Rabbit won’t eat hay regularly?

[toby]

Okay so my rabbit won’t eat his hay as much as he used to, if i give him pellets he completely ignores the hay, and one time i didnt give him pellets one day and he was eating hay pretty much the whole time. I have heard that it’s okay to cut out pellets on some days, or even completely. Is this true? He just got a new cage if that has anything to do with changes in eating habits. He’s almost 8 months old and weighs about 5 lbs

[bestmom]

How much pellets is he getting? Pepper eats 1/4c first thing in the morning. But the rest of the day is unlimited hay about 2c leafy greens, some non leafy veggies, and a little fruit. Have you tried different hays or even maybe putting it in a toy. We sometimes put pepper’s hay in a paper towel tube.

[Deleted User]

I had the same problem trying to get my Henry to eat hay. Being a mini lop weighing 2 kilo’s I was able to reduce his pellets to 1/8 cup daily (given for brekky) along with 2 cups of veggies for dinner with banana or apple for dessert. If he was hungry (and he was!) he had no choice but to eat his hay. He still doesn’t eat the amount he should, but hey, eating some is better than nothing like he was when I was over feeding him pellets.

I wouldn’t cut out pellets completely, even the small amount that Henry gets now, provides him with the nutrition he can’t and doesn’t get from his veggies and hay. Check his weight and offer your guy (Toby?) what is suggested/recommended for his weight. Hopefully this will help to encourage to eat his hay.

As BestMom suggested, maybe you could try a different hay – I tried them ALL till Henry finally decided Oxbow’s Timothy was suitable for him *SIGH*! Lol!  
  
Cheers.

[Eepster]

8 months is a bit young to totally cut out pellets, but definitely think of them more as a multivitamin than as a major food source and give a small amount. BTW, what kind of pellets are you using?

Switching hay can make a huge difference. Even just switching up bags can make a difference. There are many great varieties, timothy, orchard grass, meadow grass, oat hay. Not alfalfa though, 8 months is too old for alfalfa; it’s really just for pregnant, nursing, or baby bunnies, since it’s high in calories. Try various brands too.

[ohbonobogirl]

I’ll second the idea that just switching hay batches out can make a huge difference. I buy hay in the ginormous bag, which usually lasts about 3 weeks for my pair. Some weeks, though, they must really like the cut or something because it seems like it’s gone in a week and a half, though in other weeks it’ll seem like they’re hardly eating any at all.

[toby]

He gets about 1/4 cup every morning

[toby]

I’m using Kaytee pellets I think they are Timothy but I’m not sure

[JackRabbit]

Another vote for trying different hays, even different “brands”. The fresher and more fragrant the hay, the more likely the bunny is to eat more.

I mix 2nd cut timothy with orchard grass hay and my lops devour it. Even Kieko, who doesn’t eat anywhere near as much as the lops, likes a little variety.

[Tana]

Dandelion went through a period where she wasn’t eating hay and decided to attack me over pellets instead.
I cut her pellet rations in half and she quickly started eating much more hay.

[Author]

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