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Rabbit less interested in eating hay?

WolfLover456

Young Bun
It's been awhile since I've last posted, I took people's advice and got him new toys in hopes to further alleviate his boredom ( to intice his interest away from chewing on the carpet; still unresolved ). Ever since I got him them, he's been less interested in eating his hay, as of late, I've been buying him new hay feeders for his old one was practically covered in bite marks and taken into account how often he would pull it off from where it was and throw it all around his cage. A plastic one that essentially could only worked by being hung outside of his cage was pretty much ignored, I went back to the store to return it and got him a new one. Sparse interaction has been engaged with the new one, but I'm not sure if he has eaten from it, he did eat some from it this morning. If I place hay on the cage's floor, he just sits on it/mixes it with his bedding or ignore it entirely. He's drinking fine, eating his pellets fine, got him a new bowl at that -- he's reacting to me as always, binkying, playing his toys, getting excited for treats, demanding me to pet him. One of his toys, actually, had hay stuffed in it ( it was like some straw/hay built carrot toy and he basically pulls the hay out/munches them into smaller portions and doesn't bother with them ), I hand him a piece, he'll take it but then immediately drop it. I'm not sure if he's 'full' from eating willow balls ( which may be a tad contradictory seeing he goes for his pellets just fine ) and his other chew toys that's degrading his need to eat hay or needs time to grow accustomed to his new hay feeder.
 
It could be a number of things but the main things I'd consider are dental pain causes by spurs or similar, and maybe he just doesn't like eating from the hay rack.

A check up with a rabbit savvy vet will confirm if the teeth are an issue.
Hopefully others will be along shortly - I can't provide a proper reply as I'm at work atm

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As DP has said, I would suspect dental,or that he is eating too many other things such as pellets, treats etc. An eggcup full of pellets is enough for adult rabbits, depending on their size and weight, so if he is having more than that you could try gradually reducing the amount of pellets until he only has an eggcupful size portion. And I would cut out sugary commercial treats too.

I would get his teeth checked and try feeding different types of hay too
 
I think a lot of rabbits can be picky hay eaters and will choose pellets over hay. In the past with some of my rabbits I had to slowly reduce pellets and encourage them to eat more hay. Took some time and I was very careful to watch their weight and their poop during this transition, but it worked and they became good hay eaters :)
 
I wouldn't say he doesn't; his first one he had no problems eating out of. If it were dental problem, wouldn't he be reluctant to eat his pellets, I gave him new food yesterday and checked his bowl today; he ate, that's more harder than his hay and I also got him crunchy treats way better than the sugary ones ( carrot flavored ) and he seems to eat them just fine as well?

But I'll keep it mind and be sure to check up on him to ascertain whether or not it is urgent, I don't want to stress everyone out due to money problems and give myself panic attacks worrying too immensely about his health.
 
As DP has said, I would suspect dental,or that he is eating too many other things such as pellets, treats etc. An eggcup full of pellets is enough for adult rabbits, depending on their size and weight, so if he is having more than that you could try gradually reducing the amount of pellets until he only has an eggcupful size portion. And I would cut out sugary commercial treats too.

I would get his teeth checked and try feeding different types of hay too

I can bring myself to surmise giving him pellets frequently may be at fault, he's eaten a lot of hay everyday till me admitting this problem. He has no issue eating anything else. His new bowl is somewhat smaller than his old one, so I don't try to fill it up to the brim, instead by approximate measurement in comparisons to a measuring cup 1/4? as his food bag insists. He's a mini-rex. He has tried other hay, Forti-diet, Timony ( which I practically assumed is his favorite for we mainly give him that one, no problems up until now ). He hadn't issues against eating them.
 
I think a lot of rabbits can be picky hay eaters and will choose pellets over hay. In the past with some of my rabbits I had to slowly reduce pellets and encourage them to eat more hay. Took some time and I was very careful to watch their weight and their poop during this transition, but it worked and they became good hay eaters :)

He used to devour his hay just fine - hm - maybe I am giving him too much pellets. I fill his bowl in the mornings and at nights judging how much he has left, if nothing. I probably have to do the same thing with him again, I've placed some hay on the ground where he likes to lay/sit through the night or day bc he's tuckered out due to being a hyperactive bunny and adjust his rack to see what makes it more adequate to pique his interest. Also put some hay alongside his pellets.
 
Have you tried a litter tray filled with hay, as rabbits love to sit in the tray chewing on their hay? :) The recommended amounts on food packets are usually much too high. How big is your bunny?
 
Have you tried a litter tray filled with hay, as rabbits love to sit in the tray chewing on their hay? :) The recommended amounts on food packets are usually much too high. How big is your bunny?

Sadly, I don't have one. His cage is too small to fit one in and I'm hoping we get a new for him sooner or later ( I asked when but never given an appropriate answer excluding the disheartening response "people's needs comes before an animal's" in my household which I strongly disagree with ). There was an ideal cage when I was in the pet store a few days ago fairly cheaper compared to the others, I'm likely needing to find a new job in order to get it if they don't bother. He does have a chewing box that it's a mixture of hay within, not sure if he has picked any out lately. He's a mini-rex, when we had him for a checkup on the for the proceedings of his neutering he was around 4 lbs.
 
He's eaten some from the little pile I've placed in his cage, gave him his play area and he took some from his box I do believe, his behavior is the same as always - so I'm here to assume I may be giving him too much pellets.

I should mention I have checked/felt around his mouth/cheeks/chin for any abnormalities awhile ago after the previous message. There is no lumps from my acknowledgement, and he doesn't appear to show discomfort to my touch, I haven't checked his teeth itself judging if he'll let me, but I think he's okay.
 
