Bunnies refuse to eat hay

[CuteBunBuns2]

So, I supply both Ollie and Penny with unlimited hay as suggested by all resources I have come across. But, they both choose not to eat it. I have used cardboard holders, but they pee on them. I have used the store-bought hay racks and they just don’t touch it, so I have left the hay in clean areas around their cages and all they do is pat it down and pee and poop on it. They are actually both pretty stubborn, haha. So what can I do to encourage them to begin eating hay?

[MoveDiagonally]

Have you tried different types of hay? Orchard is usually pretty popular among bunny folk.

[Stickerbunny]

Try a different hay. Some bunnies don’t like timmy hay, some don’t like 1st/2nd/3rd cut, etc. Buns are allowed to have personal tastes as much as humans. Can also try toppers to try to entice them to start eating it, a few craisins in the mix or some herbs, etc.

[CuteBunBuns2]

I will definitely have to try that. It’s just amazing how big of personalities they have!

[Sindri]

I have 2 bunnies and one likes one type of hay and the other likes another. I bought small pet select for Usagi when it was just him he absolutely refused to eat it. Then I got Kilala right after that and she ate the whole box. Its frustraiting at times but you have to try different types and brands.They like one brand of orchard hay and not another. They are weird little creatures when it comes to hay. hehe

[Stickerbunny]

I had that problem for the longest time too, Sindri. Stickers liked oxbow orchard, but Powder likes the tougher strands so he was more into oat. I found some brome hay locally though in 80lb bales and they both eat that, so yay. It’s a pain to try to feed two bonded rabbits two different types of hay, since they end up throwing it all over and mixing it up. lol

[NuggetBuns]

It’s hard to please them all lol. They also know when you give them the cheap stuff and will pee on it. I quickly switched from Kaytee to Oxbow with my first rabbit, but then noticed that he started sneezing a lot. I would mix Oxbow’s timothy, botanical, and orchard together, which he enjoyed, but would sneeze occasionally. I figured he was allergic to that brand, so I finally switched over to American Pet Diner after finishing all the Oxbow (can’t waste it, so expensive!) and Nugget doesn’t sneeze anymore. Also, before I started buying APD hay, I adopted another rabbit and she refused to eat Oxbow, but they both go crazy for APD Gold (second cut).

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