Bunnies have stopped eating hay?

[Beapig]

I bought a new bag of Ings Meadow Hay as I ran out, which is their favourite and they have it daily, but they've hardly touched this new batch!

Is it because of the time of year/they're picking on grass and leaves etc? The hay looks the same as always, maybe a bit greener than usual - it smells delicious if you ask me! Should I be concerned and try to get them something else? It cost me £18 so I won't be best pleased if they waste it!

[Omi]

I think as long as they are eating grass and forage not filling up on pellets/treats, then this is OK and to some extent I am seeing the same here. Looking at their poos will give you reassurance that they are getting the right balance of food.

In our case here, I think a contributory factor has been the very hot temperatures. Neither of my rabbits ate as much as usual of anything whilst it was very hot, but now the temperature has reduced a bit they are eating more.

If it were me I would not try any replacement hay unless you consider their poos and/or weight loss suggest you should. Bear in mind that poos will be darker if grass/forage rather than hay is consumed.

[Zoobec]

A few months ago Frosty went off the meadow hay I’d been giving him, I don’t know if he needed a dental or the fact that he didn’t eat as much hay for a few days, but after the dental he still wouldn’t eat it. Since then I’ve been buying different hay from different places, getting samples was good because he loved some but wouldn’t touch others! He now eats far more hay than before, I usually give him 3 different types each day and rotate them so he doesn’t get bored. There’s hardly any waste now either. I’ve also changed from cd rack hay tower to feeding him in open troughs - aka extra long large loaf tins I got from the charity shop.

Frosty likes oxbow orchard grass, burns green oat hay, natures own sweet green hay and Timothy 5 a day hay, natures touch wild hay, alfalfa king Timothy hay.

He won’t eat hardly any of the meadow hays, and he wouldn’t touch the ings hay!

So it might be worth trying other hays and different ways of feeding. Do they need dentals at all?

[Beapig]

Thank you for the advice Zoobec! I used to have them on Excel Burgess Marigold Hay and Pillow Wad, and one day they just went off of those. Then I swapped to Ings 9kg bags and they were crazy about it. They have hardly eaten hay for a couple of weeks now though, so I'm worried. Maybe I should try them on something else and save the Ings for winter bedding.

Their teeth are all definitely fine - they're in great health with big appetites otherwise.

All I'd say about this hay is it's a bit more straw-like and green than the last batch, but it is definitely the same stuff.

I'll look into the hays you have recommended, thank you so much. Why do bunnies have to be so fussy!

[Beapig]

For some reason my computer didn't show your response until I refreshed the page Omi - thank you for your advice! They are nibbling grass daily, but it's so short now that there's hardly any left really. They don't seem unwell in any way, but whenever I have tried to encourage them to eat the hay they've hardly even sniffed it. Their poops have been looking normal, but I'm going to check again now to be sure.

They have been getting more forage than usual, because they are living with Plumpkin now and we're still trying to put some weight on her. So maybe the extra brambles have made them too full for hay...