Will a rabbit be ok if he only eat pellets?

[Morgana]

Hi guys One of my rabbits Lee, I got this year, at a year old, with another rabbit. The breeder had them in pretty good conditions, as in large cages, but with only wood shavings, and no hay or veggies. :roll:

The other rabbit has gotten used to hay and veggies and loves them. But Lee won't really eat them at all. I switched to a pretty good quality hay, nice and green, and my guinea pigs and other rabbits certainly approved of the switch and love the new hay. I give some to Lee every few days, but I know he won't eat it, he just digs in it! I put him out on the grass a lot too, to see if eventually he'd get used to it but he won't touch it. I give him veggies almost every day too, but he's very fussy, he'll nibble a tiny bit of lettuce or cabbage, carrot or celery, or apple, but won't eat it properly at all. I had real trouble last week when I ran out of rabbit food for like two days, and the others just ate hay and grass and veggies, and he just ate a tiny tiny bit of celery! . . . but luckily there were a few more pellets in the bottom of the bag that I found that got him through!

I know you'll probably say it must be his teeth, but he can eat mixed food even the hard bits in it, when I've fed it to him before, and he didn't selectively eat it, but I feed him pellets now. And I have seen him eat hay, like about two pieces! He doesn't drop food and does appear to chew normally. His front teeth at least are fine. Is eating a few bits and then stopped a sign of bad back teeth? I don't want him to have an anaesthetic unless absolutely necessary, like if he lost weight.

He doesn't have a huge appetite for pellets, he's very active, but a good weight and condition. He did used to have runny eyes, so I thought his teeth were bad, but I took him off of wood shavings and gave him nicer hay and that got better.

Oh and he is a lionhead rabbit, so are they known for having bad teeth?

Anyway, my main question is, can a rabbit stay healthy if he just eats pellets for his whole life? If his teeth are good now, will they hopefully stay good, or most likely go bad? I know a lot of breeders don't feed rabbits hay, but do you think there's a good chance he'll have problems later?

 

[GrahamL]

Hi guys One of my rabbits Lee, I got this year, at a year old, with another rabbit. The breeder had them in pretty good conditions, as in large cages, but with only wood shavings, and no hay or veggies. :roll:

The other rabbit has gotten used to hay and veggies and loves them. But Lee won't really eat them at all. I switched to a pretty good quality hay, nice and green, and my guinea pigs and other rabbits certainly approved of the switch and love the new hay. I give some to Lee every few days, but I know he won't eat it, he just digs in it! I put him out on the grass a lot too, to see if eventually he'd get used to it but he won't touch it. I give him veggies almost every day too, but he's very fussy, he'll nibble a tiny bit of lettuce or cabbage, carrot or celery, or apple, but won't eat it properly at all. I had real trouble last week when I ran out of rabbit food for like two days, and the others just ate hay and grass and veggies, and he just ate a tiny tiny bit of celery! . . . but luckily there were a few more pellets in the bottom of the bag that I found that got him through!

I know you'll probably say it must be his teeth, but he can eat mixed food even the hard bits in it, when I've fed it to him before, and he didn't selectively eat it, but I feed him pellets now. And I have seen him eat hay, like about two pieces! He doesn't drop food and does appear to chew normally. His front teeth at least are fine. Is eating a few bits and then stopped a sign of bad back teeth? I don't want him to have an anaesthetic unless absolutely necessary, like if he lost weight.

He doesn't have a huge appetite for pellets, he's very active, but a good weight and condition. He did used to have runny eyes, so I thought his teeth were bad, but I took him off of wood shavings and gave him nicer hay and that got better.

Oh and he is a lionhead rabbit, so are they known for having bad teeth?

Anyway, my main question is, can a rabbit stay healthy if he just eats pellets for his whole life? If his teeth are good now, will they hopefully stay good, or most likely go bad? I know a lot of breeders don't feed rabbits hay, but do you think there's a good chance he'll have problems later?

He really needs hay!

How many pellets do you give him a day? the recommended amount is an eggcupful.