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Yeah - he won't really let me check his teeth, at the most I can muster spotting the top portion. Is it supposed to have discoloration if there's a problem? They're pretty white and look decent to me. The only way I can 'tell' is when he yawns. His gums are pink. Problem if they look curled or yellowish? ( i'm looking over various different images indicating some form of dental issues ). I'll keep an eye on him if the possibility arises, overall can be concluded he needs less pellets.

My rabbit does teeth grinding a lot, specifically when I pet him - however it has been taken into account he does it while he's happy throughout its expanse. He does it occasionally when he's chilling so I don't know what that really means, other than that - he doesn't really make it loud? ( my hearing is a bit damaged so I can't say for 100% accuracy ).
 
Problem is with rabbits and their tiny mouths is it makes home monitoring difficult and really only a dental check at the vets can confirm using an otoscope.

The teeth grinding can mean pain and discomfort, but if it’s only while petting this could be your bunny doing it because it’s really enjoying the fuss. Mine does it also when he’s super calm and lays his head on the floor, for cheek teeth health they periodically grind their teeth to keep them worn.

As for the non hay eating, like others have said less pellets did the trick with my fussy two. An egg cup a day is the right amount (roughly) and to trick them you can sprinkle the pellets in the hay so they eat the hay too. You can also make the hay more fun and tasty by adding dry forage leaves, flowers or herbs (all bunny safe of course!).

I know it’s difficult when they start getting fussy!


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Is he shut in a cage that is too small to take a litter tray? Rabbits need to run and jump. Hopefully you mean it is his base. A puppy pen round it is a good way to give extra space without the expense of another cage.

Hope you find out the cause of his minimal hay eating.

I have four rabbits in a 6 x 6x shed with a 7 x 5 run available 24/7. They have three handfulls of pellets a day between them and three large underbed storage boxes with newspaper and hay and a magazine rack with hay which is topped up twice a day.

969d3s.jpg


I love rexes. Would love to see a picture.
 
Problem is with rabbits and their tiny mouths is it makes home monitoring difficult and really only a dental check at the vets can confirm using an otoscope.

The teeth grinding can mean pain and discomfort, but if it’s only while petting this could be your bunny doing it because it’s really enjoying the fuss. Mine does it also when he’s super calm and lays his head on the floor, for cheek teeth health they periodically grind their teeth to keep them worn.

As for the non hay eating, like others have said less pellets did the trick with my fussy two. An egg cup a day is the right amount (roughly) and to trick them you can sprinkle the pellets in the hay so they eat the hay too. You can also make the hay more fun and tasty by adding dry forage leaves, flowers or herbs (all bunny safe of course!).

I know it’s difficult when they start getting fussy!


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I did happen to include some of his cilantro to his hay, believing it sparked the activity of him eating his hay. I aimed to have him try flowers ( rose petals ) but he basically ignored them. While this address of the issue has been dicussed, there hasn't been any devolpment on medical condition terms; I've been checking his mouth but he's absolutely fine, behavior is the same, nothing forming deemed as problemantic, he doesn't insisutate he's in discomfort. May as well be the fault of overthinking/probable I was giving him unlimited pellets spite in a small amount. He has been eating his hay again, several weeks ago before this update and on-going! Another method assisted the situation by putting his hay near his potty corner, as the former participations claimed rabbits enjoy it immensely when they're eating and taking a restroom break.
 
Is he shut in a cage that is too small to take a litter tray? Rabbits need to run and jump. Hopefully you mean it is his base. A puppy pen round it is a good way to give extra space without the expense of another cage.

Hope you find out the cause of his minimal hay eating.

I have four rabbits in a 6 x 6x shed with a 7 x 5 run available 24/7. They have three handfulls of pellets a day between them and three large underbed storage boxes with newspaper and hay and a magazine rack with hay which is topped up twice a day.

969d3s.jpg


I love rexes. Would love to see a picture.

It's his base. He's only shut in his cage during the night -- since his tendencies of chewing on the carpet is very well known and I literally cannot get him to stop, and the possibilities he'd make a lot of racket trying to jump on his cage ( especially due to rabbits being more active at night ) while my sister gets really fussy if he dares makes exccessive noise. -_- Honestly, I would really love if he could be out of his cage 24/7 but the lack of supervision onto him somewhat prevents that.

Since someone offered him to me due to the lack of time to care of him, I can assume he was possible a free-roam bunny taking the first beginning days, he was quite demanding to be let out. So we had adjust the room accordingly to his preferences so he wouldn't get into everything ( he was firstly a free-roam bunny until he ended up chewing up a lot of things and because my sister is still allegedly intimidated by him albeit his personality has changed so much compared to when he was sexually frustrated ); I do try to give him lots of space to run around, our room is fairly small, so the space he sometimes get involves have of available manuevering space, times are people end up complaining about the expansion since I'm sharing a room ( aspiring this will be the last till we move again shortly ), or he just chills around the area. The smaller versions of a litter tray, those you'd spot in the pet stores may fit, but I barely have the money to get him the most fitting one as they're expensive ( the rabbit ones are like around 16-17 dollars including tax, as I've been thinking of including that and a fleece blanket that way we don't have to worry about getting bedding so often. ) The tub-version of a litter tray may be a little too big to fix into his cage. I don't like having him crammped up in small spaces but my family doesn't really care what's beneficial for a rabbit's needs outside of food, hay, and bedding and a cage ( not posing secondary thoughts whether or not it'd be too small for my current breed of rabbit, the size of the cage has been conceded to be too small for him, there still hasn't been any effort to get him a new one though, I would if I had the money and better luck getting jobs that intrigue me.... )
 
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