hay for a young bun

I pick up my bun next week and I know they need to slowly change pellets and I was just wondering if this is true for hay too. The people im getting him from use a farm from the area. I've bought alfalfa and Timothy in the hope that alfalfa will give him a nutrition boost because apparently he's not big on hay. I was then going to gradually change over to Timothy. Is this right? I was also wondering whether to just give him hay for a week or so because his food atm is museli. Any tips?

Hiya..

Never having had a young bun, i'll leave advice to the experts.....

Hope all goes well

fee xxx

Hi :wave:

No, hay's hay. There is no need to swap hay gradually; he'll be fine. You may find that he prefers some hay types to others. Mine have different types of hay but prefer meadow for some reason.

Hi!
Like other people have said - no need for gradual changes with hay!
If he's fussy with hay you might end up buying lots of different makes of hay before you find one he likes! It took about 6 before I found one mine would eat properly.
I never really bothered with alfalfa hay, I couldn't find any and he hated the tiny bits I could find but he didn't really like Timothy either, he's been on meadow hay from probably 5 months old and he never had a problem - as long as he's eating plenty of hay that's the main thing!

If he's fussy with hay sometimes sprinkling something they do like I.e. Pellets/muesli in with their hay can help them to eat more (I used readigrass when I discovered it as Ferg goes mental for it)

Good luck with your bun!

I agree with others I think any hay is fine, just plenty of it!

Not sure whether anyone has mentioned that you shouldn't cut out the muesli and just feed hay for a couple of weeks, as you were thinking. Any change in the amount or type of dried food needs to be done very gradually - no sudden change.

Alfalfa can be good for helping to put weight on a bun, or enticing a picky bun to eat hay as many rabbits like the taste of it, but it is a bit rich to be the sole source of hay, even for young rabbits, because it is high in protein. It is also high in calcium so wouldn't be good for buns with bladder sludge issues. I've found with alfalfa, that it is better to introduce it gradually into the diet as it can sometimes cause digestive upset, unlike grass hays(timothy, meadow, etc) that can most often be introduced right into a rabbits diet without it causing any digestive problems.

When you get your bun, I would recommend feeding the muesli he has been eating for a couple of weeks to allow him to settle in first, then I would very gradually change over to pellets :thumb:don't forget we will want to see pics

Thanks for all the replies.i will use the alfalfa mixed with Timothy to begin with to entice him and gradually change his food over after a few weeks when he's settled in. It's so great having all you people for advice

Hay can be changed quickly, but there are exceptions to that rule. Dried grass (readigrass) and alfalfa must be introduced or changed slowly, as they are richer than normal hay, in fact alfalfa isn't actually a real grass. Both should be fed in conjunction with normal hay and alfalfa should only be fed in moderation due to its high calcium content.

When you get a new rabbit, you need to keep its dry food exactly the same for 2 weeks whilst they settle. Then you can make slow changes. Even if their diet was bad, changing too quickly can do more harm than good. It is also important to remember that whilst he is still growing he will need more pellets/muesli than an adult rabbit, so don't cut it out or cut it down too much.

I would keep him on Muesli if that is what he is used to. Don't do any drastic changes before he is 12 weeks old or thereabouts. I have brought quite a few buns up on Muesli with no ill effects and they live until they are 8 at least so you don't need to be worried. What you can do is mix in 3 or 4 pellets with his Muesli so he can slowly become accustomed to them. As for hay, baby bunnies don't tend to go mad about it at first so don't worry if he doesn't seem too keen on it - he will get there. Try to find out if he has eaten vegetables and which type and also grass, so you are safe to give him these things as well. If he hasn't been fed veg or grass you will have to wait until he is about 12 weeks old before introducing very small pieces.