 

[Morgana]

I know they need hay, but he just won't eat it.

I give him as many pellets as he will eat, since obviously he needs it, and he doesn't overeat them. He will usually eat about half of a ceramic rabbit bowl of food a day. I know that isn't very exact since bowls are different sizes, but your average rabbit sized bowl I guess.

He probably eats the same amount or less than my females! who also get grass, hay, greens and veggies all the time. It's crazy. But he's small and not growing and not skinny.

And I've tried not giving him pellets, to see if he'd have hay or grass or veggies instead, but he just refused to eat anything.

I'm not sure what age he is, except that he's an adult definitely, so I guess he just was never used to veggies and hay. The other one I got from the same breeder was only 8 months old, so she adjusted fine.

 

[Morgana]

Is there any kind of alternative to hay that anyone can think of that he might like and might give him more fibre/chewing?

I was thinking of getting a mixed food like this

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/rodents/food/rabbit/jr_farm/126638

That, if he'll eat it, might encourage him to chew more and grind his teeth. Does that seem like a good idea? Or does anyone have any other ideas for a good food?

He likes mixed food and will eat it all, so no idea why he won't even eat veggies.

 

[GrahamL]

What hay do you use?

I know a lot of buns can be very fussy over what hay they eat. Quality can really differ. Biscuit had some cheap hay once from Asda as i ran out :roll: and he would not touch it. Got him some meadow hay from our local garden centre the following day and he was "nom nom nom - more!".

The hay experts do a sample pack of 6 different hays for £3.99 i think it is, so that might be an idea?

 

[JLG]

Its maybe a battle of wills - I have cut everything else right down in order to get mine to eat hay. A healthy bun won't starve himself when there's food around. i used to have a similar scenario with my dog who would periodically turn his nose up at whatever (expensive) stuff i'd got for him. I would then not offer him anything for the next 2 meal times (he got fed 3 times a day) & by the next time he was more than happy to eat again. Obviously you can't do the same with a bun but I wouldn't be giving him loads of pellets at theres no incentive for him to eat the hay or anything else, as i've found with mine. Does he eat grass?

 

[Morgana]

That is a good idea.

I get my hay from zooplus (the german one), and it seems good (much better than pet shop stuff), but I know there are better kinds.

I think I will try some small bags of nicer hay, but I don't hold much hope for it, since he won't even eat grass.

Also, he won't eat veggies in big bits, or cut up small . . . I thought if it was his teeth, he'd eat them cut up small maybe. But he won't.

 

[BB Mommy]

Ideally your rabbit would eat a good varied diet of hay, fresh veg, fruit,weeds etc and some pellets.

What pellets is he eating? If they're a good quality pellet then he'll be getting a decent amount of nutrition, but as they are dry he will be more prone to tummy probs - lots of good green veg does their guts wonders.

Have you tried lots of really fragrant herbs, like coriander, to see if they will tempt him.
Will he eat dandelions?
Have you tried some of the yummier hays like Green Oat Hay or alfalfa (in moderation)- most buns can't resist it.

I'd get his teeth checked to rule out teeth problems though.

 

[Morgana]

Its maybe a battle of wills - I have cut everything else right down in order to get mine to eat hay. A healthy bun won't starve himself when there's food around. i used to have a similar scenario with my dog who would periodically turn his nose up at whatever (expensive) stuff i'd got for him. I would then not offer him anything for the next 2 meal times (he got fed 3 times a day) & by the next time he was more than happy to eat again. Obviously you can't do the same with a bun but I wouldn't be giving him loads of pellets at theres no incentive for him to eat the hay or anything else, as i've found with mine. Does he eat grass?

He doesn't like grass either.

The time I ran out of pellets recently, I left him a whole day with grass and veggies and he wouldn't eat them at all. Until the next day I noticed there were a few more pellets in the bottom of the box so I gave him them.

He just wouldn't eat the veggies at all, though he was obviously hungry and looking for food. I know you're not meant to leave them without food for long right?

He had hay available too but just wouldn't even attempt to eat anything, until he got pellets and then tucked into them.

