# Not eating hay?



## mosi (Oct 7, 2013)

My rabbit Kara has recently refused to eat her hay. She has never been keen on it but now she just doesn't eat it. She eats her pellets like crazy, but nothing else. She gets one scoop of pellets each morning, and another one in the night. I had to increase her pellet portions because of her not eating hay (I'm guessing she eats a tiny bit of hay throughout the day but not like she used to). I would give her veggies but she has a sensitive tummy and almost everything makes her leave skid marks on the floor. I've tried all kinds of different veggies but her tummy didn't get better so I just gave her hay and small scoop of pellets once a day, and she was fine with that. But now it's "no!" when I offer her hay. She has never been a "regular" bunny, and I have never been able to fatten her up, she doesn't like any fruit (I was told rabbits love papaya and banana) exempt for apples, and a lot of the vegetables rabbits are supposed to love, she wont touch. And if she likes something, she seems to get easily bored with it if she has it too often. What can I do? She looks fine, I was told that a bunny was not too skinny if you don't see her spine through her fur, but if I run my index finger along her back I can feel it. Is that normal? She behaves the same; slightly grumpy halve the time, loving and caring the other halve. And she still comes to my bed each night to get a cuddle and does her binky and bunny flop regularly. The only thing that has changed is that she tries to wake us up in the middle of the night to get more pellets and runs even faster to her bowl when I feed her! What's going on and what can I do? I love my bunny so much and I want the best for her!! Sorry about my English, not my native language!


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## Hopper2013 (Oct 7, 2013)

My Hopper has slowed down in her eating hay. What kind are you giving her? you could also try and get a hide a hole, I think is what it is called. It is a small tunnel made out of hay. Does she have any toys? you could also take an empty toilet paper roll and put hay in it. That works for Hopper when she doesn't eat her hay because than she can play with it too. Good Luck I hope something works


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## Bville (Oct 7, 2013)

One of my rabbits will only eat hay if there are no pellets available so I give him pellets in the morning and it takes about all day for him to finish, then at night if he is hungry all he has to eat is the hay so he does. I give him the amount of pellets recommended on the package for his weight so I'm sure it's enough and don't feel too bad about not giving him any at night because I know he needs the hay and it's good for him. My rabbits do get fresh veggies at dinnertime, but they eat them up quickly so through the night all they get is hay. 

Maybe not giving Kara pellets at night would work for you too. She might not like it at first, but if she gets hungry enough she might go back to the hay.


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## JBun (Oct 7, 2013)

If your rabbit isn't filling up on pellets or other food, there are a few things that can cause a rabbit to suddenly stop eating it's hay when it normally has been eating it. They may decide they don't like that kind, in which case you could try a different variety. There can be something wrong with the hay like mold(which is REALLY bad for rabbits) that can put them off from wanting to eat it. And they can start to develop dental problems like sharp points on their molars, that makes it painful for them to eat, or just to eat certain foods. I would suggest either getting a new bag/bale of hay and try that, and/or try a different kind of hay. If your rabbit doesn't have any urinary issues with sludge, sometimes alfalfa/Lucerne hay can be used to help put weight on a rabbit. Typically you don't want to feed an adult rabbit alfalfa because of the excess calcium and protein, but sometimes it is helpful when needing to help a rabbit gain some weight. They may also more readily eat it as it usually tastes better to them. If you feel your rabbit is underweight and you can get alfalfa hay, this may be something to try. You do want to gradually introduce it though, to avoid causing digestive upset.

If you have tried a new bag of hay and tried giving different kinds, and your rabbit still doesn't want to eat it's hay, it would be a good idea to have a thorough dental check for molar spurs, infection, and/or tooth overgrowth as the cause of your bun not wanting to eat hay.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

It can be a little hard to determine whether a rabbit is underweight if it is something you aren't used to doing. Feeling along their back, you will still be able to feel the spine but it should feel more rounded and not sharp. There should be nice rounded flesh to either side of it, and the hip bones should feel rounded and not sharp and pronounced.
http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-weight.asp

For the veggies, did you try a gradual introduction, starting with one veggie at a time, and in a very small amount? Some rabbits can't tolerate veggies without them causing digestive upset, but sometimes the problem is that the veggie was just introduced into the rabbits diet in too large of an amount and too quickly.


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## rew (Oct 7, 2013)

I have a pretty picky bunny who use to do something like. In fact when I started leaving him without any choice but to eat hay, he stopped eating for a day and then he would drink more water than usual. Only after he couldn't take it anymore did it nibble on his hay. 

He doesn't like the usual stuff buns are suppose to like either like he won't touch bok choy...

I found the solution after trying various things and that was to 1) switch his hay and 2) have two kinds of hay ready for him to eat. 

The first hay he had was Lucerne that we got for a pet store. Did some research on hay and concluded that pet stores might not be the best place for hay because 1) they could have been there a long time hence aren't fresh enough for a picky eater 2) they are over priced 3) you're probably not getting the best cuttings. So I found a place relatively near me (about a 20min car drive) which sells hay for horses. They came in bales and were way cheaper and fresher. I changed to oaten hay just because I wanted to give another type of hay a go and the breeder that i got him from had him on oaten hay. I honestly didnt know the difference between the types of hay until now.

My second hay is the oxbow botanical hay that I originally used for his treat ball. However my little guy had a minor GI stasis that freaked me out so I filled up his cage with as much of both hays as I could so that he's eat anything. I noticed he preferred it that way. He would eat more hay if he had a access to two types and could pick his way around what he wanted.

Also learnt about hay when we went to the vet for his GI stasis. Some hays are sweeter than others and some are crunchy and others soft. Give everything a shot (the vet said except for Lucerne) but only use alfalfa for gaining weight purposes and shouldn't really be given to adult buns. 

If you could contact the person/place you got your bunny from maybe you could find out what type of hay your bun's been use to? That might help 


You may train a bunny to do tricks, but a bunny teaches you patience and the fragile beauty of silence.


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## bugzzbunnie (Oct 8, 2013)

Omg the same thing here my bun "tofer" is so picky I just got him 2 days ago and I hope its just a phase because he won't eat carrots, mangos,frootloops,Cheerios,grapes,apples,cheesy crackers but I have pellots and hay for him? 
Sent from my C5155 using Rabbit Forum mobile app


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## Blue eyes (Oct 8, 2013)

bugzzbunnie said:


> Omg the same thing here my bun "tofer" is so picky I just got him 2 days ago and I hope its just a phase because he won't eat carrots, mangos,frootloops,Cheerios,grapes,apples,cheesy crackers but I have pellots and hay for him?
> Sent from my C5155 using Rabbit Forum mobile app



Your rabbit really shouldn't be offered any fruitloops, cheerios, or crackers. If he's eating hay and pellets, that's just fine. Greens can be added gradually if he's old enough (not before 12 weeks of age). The carrots and fruits are mostly sugar and are just an occasional treat anyway. 

If you just got him 2 days ago, I'm sure he's still settling in to his new home.


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## Blue eyes (Oct 8, 2013)

To the OP,
My first thought was that she was filling up on pellets and so is refusing the hay. If the hay is fine and she's eaten it in the recent past, then I'd say that she's holding out for those sweet pellets. Bunnies do know how to manipulate. Cutting back on pellets (consistently) usually results in more hay eating. 
Of course, it's good to first rule out whether it is due to the quality or type of hay being offered (as Jbun points out).


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