not eating hay ?

[MariaG]

is there a way to increase the amount of hay my bunny eats? hes 3 and about 3-4 pounds. he gets 1/4 cup of pellets every night and veggies in the morning, and there is always hay in his cage. i usually put it at the end of the litter box so he can eat it while he poos but if i give him 1-2 big handfuls it takes him like 5 days to eat it, and he never finishes his hay,.its just regular timothy hay. ive tried making suprise treat bags full of hay and 1 or 2 little treats but he wont even touch the bag or eat the hay. 

[LongEaredLions]

What brand of hay do you feed? Maybe you have a picky bunny that is particular about his hay, could you try different brands or types of hay, such as meadow hay?I might decrease his pellets to 1/8 cup if he is not eating much hay.

[MariaG]

yeah i think ill buy a 1/8 measuring cup this weekend and start feeding him less. im not sure what type of hay, its just a big bag from walmart. i should also add that i got him in may and for the first three years of his life his previous owners never fed him any hay at all. only pellets which could be why he doesnt eat much.

[Dobby]

An 1/8 of a cup is just two tablespoons, so if you have a tablespoon, no need to buy anything. That’s what I did. I just have to remember that the tablespoon is in the rabbit food container when I decide to bake. 🙂

Second cut timothy hay and oat hay are big hits with one of my rabbits. You could also try refreshing the hay more often or even just fluffing it up to make it seem new. I’ve also read about sprinkling dried herbs on hay but haven’t tried it before.

Has he had his teeth checked? My other rabbit started eating a lot more hay after he had his teeth trimmed. He’s still not as big a hay eater as his roommate, but he’s definitely improved. He was fed limited hay for the first three years of his life, which probably caused the overgrown teeth.

[MariaG]

his teeth are very good, not long at all. he chews just fine but i will try fluffing the hay more thank you

[Kbana]

I also feed 1/8 cup of pellets only and mine now consumes hay nonstop.

[bpash89]

Have his teeth been checked by a vet? The hay helps to wear down the far back molars that we can’t see so there is no way to tell just by looking at them. If he wasn’t fed hay at all for 3 years then there might be a problem in the tooth department. If he has been checked out by the vet recently then I would definitely try different types of hay. Mine will eat timothy if she has to but she love love love meadow hay. Other good options might be orchard grass or oat hay. Anything that isn’t alfalfa would be good. You could also simply try getting better quality hay by getting it fresh from a nearby stable if possible. Bunnies may not have a preference between eating their wooden toys versus your dinning room chair set but they all definitely have a preference when it comes to their hay. ^^

[MariaG]

thank you guys so much, ive cut down on the pellets and gotten a hay rack and bentleys been eating hay like crazy !

[Author]

Messages