 

[Morgana]

Have you tried lots of really fragrant herbs, like coriander, to see if they will tempt him.
Will he eat dandelions?
Have you tried some of the yummier hays like Green Oat Hay or alfalfa (in moderation)- most buns can't resist it.

I'd get his teeth checked to rule out teeth problems though.

He's on good pellets, and likes eating them.

He won't eat dandelions or dandelion leaves or other weeds, I've tried him on parsley and mint, but not coriander yet, and he wouldn't eat them. I've tried him with different types of lettuce that I grew myself so was very fresh, and lettuce that my neighbour grew and smelt lovely, and he just didn't care. He just plays with food and scent marks it with his chin!

I get the feeling he is just fussy/has a bad appetite, as he usually just ignores the food, and just doesn't seem bothered, and doesn't eat a huge amount of pellets either.


I think I will try to find nicer hay, I'm hoping one of the english sites does deliver to Ireland and I'll order some, but I can't find nice hay in shops here. It might work, my other rabbits seem like like hay more than grass (opposite to my guinea pigs!) so maybe Lee will like some really fancy hay. The others will be jealous!


Does a rabbit have to be anaesthetised to check their back teeth? I don't really want to risk that, unless he had other symptoms like obvious pain or weight loss. I'm not sure what age he is exactly and I'm not sure if any of the vet hospitals in the area are brilliant with rabbits, though they do neuter them.

 

[Morgana]

Does anyone know would a mixed food be better for his teeth, because of the different textures? Since he doesn't selectively eat mixed food.

 

[GrahamL]

Does anyone know would a mixed food be better for his teeth, because of the different textures? Since he doesn't selectively eat mixed food.

mixed food isn't great as it promotes selective eating, learnt that the hard way with other buns when i was little.

This is very confusing indeed, never known a bun to turn down *all* veg and herbs and hay.

I'm no expert though, someone else on here may be better suited to helping you.

 

[Morgana]

He has had mixed food before (when I ran out of pellets) and he ate all of it and liked it. So I'm not worried about selective eating.

It's funny because he could eat the really hard bits in the mixed food, no problem.

He will nibble some veg, but not much. His favourite is celery, which is quite a strong flavour so that makes sense. And he will eat maybe one slice of carrot and a chunk of apple, on a very good day, so I guess he likes sweet things. Not the biggest fan of greens, unfortunately.

I've had him since february now and trying to get him used to veggies and hay, but there's been no development at all. I really worry about him sometimes.


Anyway, thanks for all the helpful suggestions. Hopefully someone else can help too. I'll try to order some really fancy hay.

 

[JLG]

I just discovered celeriac the other day in Asda and it was reduced in price and lasts for a while because its so solid. My 2 love it (they like celery anyway) so maybe thats something else he might like. He may slowly come round to things. My 2 also love basil, its their favourite herb.
good luck with him he's a lucky boy. I have very a fussy horse so i know how frustrating it is to have one that won't eat.

 

[GrunBunMum]

I have a veg problem with one of my buns, although he eats loads of hay. I get a bale from local farmer. All 3 go mental for it, all run over staight away and start chewing away. As for the veg Walter and Florrie not probs at all, Boris is another story. He really winds me up with it, I class him as my boyf bun so I end up shouting at my boyf cause he wont eat his veg. Typical men. Ive tried everything. Pear apple spinich carrot celery rocket basil mint parsley. He just some days picks at it and then the next wont eat any. Its annoying cause his girlf Florrie runs over and starts eating his so I have to try seperate them for a bit till he picks through it. Upsets me tho cause im sure he is missing out on nutrients he needs but im stuck with what to do.

 

[Morgana]

Thanks, I'll try looking for celeriac. I'm trying to give him celery very often now, since it's his favourite, maybe I can convince him to eat the leaves of it too, and realize how yummy leaves are! I've really been trying with him, but he's not getting any better than he was when I got him.

Hopefully he will be ok, since lots of pet owners and breeders don't feed their rabbits hay or veggies, and they probably often get on ok, though obviously it's not the best for them at all.

