Worried my rabbits aren't eating enough

[catslovelycats]

I give my rabbits unlimited hay from a selection of farm bale, various Burgess hays and forage, timothy hay and zooplus hays. Plus other galens garden etc forage things.
Neither of them seem keen on any of the hays and I'm concerned they may not be eating enough. Ha, my garage is full of bags and bales in my attempt to find a hay they seem to enjoy eating!

I have only been giving them pellets every other day for 4 days now to see if that makes them eat noticeably more hay, but it doesn't seem to.

I've seen them both eat hay a bit every now and then, but it will only ever be a couple of strands before they seem to get bored and stop. Is this normal for rabbits? I'm so used to guinea pigs stuffing everything down their throats as quickly as they can!

Whenever I give them their SS pellets they devour them instantly. HOw do I know if this is because they like them (which is what some people say) or because they are starving?

I'm making sure the hay is provided fresh each day and it's in tacks and bags and boxes etc all over the hutch so it's always within reach and there is plenty in and around their toilet.

Am I worried over nothing or is this an issue? Any ideas/advice welcome, as I'm new to rabbits (but experienced with chinchillas and guinea pigs, so not a total rodent novice).

Many thanks

 

[*lily*]

I never owned a rabbit that ate as much hay as my Piggies do!

Hay is very important to rabbits as the teeth action needed to eat it naturally wears the teeth down. Do they eat grass as this has the same jaw action as hay.

 

[hildavsky]

We are a little skeptical about feeding pallets, so we provide unlimited meadow hay, twice a day they will have fresh assorted veg, along with treats like fruits and/or pallets. They love their treats.

 

[xxx_Ra_xxx]

Fibafirst sticks are great, give these a try. My rabbits aren't bad hay eaters, but they are out in the garden all day so eat plenty grass.

 

[catslovelycats]

Thanks all. Yes, I want to try fibafirst. (I can't get fibrafirst at my local P@H - it's been out of stock all week! Am going to order some from amazon).

 

[Tamsin]

Poop is really the best guide to digestive health, so have a look in their tray. You want round droppings, which will be a mid brown when fed on a hay, they should have flecks of hay in if you look close - the size will depend on the rabbit size to some extent but large pea (not petit pois) or slightly bigger is about average.

 

[catslovelycats]

Thanks. Poo size varies. Sometimes they are all normal size- other times thete are some smaller ones, which makes me think one of the buns isn't getting the right nutrients - is that right?

 

[tonibun]

Hay eating becomes a habit eventually as if rabbits haven't been used to eating it regularly they won't want to as it's hard work. They will prefer their pellets etc. A good way to encourage hay eating is to buy a big underbed storage box lined with newspaper and topped up with hay. This will also encourage them to become litter trained, if they are not already. Your rabbits will be fine when they are settled in with you.

 

[catslovelycats]

Thank you.That's helpful to know. I have already got boxes for them in their run and hutch. They do seem to like them, but I notice they poop in them all now, not just their toilet one! LOL. My rabbits were dumped at RSPCA so they know nothing about their background. They certainly didn't seem to know what to do with the grass when they first had time in the run - they soon sussed it though!

 

[Tamsin]

Aha! If they have access to grass, they may not bother with hay. Aslo, if they eat grass, their poops will be darker a slightly smaller than hay - that's normal

Grass and hay are interchangeable so if they have access to grass, they may not eat hay at all! If their isn't enough grass in the run or they don't have full time access, you could cut extra grass and they wouldn't need hay at all.