• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Not eating much hay!

WillowAndBiscuit

WillowAndBiscuit

Mama Doe
Before getting rabbits I did a huge amount of research about their care and diet to make sure I was fully prepared and understood how to properly care for them and signs of illness. Everything has been going great with my buns that I got just over three months ago and they eat lots and lots of hay, however the bunny I took in just over a week ago (which is housed separately in my bedroom) just will not eat hay.

Although there is lots of information on why they should eat lots of hay, and how much they should eat (which I am fully aware of) there isn't much information on getting them to eat their hay. I have tried everything I can think of and none of it has worked. I have significantly reduced his pellets and vegetables, incorporated a couple of small, healthy treats in with the hay, changed brands, introduced different flavours and added it to toys but he just won't eat it. Obviously he will eat a small amount but nowhere near the amount he should be eating.

It has also started to affect his poops now as they are much smaller and darker than they should be and I am therefore starting to worry that this bad habit of his is affecting his health. I am also aware that he was neglected where he used to live and I don't think he was given much hay at all so I am wondering if this could be contributing to his refusal to eat hay? Any tips and advice would be hugely appreciated as I just honestly don't know how else to try and get him to eat it.
 
Hi there. It's great that you did lots of research before obtaining bunnies, so well done! Now your new bunny has onlky been with you for just over a week so he is still in the settling in period, getting to know his new surroundings and owner. As you say you doubt as to whether he was getting any hay in his old home and this will be part of the reason why he isn't eating it now. Also, if he is overweight, this will not encourage him to eat hay.

It really is a case of being patient with him as you can't make him eat the hay, even if you stopped all of the other food, which of course I don't advise... Also, if he hasn't been eating hay for a while, his teeth may have overgrown causing him some pain and making it impossible to eat the hay. So it might be advisable to have his teeth checked to make sure he is still able to chew hay. Sometimes when a bunny is rehomed it can take up to 3 months to get into hay eating, especially if they are overweight.

So I woudln't try to force him to eat hay by reducing his pellets. Just give him a normal amount of pellets and veg, and gradually, if he is able to eat hay, as he gets used his new circumstances you should find he will start eating hay in order to fill up his tummy :thumb:
 
Sometimes bunnies can't rather than won't eat hay - this is the case when they have advanced dental disease. Unfortunately this is a possibility, esp give his neglected past. It seems you have tried everything to encourage him with hay.

As his poo is getting smaller & darker, an indication his gut isn't moving things through as quick as it should I'd prioritise a vet app for as soon as you're able to ascertain the state of his teeth. i do hope it is just a settling in stage but I wouldn't rely on that
 
WillowAndBiscuit said:
Before getting rabbits I did a huge amount of research about their care and diet to make sure I was fully prepared and understood how to properly care for them and signs of illness. Everything has been going great with my buns that I got just over three months ago and they eat lots and lots of hay, however the bunny I took in just over a week ago (which is housed separately in my bedroom) just will not eat hay.

Although there is lots of information on why they should eat lots of hay, and how much they should eat (which I am fully aware of) there isn't much information on getting them to eat their hay. I have tried everything I can think of and none of it has worked. I have significantly reduced his pellets and vegetables, incorporated a couple of small, healthy treats in with the hay, changed brands, introduced different flavours and added it to toys but he just won't eat it. Obviously he will eat a small amount but nowhere near the amount he should be eating.

It has also started to affect his poops now as they are much smaller and darker than they should be and I am therefore starting to worry that this bad habit of his is affecting his health. I am also aware that he was neglected where he used to live and I don't think he was given much hay at all so I am wondering if this could be contributing to his refusal to eat hay? Any tips and advice would be hugely appreciated as I just honestly don't know how else to try and get him to eat it.
Click to expand...

You could try him on Readigrass if you haven't already? It's usually quite delicious to rabbits, and has the same effect on the teeth and gut as eating hay.

You say 'obviously he will eat a small amount' ... you don't know how small that is? Have you tried him on any fresh grass?
 
He was at the vet less than a week ago and they checked his teeth, otherwise I would have already taken him to get them checked anyway.
I was going to buy some readigrass for him but read it is quite high in calcium for an adult bunny so didn't buy it in the end. I have brought chamomile hay which he eats slightly more of, as well as treat hay called/from 'simply nibbles' and he eats some of both of these types but will still only eat a small handful of both of them combined throughout the day. He is a Netherland Dwarf so isn't very big anyway but he should still be eating more than that. It's not because I'm not putting enough out either as I always make sure all three buns have unlimited hay day and night.
 
WillowAndBiscuit said:
He was at the vet less than a week ago and they checked his teeth, otherwise I would have already taken him to get them checked anyway.
I was going to buy some readigrass for him but read it is quite high in calcium for an adult bunny so didn't buy it in the end. I have brought chamomile hay which he eats slightly more of, as well as treat hay called/from 'simply nibbles' and he eats some of both of these types but will still only eat a small handful of both of them combined throughout the day. He is a Netherland Dwarf so isn't very big anyway but he should still be eating more than that. It's not because I'm not putting enough out either as I always make sure all three buns have unlimited hay day and night.
Click to expand...

Readigrass isn't high in calcium. I have free fed it (in some cases instead of hay) to my rabbits for over 20 years, and had absolutely no excess calcium issues. Hard water is far more the culprit there :)
 
MightyMax said:
Readigrass isn't high in calcium. I have free fed it (in some cases instead of hay) to my rabbits for over 20 years, and had absolutely no excess calcium issues. Hard water is far more the culprit there :)
Click to expand...
Ahhh ok, that's the trouble with the internet, sometimes it can be helpful and sometimes not so much haha. I will try buying some then, however if he still won't eat much treat hay which is filled with dandelions etc, then surely having readigrass wouldn't be any different?
 