It's weird because my other bunnies and piggies are so so greedy!

 

[VickiP]

:wave: There are a couple of 'good' mixes but, ideally they are fed in tandem with fresh hay and fresh vegetables, my rabbits have a handful of Chudleys Rabbit Royal and I do add a tablespoon of excel to it, they aren't selective either, actually when I was feeding excel on it's own it wasn't being eaten at all. My rex that I adopted had been fed a mix for 3 years aswell and no hay and his teeth were fine the vet said:shock: He wasn't amused with the pellets and hay so I had to continue with a mix for a while when changing his diet so doing that worked well, as I found they weren't picking out certain bits and the excel was being eaten I have carried on with it.

Can you not find a farm over there who do bales of hay, maybe do a thread and see if any other Irish members can advise. I feed mine spring greens, kale, herbs like basil, dill, flat leaf parsley, mint, celery chopped as a really small sprinkle on food, cucumber sometimes for fluids, brocolli, carrotts and teaspoon size of banana, red grape, apple, pear as treats but generally one piece a day.

Your rabbit has been health checked and all is well in terms of teeth etc? He doesn't need GA for a check up on his teeth no. If you manage to get some good quality hay and some nice fresh veg/herbs feed them wet aswell and he won't touch them but, is still eating his mix/pellets you may need to get some fibreplex from time to time if his poops are a bit loose, are his poops alright? Does he drink plenty of water?

 

[thumps_]

You are all right on here, especially getting good quality hay, sweet smelling with a good mix of grasses.

Buns have to eat FIBER for a healthy tummy as well as teeth. Hay is by far the easiest. They also have to eat far more than when they are weaned from a concentrated pellet food. It's possible that your bun isn't used to feeling so "full". I'd go for hay before veges (which don't have enough fiber.) As said previously they must drink water when on a predominantly dry diet.

The thing I notice is that your bun won't eat ANY food except pellets.

Some breeders make no effort to introduce other foods. A few buns haven't got the right instinctive behaviour, & don't learn what they should be eating by watching others.

Also some buns eat mainly at night so you only know if they are eating hay by their poop output, which should increase after a pellet only diet.

Can your bun can watch the other eating hay. [Keep well separated well separated so they can't bite each other if they're not bonded.] I

I'd put your other bun on a hay only diet for a couple of days, so the problem one can watch. Reduce his pellets by 1/2 & keep an eye on his poops. If they get smaller & fewer of them, you are right, he's not eating enough & has to do so, to keep his gut moving. If there are more, & they are bigger you are winning, cut back his pellets more.

Good luck - it's a difficult one.
I hope some one who runs a rescue will help out here.

 

[Morgana]

He's been health checked but never had his back teeth looked at. If they can do that without GA I'll definitely book him in for a check up.

Is farm hay better than other hay then? The stuff my friend uses from a farm for her guinea pigs, it looks just like the stuff I get from zooplus.de (I get a big 15kg bag from them). Only she pays €2.50 a bale and I pay €15! I just saw it the other day when I was at her house.

His poops are always fine. I never see the soft poos around. He drinks enough water, he'd drink about 200ml a day I'd say, more on hot days.

I really think it's just the fact that he'd had dry food all his life at the breeder's and no hay ever, and is a silly old rabbit stuck in his ways! At least I hope that is all. I'll just have to try to keep tempting him with more food.

Maybe it'd be a good idea if I only give him dry food in the mornings, and then take it away and give him fresh food and hay in the evenings, or the other way round . . . over a number of days and see if that works.

 

[BB Mommy]

Does a rabbit have to be anaesthetised to check their back teeth? I don't really want to risk that, unless he had other symptoms like obvious pain or weight loss. I'm not sure what age he is exactly and I'm not sure if any of the vet hospitals in the area are brilliant with rabbits, though they do neuter them.

They will be able to do an initial check using the metal thing (can't remember its name) they will look down into his mouth whilst he's awake - that will give the vet an idea whether there are any spurs on his molars, or any obvious dental probs.