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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum DIET & CARE I need help with my picky eater!

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    • MomOfStink
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        My rabbit hates hay. Period. He hates Timothy hay, he hates orchard grass hay, he hates Bermuda hay; he doesn’t like it steamed, he doesn’t like it stir fried, he doesn’t like it misted with water, he doesn’t like it it first cut, second cut OR third cut. He hates it. He’ll eat any kind of grass outside, but ONLY if he plucks it out of the ground himself. A few months ago he had a bad bout of GI stasis, and now he appears to be getting a little sick again because he will NOT eat his hay. Mama is so frazzled with her picky eater, I’m ready to purée his hay and force feed it to him with a syringe like Crirical Care. Is this something I should do? I’m at my wits end!! FYI, he is a one year old 1.8 pound jersey wooly. Any help I could get would be awesome, because I really don’t know what to do.


      • Sarita
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          What is the rest of his diet like? How much pellets, veggies – how much?


        • Beka27
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            “I will not eat them in a box… I will not eat them with a fox. I do not like green eggs and ham… I do not like them, Sam I am!”

            Sorry… Couldn’t help myself!

            I’m also wondering what his daily diet is like…


          • MomOfStink
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              He eats kale, Brussels sprouts, and boston lettuce daily whenever he’s hungry. They’re pretty much the only foods he likes. He gets one pellet a day as a vitamin because he is so little.


            • LongEaredLions
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                I would not give him veggies whenever he wants. It may seem cruel, by if he is hungry, he will eat his hay. I see you have tried different types of hay, how about different brands? Maybe oxbow?


              • MomOfStink
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                  We’ve tried restricting his veggies, and he still won’t eat his hay. I’ve tried every type, every brand, I’ve spent so much money on hay he refuses to eat. I’m not exaggerating when I say he will literally not eat hay to save his life. I also talked to my vet about this, and none of her suggestions helped. When we try to hand feed him hay, he takes it out of our hands and throws it on the floor. At this point I’m wondering if he should just live off Critical Care. He’s even turned up his nose at farm fresh hay from a friend’s dairy farm.

                  I’m just so frustrated because he’s a beloved member of the family, and he’s already special needs (he has a heart murmur and is wayyyy smaller than average) and I want him to be healthy and live for a long time.


                • LongEaredLions
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                    I suggest that you get him checked for teeth issues if you haven’t already. Teeth problems often go along with heart problems, and that would explain why he isn’t eating hay.


                  • MomOfStink
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                      His vet set his teeth were ok, but she wants to check them in 6 months. She’s very wary about putting him under anesthesia because of his heart murmur. He hasn’t even been neutered.


                    • Sarita
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                        Critical Care isn’t going to get him the fiber he needs though – it won’t hurt though especially if he will eat it on his own but it’s mainly just ground up pellets and other stuff – doesn’t really replace hay. I guess just make sure he eats enough veggies….I do wonder if the heart murmur is more the cause of his illness than the lack of hay. Even ground up hay isn’t going to give the same benefits as the strands – it’s basically just pellets if it’s ground up.

                        I have a very small netherland dwarf too and he just doesn’t eat much of anything really – he’ll eat some hay but it’s not a huge amount – perhaps this is also the case with your little one.


                      • MomOfStink
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                          That’s the weird thing.. His appetite is usually pretty big. He runs into the kitchen when he hears the fridge open, he follows us around the kitchen begging even if we don’t have food. But then he’ll have 2-3 day periods where he won’t eat and grinds his teeth here and there.

                          Anyway, thanks for the responses, everyone. He started eating again today but I still don’t know what to do!


                        • Linette
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                            please don’t throw anything at me but…have you tried straw?

                            I have had buns that had no use for hay but liked eating oat straw. They got their nutrition from other food and some fiber from the straw.

                            He sounds like a little sweetie…even if he IS picky.

                            Do you happen to have roses or raspberry/blackberry plants (unsprayed) available? Those leaves are healthy for them and contain more fiber than most of the leafy greens we give our buns, and all my buns have been crazy for them.

                            I know what you mean about hand feeding the hay. I will do that at times, and he’ll take it out of my hand and throw it down behind him and then come back and say “you were SUPPOSED to pet my nose!”


                          • MomOfStink
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                              I actually have not tried straw. I will though! We have blackberries and raspberries growing in the backyard, one of which is in his pen. He munched on them all summer, maybe that’s why he was fine until it got cold. Great advice! In a few months he’ll have a huge supply!


                            • LongEaredLions
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                                Since he likes grass(but only likes it when he gets it himself) would you consider growing him some grass in the windowsill in a tray, then giving him the tray? I also give my bunnies blackberry leaves and strawberry plant leaves, they love them!


                              • Standard_Procedure
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                                  Have you tried alfalfa hay? Rabbits seem to prefer alfalfa hay over timothy, meadow and other varieties. Alfalfa may not be healthy if fed too much for an adult rabbit but should be okay if fed in small amounts to aid digestion.


                                • mollys1
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                                    Have you tried oat hay? My bunny looooooves the oat hay from Sierra Valley Hay (sierravalleyhay.com). He won’t really eat any other type but this is fresh and smells so good. Where do you get your hay from? I’ve found that my bunny likes fresh hay better than the dry, dusty hays from the petstore like Oxbow.


                                  • MomOfStink
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                                      Thank you all for the great suggestions. I definitely feel way less anxiety about his hay situation now. Standard_Procedure, we actually plan on doing that. We had some exotic grasses that we started on the windowsill, and he loved when we would take it down and let him eat the growth. I just didn’t know if it had the same benefits as hay.

                                      Thanks again, everyone.

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                                  Forum DIET & CARE I need help with my picky eater!