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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 Picky hay eater?

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    • rachaelnutt
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        It looks like there have been a few topics on this, so I don’t want to be redundant, but I wanted to include some info about my particular situation and didn’t want to intrude on another thread.
        My 12 week old holland lop is adjusting nicely to his new home. I had posted previously about how I couldn’t get him to eat any of his hay and had people suggesting different types. I ended up purchasing both the oxbow alfalfa and orchard hays and of the two my bun LOVED the alfalfa. Cants get enough of it.

        The problem is that he likes it so much and enjoys his pellets so much that his calcium intake is way too high. I’ve tried mixing the hays together but he just eats the alfalfa and knocks out the other hay into the cage. Any ideas or tricks for this picky eater?


      • sarahthegemini
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          I think switching from alfalfa to a different type is a common issue as most bunnies obviously prefer the alfalfa. I would just persevere and keep mixing the two hays, gradually decreasing the alfalfa. I never fed mine anything but Timothy when they were little so I’ve no direct experience but I had a similar issue when transitioning from junior pellets to adult pellets.


        • ownedbybunnies315
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            How old is your bun now? Alfalfa hay is okay for buns under 8ish months old. So it’s safe to keep mixing it in for awhile, especially if your bun is still young. Alfalfa hay is better than no hay at all. If your bun reaches 9 months, and is still avoiding any other types of hay, you can also decrease pellets a bit too. Hungry bunnies will eat hay. Have you tried oat hay? I’ve heard it’s one that bunnies have a hard time resisting. Like Sarah, my buns have always been good about devouring timothy, but other people I know with picky bunnies have had success with oat hay.


          • DorothyTheMiniSatinBun
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              I agree with the above comment about oat hay. Dorothy is a very picky hay eater, but she absolutely loves oat hay.


            • sarahthegemini
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                I feed my bunnies oat grass now and they go absolutely bonkers for it!


              • rachaelnutt
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                  I’ll have to try Oat Hay/Grass!! Where do you guys get it? He’s young enough where the alfalfa hay isn’t terrible for him, but I don’t want him to get dependent on it.


                • VeroAlmo
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                    My vet recently told me to spray sugar free diluted Apple juice onto my buns hay to trick him into eating more of it. Picky hay eaters are like the chicken nugget only kids, tough to break the cycle.


                  • VeroAlmo
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                      Oh, same for Orange juice but you have to dilute that way more, like 5 parts water to one part orange juice.

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                  Forum DIET & CARE Picky hay eater?