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My buns don't seem to eat hay?

Ello all,

I've seen Jessica eat it, but its very rare. I give them some fresh fruit & ven in the evening (as they are indoors, I fill an enclosed cat litter tray with it), but it looks as tho they've not been in it (not very flat).

They just don't seem interested at all. My buns mostly eat veges (love spring greens) and they have a bowl of pellets out, but will eat all the veges first before munchin on the pellets - which they don't go mad for.

I just wondering if this was ok for them?
 
i think it is better the more hay they eat (im sure someone else who actually knows what they are talking about will be along soon :lol: ) have you tried different hays? you can get tester bags from the hay experts so you can see if there is one they like. i know that a couple of brands i buy means my buns drastically cut back on their hay intake yet some brands have them eating it like horses :D
 
I would have thought they need the hay for their teeth - try some different types and see if they have a preference.

How much veg do they get each day?
 
I would try every type of you can get.
I am now buying timothy hay from a horsey place and mine totally love it :shock:
Dougal would only eat forage but now he eats this.
And loads of it
 
Yep, I'd agree with everyone else, try different ones!

I bought some from Pets at Home and its awful stuff. I have been getting mine from the local garden centre for years, its really long strands which is better for their teeth :D

Also, I think its excel that do 'roughage' for small animals, mine love this, try mixing some of that in with some hay, they might eat more of it that way!

There are lots to try and make it readily available so its not too much like hard work for them to get it! :D
 
With our Jessica its a case of ... you can lead a bunny to the hay...but you can't make her eat :roll:

We have tried everything, hay expert tester bags, cheap hays from pet shops. She just ignores what we give her.
 
Small orange giraffe said:
Ello all,

I've seen Jessica eat it, but its very rare. I give them some fresh fruit & ven in the evening (as they are indoors, I fill an enclosed cat litter tray with it), but it looks as tho they've not been in it (not very flat).

They just don't seem interested at all. My buns mostly eat veges (love spring greens) and they have a bowl of pellets out, but will eat all the veges first before munchin on the pellets - which they don't go mad for.

I just wondering if this was ok for them?

How much pellets are you giving them? they may be filling up on this first. The majority of the diet should be hay and grass so try cutting back on the pellets and trying different types of hay. You could also sprinkle their pellets amongst their hay as this often encourages them to eat more hay :thumb:
 
Like Cheryl I would be suspicious that they are filling up on pellets and then don't want the hay. If your bowl is one of the 'normal' sized food bowls and you are filling it up each day with pellets, you are probably feeding them too much.

To check how much you need to feed them, look on the side of your food bag at the amount they suggest, usually it is about 50g per bun, that equates to 100g a day for a pair .... if you have scales weigh this amount out and find a container which gives you this amount. If you haven't either buy a pair or mark the next bag you start with the opening date and work out how long the bag lasts ... a 2kg bag should last 2 rabbits a minimum of 20 days, a 5 kg bag 50 days. If it isn't you are feeding them too much ... then slowly cut down on the amount of pellets.

All my rescue buns end up good hay eaters ... perhaps thats because I am mean with the pellets. :wink:
 
mine have a tendency to not touch hay unless i'm ruthless with their pellets and veggies

i ended up ordering sample packs from hay experts and bunny basics and they basically chose which they liked

i then ordered a big bale and i put hay in their litter trays, in racks, near their favourite snoozing spots - everywhere really in an attempt to get them interested - and it finally worked (which is good because Gus was starting to get spurs due to his hayphobia!)
 
Ok - I'm reckoning its the hay then. I'll get some sample packs like you say.

They do have pellets - but only eat them at the last resort, I do feed them quite a lot of veges - mainly spring greens and they do eat grass in the garden.

Thanks for all your replies!
 
Do they have hay in their litter trays. Mine are indoors and they sit in their trays and do their business and chomp on the hay. Try lots of different hay though.
 
My buns get their pellets in the am and only veg and hay in the evening - that way they get the pellet treats which may partially fill them up but by the evening if they are hungry they chomp on their hay. I buy bales of it from the hungry horse at £4 a go and they are all happy with it so personally I'm not a big fan of the fancy assortments of hay and you could argue that my buns are maybe just not the fussy type but with 25 current residents you would have thought that at least one of them wouldn't eat it if it were down to that?
 
Small orange giraffe said:
Ok - I'm reckoning its the hay then. I'll get some sample packs like you say.

They do have pellets - but only eat them at the last resort, I do feed them quite a lot of veges - mainly spring greens and they do eat grass in the garden.

Thanks for all your replies!

plain old good qaulity hay from a farm is ideal for rabbits and they usually love it :D
 
hunnybun said:
Small orange giraffe said:
Ok - I'm reckoning its the hay then. I'll get some sample packs like you say.

They do have pellets - but only eat them at the last resort, I do feed them quite a lot of veges - mainly spring greens and they do eat grass in the garden.

Thanks for all your replies!

plain old good quality hay from a farm is ideal for rabbits and they usually love it :D

Totaly agree with you Kareen. As you know I have struggles to get Dougal to eat a good quantity of hay, but since I started buying timmothy hay from a horse supplier he loves it. I never thought I'd see Dougal get enthusiastic over hay, but he does now. And it's cheap. :D
 
Do you have space to store a bale? I get hay from a farm just down the M3 from us - it's organic and the buns love it :) If you don't have space, next time I go, we could split a bale (I come past yours on the way home from the farm)
 
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