased the amount of fresh grass, til she was eating the hay without any problems.
It can be a bit of work trying to figure out how to get a new bun eating hay, but sometimes it is just a matter of finding the right trick for that particular rabbit. Best of luck!
Miss Binky Bunny
Alpha Buck
Hi TNC, do you know about this site:
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/auc-bokusou-soai/item/977357/?
I'm not sure exactly which all the different hays on offer are but it seems to offer several types of hay, including ones from Australia and Canada.
http://global.rakuten.com/en/category/509392/
They're a Japanese company so hopefully shipping won't be too much.
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/auc-bokusou-soai/item/977357/?
I'm not sure exactly which all the different hays on offer are but it seems to offer several types of hay, including ones from Australia and Canada.
http://global.rakuten.com/en/category/509392/
They're a Japanese company so hopefully shipping won't be too much.
I'm so glad you took him in 
that is great news that he likes the hay roll, maybe you could refill it with the same hay to tempt him :thumb: also if he likes eating from hanging things, maybe he would eat it from a rack, or a cardboard tube filled with hay hung up. Also, as he settles in hopefully he will be more inclined to eat more hay once he has got into the habit of it :thumb:
that is great news that he likes the hay roll, maybe you could refill it with the same hay to tempt him :thumb: also if he likes eating from hanging things, maybe he would eat it from a rack, or a cardboard tube filled with hay hung up. Also, as he settles in hopefully he will be more inclined to eat more hay once he has got into the habit of it :thumb:
Oh dear I think I would get his teeth checked asap and see if he needs a dental. Have you got access to any grass, as that would be good for his teeth? You need to introduce it slowly in small amounts so as not to upset his tummy. So long as you pick it or cut it with scissors rather than mowing it with a lawnmower that will be fine, as long as it hasn't been sprayed with chemicals :thumb:
I think I would get his teeth checked asap and see if he needs a dental. Have you got access to any grass, as that would be good for his teeth? You need to introduce it slowly in small amounts so as not to upset his tummy. So long as you pick it or cut it with scissors rather than mowing it with a lawnmower that will be fine, as long as it hasn't been sprayed with chemicals :thumb:
