Rabbit won’t eat new pellets… LOL

[Caspar'sHome]

Ok. So my now 7 month old rabbit is refusing to eat his new pellets. And I mean refusing. I took one of his old ones in my hand and gave it to him when he was due for pellets today, and he took the one out of my hand right away. Then I tried the new pellets, Oxbow Natural Science, and he sniffs it and then puts his head down as if saying that’s not food. so I’ve been mixing 3/4 purina rabbit show food (his old pellets) and 1/4 Oxbow Natural Science for the past 4 days and he just knocks over his bowl and only eats the purina. I can tell because the two pellets are two distinct sizes and color. What can I do to get him to eat the Oxbow? Or should I keep him on Purina, but I don’t really want to as it isn’t as healthy as oxbow. What do I do?

[jerseygirl]

Is the Purina alfalfa based, and the Oxbow timothy based? That would be a big reason why he’s favouring one over the other. Little rascal.
You could try mixing some and storing that way so hopefully the new pellets absorb the aroma of the other ones.

I think though, it’s just a matter of persisting with what you’re currently doing. He should start trying the Oxbow when he’s polished off the Purina and is looking for more food.

What type of hay does he eat.

[LittlePuffyTail]

When switching from Martins to Oxbow my bunnies wouldn’t touch the Oxbow. It’s one of the healthiest but not the tastiest. I just kept offering fresh pellets every day and they eventually started eating them and learned to love them.

[Caspar'sHome]

I actually don’t know if it is alfalfa based but I will check in the morning and get the bag out to look. I can’t find anything online. It does smell way sweeter than Oxbow, so I assume it is alfalfa. The Oxbow smells more like Italian seasoning by McCormick. So it may be that. I will continue with the persistence in switching, so I will update as I go. Thanks!!

[tobyluv]

Purina Rabbit Show pellets are alfalfa based. Scroll down the list to Young rabbit pellets, to see the ingredients: http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Rabbit_Pellets_Comparison_Chart.

When I tried the Oxbow Natural Science pellets, I thought that they had a very strong rosemary smell to them. Some rabbits may love that, but others may not. I bought it to mix with Oxbow Adult Essentials, but only bought the one bag. I do mix a little of the Oxbow Organic pellets into the Oxbow adult. They also contain rosemary, but the scent isn’t as strong.

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