New bunny would rather starve than eat hay and pellets.

[Vane]

We got a new bunny about three weeks ago and she is super friendly but she won’t eat right. She is about 2 maybe 3 months old. When we got her she was being fed hay and pellets and was a bit on the skinny side. We got her timothy hay and pellets with other grains and a few dry carrots. We started feeding her a baby carrot a day and after a week she gained some weight but she was picking out some of the grains and dried carrots and leaving behind all the pellets. The only time she eats hay is when she is going to the bathroom. We realized she was probably gaining weight due to the carrots so we cut them out and we leave the pellets and hay available all day but she won’t eat them. Since we cut them out she has lost weight and is a lot skinnier than when we got her. She roams around trying to pick up any crumbs that she finds. She is still running and binking around but it did decrease a bit since cutting them out. Her poop seems normal. It’s round, dry, and dark and they are about half a centimeter. She will eat anything but her hay and pellets. We give her romaine lettuce but doesn’t always finish it. She does eat grass and absolutely loves it. She will eat about two or three handfuls in one sitting. She also tries to eat everything that she isn’t supposed to. I don’t know how to get her to eat her pellets and hay. What can I do to get her to eat.

[MissGabbster]

Rabbits shouldn’t be fed pellets with extras. The extras typically no good for the rabbit and they also tend to avoid the pellets (which yours is doing). I’d start switching her over to a plain pellet such as Oxbow brand.

For hay, you could try mixing in another grass hay, such as orchard or oat, in with the timothy to get her more interested. Rabbits do like to eat hay while doing their business so I wouldn’t worry about that. Ox, my bun, only eats hay before, during, and right after going bathroom. I put his hay rack at one end of his litter box but I know other members on here put a layer of hay down in the litter box.

Hopefully another member can confirm this, but I believe you can slowly start introducing her to more vegetables at this age. I think the suggestion with that is to introduce one new vegetable a week so that you can monitor how well they do with it. If you go to the top of the page there’s a link called “Bunny Info” from there go to “Healthy Diet” and there’s a ton of info on feeding that should be helpful.

Also remember that carrots are treats and should be fed sparingly.

[Sarita]

Try other greens. And yes, the grains and stuff in the pellets are a big no-no. Just regular pellets.

[tobyluv]

If your rabbit is only 2 or 3 months old, she can have alfalfa hay. You could mix it in with the timothy or orchard. Alfalfa hay is so fragrant, so it should entice her to eat the hay.

Some other greens you could try are kale, parsley, cilantro and red or green leaf lettuce. 

[Vane]

Is it ok if we just take out the the extras or do you recommend switching over completely? Last night i took out the extras and she would only eat if I put the plate under her nose and she only ate about 5. We have also stopped feeding her the carrots. Also do you know any way to make transitioning her to pellets easier?

[Vane]

I have taken out the extras for now and might be going to buy a new bag without them if she doesn’t start eating them. What other greens would you recommend?

[Vane]

We got her some timothy hay with alfalfa hay in it and she won’t even touch it and will eat like one or two pieces of her old timothy hay! Can she eat the greens daily or should they just be a few times a week

[MissGabbster]

Taking out the extras is fine for now but ideally you should start switching out to a plain pellet. Carrots are still fine to give her on occasion. They just shouldn’t be a main source of food.

This is a good chart on how to transition from an old food to a new food. Hopefully she’ll get better about eating the plain pellets once she realizes that she can’t fill up on the extras. 

This is my favorite list of safe vegetables:
http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

Keep trying with the hay you’ve bought and if she still isn’t interested then keep trying different varieties. Some rabbits can be quite picky about their hay. I don’t know if you’ve mentioned where you’re putting the hay but try to put it in the litterbox. Bunnies like to poop and eat at the same time. You could also try putting some of the hay into toys, like toilet paper tubes, to make it more interesting.

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