Increasing hay intake

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This topic has 3sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by Azerane.

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- 04/09/2017 at 6:05 AM
  Tony's Mum
  Participant
  431 posts
  So Tony hasn’t been the best about eating hay for a while, so I’ve been experimenting trying to encourage him to eat more. It’s worked pretty well, so I thought I’d share how I did it, because it’s a fairly common problem. Please bear in mind I am no expert, just a bun-mum! Also every bun is different, so what worked for Tony might not work for everyone else.
  
  1. Reduce the pellets. This is pretty obvious I know, and it did help a little.
  
  2. Put hay everywhere! I filled tissue boxes and kitchen roll holders with hay, and left them anywhere Tony hangs out/naps etc. My house is a mess now but it’s worth it.
  
  3. Refresh the hay regularly. Even just tossing it around a bit to release the scent helps!
  
  4. Try different hays. Also, I found some hays with added dried herbs (camomile, mint etc) that he seemed to like.
  
  5. Moved his food bowls; I had Tony’s food bowls near his littler tray and he wopuld munch while he pooped. I moved the bowls to the other side of his pen, but left the hay rack. Now he doesn’t have any option but to much hay while he poops.
  
  6. Hand feed. I work, so obviously I can’t sit around all day feeding Tony by hand, but when I’m home and we’re chilling out I give him little bits. I think it makes him like the hay more.
  
  7. A giant hay pile. I always had hay in containers so I created a giant hay pile in the corner. It’s messy but Tony loves jumping in and munching away.
  
  I’m sure there’s other things that I could try, but so far this is working well for me so far. If anyone else has any tips, I’d love to hear them! In the mean time, I hope this can be useful to some of you guys.
- 04/10/2017 at 7:54 AM
  Luna
  Participant
  2219 posts
  Glad to hear Tony’s eating more hay! Funny how finicky buns can be .
- 04/10/2017 at 9:25 AM
  Tony's Mum
  Participant
  431 posts
  Thanks! He’s still not eating enough, but it’s a start. He’s a very picky eater.
- 04/10/2017 at 6:08 PM
  Azerane
  Moderator
  4688 posts
  That’s great that you’ve worked out ways to get him to eat hay. I’ve been lucky that I’ve never had picky eaters when it comes to hay, but my pair certainly always come running any time I refresh the hay rack (even if there was hay left).
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