WillowAndBiscuit said:
Ahhh ok, that's the trouble with the internet, sometimes it can be helpful and sometimes not so much haha. I will try buying some then, however if he still won't eat much treat hay which is filled with dandelions etc, then surely having readigrass wouldn't be any different?
Click to expand...

readigrass is easier & by all accounts tastier :) Grass itself is excellent. Good luck
 
WillowAndBiscuit said:
Ahhh ok, that's the trouble with the internet, sometimes it can be helpful and sometimes not so much haha. I will try buying some then, however if he still won't eat much treat hay which is filled with dandelions etc, then surely having readigrass wouldn't be any different?
Click to expand...

Woof :D Readigrass is wwaayyy tastier say all my rabbits, boarders and fosters :lol:
 
Ahhh ok, I will definitely buy some then:) He also has had some grass that I hand picked but he hasn't been able to go outside yet as he only had his jabs a week ago and they said leave it 1-2 weeks until the jabs will have kicked in, but I'm going to put him out at some point at the end of the week. I'm super excited too because he's never ever stood on grass before so I'm hoping he'll love it 😁
 
WillowAndBiscuit said:
Ahhh ok, that's the trouble with the internet, sometimes it can be helpful and sometimes not so much haha. I will try buying some then, however if he still won't eat much treat hay which is filled with dandelions etc, then surely having readigrass wouldn't be any different?
Click to expand...

My girls love it too! If given the choice they'll choose readigass over hay anyday. (You can get 5 bags for around £22 on amazon)
 
Just an update, I have ordered some readigrass off of Amazon and am hoping that he will find this tastier and eat more as a result.

As I only took him in under two weeks ago I am still feeding him a mixture of his older pellets and newer pellets to get him used to a new brand that I also feed my other bunnies. However, I noticed today and my mum noticed yesterday (I was at my dad's and so my mum feeds/cares for the bunnies while I'm not there) that he was picking out his old pellets and leaving the new ones. Following this I decided to look at the composition of both types of pellets and actually found that his older pellets which were from Wilkinson's were actually better for him than the other brand which is sold in multiple places and is actually recognised as a pet food brand. The older type of food has 3% more fibre, 3% less protein and 2% less fat and so I am going to slowly switch him back again. As this food is clearly better for bunnies as it has more fibre I will also be switching my other two bunnies over to this food slowly too. (Also so they are all on the same food when I bond them)

Anywayy, I'm hoping that although these pellets cannot replace the hay, they can get his gut moving more efficiently due to a higher amount of fibre:)
 
It's good to see you are taking an interest in the food he is eating (many don't) and as I said easrlier he will come around to eating hay, of course if he is very old and never been used to it then it may be more difficult to get him eating it. But as a general rule I find they take 2 or 3 months to get into eating it in earnest. It sounds a long time but rabbits get into habits which are not always easy to break.
 
tonibun said:
It's good to see you are taking an interest in the food he is eating (many don't) and as I said easrlier he will come around to eating hay, of course if he is very old and never been used to it then it may be more difficult to get him eating it. But as a general rule I find they take 2 or 3 months to get into eating it in earnest. It sounds a long time but rabbits get into habits which are not always easy to break.
Click to expand...
I never understand when pet owners are not interested in their pets diet, particularly rabbits as their stomach is so delicate. Not keeping an eye on rabbits diet can be potentially fatal and that is why I keep such a close eye on it haha.

Yeah, he's about 9 months old and he's always had hay but never ate a lot so that's probably why it's so difficult to try and get him to eat it now.
 
I also have a bunny who's not a big hay eater. He's 9.5 years old and had two dentals for tiny spurs on the back teeth but are okay just now. I find I have to offer a wide variety to encourage him and he seems to find the Burgess Forage to be his favourite. I also use Oxbow Timothy hay, Burgess Marigold and Dandelion and Readigrass (he doesn't seem too fussed by Readigrass!). Just got some Oxbow Oat and Orchard Grass delivered so will see if he fancies that! I also use Fibafirst and hay cookies to increase fibre and he's quite happy to munch these :)
 
HMacU2 said:
I also have a bunny who's not a big hay eater. He's 9.5 years old and had two dentals for tiny spurs on the back teeth but are okay just now. I find I have to offer a wide variety to encourage him and he seems to find the Burgess Forage to be his favourite. I also use Oxbow Timothy hay, Burgess Marigold and Dandelion and Readigrass (he doesn't seem too fussed by Readigrass!). Just got some Oxbow Oat and Orchard Grass delivered so will see if he fancies that! I also use Fibafirst and hay cookies to increase fibre and he's quite happy to munch these :)
Click to expand...
I tried him with hay cookies but he wouldn't even eat them haha. The readigrass I ordered arrived today though and he's been munching on that, hooray! 😁
 
Have you tried different varieties of hay? My boy wasn't fussy however the girl wouldn't eat hay at all, tried various different hay's and now she can't get enough :)
 
xGemmaa said:
Have you tried different varieties of hay? My boy wasn't fussy however the girl wouldn't eat hay at all, tried various different hay's and now she can't get enough :)
Click to expand...
Yeah, I've tried several different flavours and brands, he has started eating readigrass now though so fingers crossed he continues to do so haha
 
Yay for Readigrass! I always have some just in case he fancies it. Also discovered some dried dandelion forage that he seems to like (for now!) and so have mixed in with his hay. The things we do for our bunnies!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Binky&Bellamy
How Much Should a Bunny Weigh
Replies
13
Views
524
Binky&Bellamy
Binky&Bellamy
B
different types of hay
Replies
10
Views
1K
bundit
B
susie bun
Gunky poos
Replies
5
Views
214
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
Back
Top