# New bunny is a very picky eater & won't eat Oxbow pellets



## Bunder (Dec 22, 2010)

I adopted a new rabbit about three weeks ago to eventually be a companion for my original rabbit.

I feed Oxbow BB/T and she will not touch it. She would pick at it a little bit to begin with but now she won't eat it at all. She eats her hay, and she eats greens... but is also picky about the greens.

Supposedly shelter fed her Oxbow as well...

Before that she was owned by someone else for four years. I don't know what they fed her, but the lady at the shelter mentioned something about how they had her on "all the wrong stuff" so I'm wondering if she was on something with those fruit and seeds and whatnot and since those are so tasty maybe that's why she's so picky now.

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for her to eat her pellets. I don't think I feed enough greens to get rid of pellets completely, but I have been trying to give her more. I went out and bough a whole bunch of different kinds but she'll only eat some of them.

I was thinking of buying some "tastier" pellets then gradually switching her, another idea I had was to pour something tasty over it like a little pineapple juice and doing progressively less... What do you think?

Thanks


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## Maureen Las (Dec 22, 2010)

First of all do you know if she ate the Oxbow pellets at the shelter ? I would go in there and find out if the caregivers were just throwing them away or if she ate them anywhere

my rabbits will not eat oxbow BBt either. They are all adopted and I am sure never had timothy pellets. 

Imixed oxbow with an alfalfa pellet and they just ate the alfalfa ones and would not touch the Oxbow. 
I eventually bought kaytee timothy complete and mixed that with an alfalfa pellets. The did eat the kaytee timothy pellets and eventually I worked them down to just the kaytee timothy pellets alone. 

if you want to go with higher end than kaytee you may want to try Sweet Meadows pellets which are used by many members here. 


Since pellets should only be a small portion of an adult rabbits diet you really do not have to worry about feeding a quality alfalfa pellets in small amounts if you prefer . A quality pellet has higher fiber , low fat, low protein and ingredients that are recognizable on the back of the package.if your bun has any kidney/ bladder issues or sludgey urine , however, it is best to go with a timothy pellet. 
I once bought a large bag of pellets for the shelter rabbits that had the prime ingredient as"forage materials" ( this mean absolutely nothing to meexcept that possibly someone swept the floor and bagged the contents. )

http://www.sweetmeadowfarm.com/products.html


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## kirbyultra (Dec 22, 2010)

I think if she was fed junky pellets in the past or just junk in general (carrots, fruits, no lettuce, hay or pellets) it may take her a while to get used to the Oxbow. If someone was on a diet of burgers and fries for 4 years and they turn around are offered salads every day they'd be confused as well. If she is eating hay and eating greens for now, I think you should just keep offering her the Oxbow pellets. If she doesn't eat pellets for a few weeks but she's getting a decent variety fresh greens, it won't be detrimental. Since she's been offered Oxbow at the shelter, then there's really no point in going backwards and buying her junky pellets. If you mix the two types, she'll pick out all the bad ones and leave the Oxbow anyway. Naughty little bunnies always do that  She will eventually give in to the good stuff. It might take a few weeks, but eventually she'll get used to it. It's for the best. How long have you had her?

The other thing is, make sure your Oxbow pellets are fresh, i.e. not expired and stored in a cool, dark place (or stashed in the freezer). If the pellets are not in great condition, your bun may refuse to eat it.

Don't pour liquids over the pellets because it'll just melt into a mushy nasty mess.

Did the shelter say anything about whether she ate her pellets at the shelter? Are her teeth in good shape?


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## Bunder (Dec 22, 2010)

I will have had her for three weeks tomorrow. I would think she'd get used to it by now.

They didn't say anything about whether she did/didn't eat them... they are a very big shelter and have dozens of pets go in/out daily and I think if I called now they wouldn't be able to give me an answer.

My other rabbit eats the pellets immediately so I don't think they are bad. I keep them in my room, the bag's got a ziplock top and I always make sure to squeeze the air out and seal it shut after feeding.

I haven't had a vet look at her but she had a vet look at her several times while she was at the shelter, I have the records, says she's healthy every time. Also if her teeth were the problem wouldn't she not be eating hay or greens, either?

I wasn't going to buy her "junky" pellets necessarily... maybe Kaytee Timothy Complete - I used to feed my rabbit that before Oxbow (which he thought tasted better)


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## Nancy McClelland (Dec 22, 2010)

Time and patience. When we transitioned Nikki from alfalfa to timothy she'd eat all the alfalfa and leave the timothy. By the time we got her to just the timothy, she went 3 days and then started eating it. Remember, you're supposed to train your rabbit, and not be trained by your rabbit.


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## Nancy McClelland (Dec 22, 2010)

Time and patience. When we transitioned Nikki from alfalfa to timothy she'd eat all the alfalfa and leave the timothy. By the time we got her to just the timothy, she went 3 days and then started eating it. Remember, you're supposed to train your rabbit, and not be trained by your rabbit.


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## Bunder (Dec 22, 2010)

I waited three weeks, plus she was given this same food for two or three months at the shelter, so I don't think that's the problem.


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## kirbyultra (Dec 23, 2010)

I suppose there'd no harm in switching brands of timothy pellets to see if she'll at least eat something. It would be tough to transition her back to oxbow after that though, and it may be a burden on you to purchase two kinds of pellets for your buns. Out of curiosity are you offering her a new bowl of pellets each time or are you leaving the uneaten ones there for her? Is she easily able to access the bowl? It's a toughie, just trying to ask some odd questions to help you figure something out


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## Flash Gordon (Dec 23, 2010)

is she filling up on greens? how much do u feed her and how often?..i have a bun that would rather eat greens then timothy based pellets...


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## hln917 (Dec 23, 2010)

Is their alot of "powder" in the pellets? Our last 50lb bag had alot of powder. We just noticed that 2 of our bonded buns were not eating the pellets until I had to use a strainer to get all the powder out.


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## MikeScone (Dec 23, 2010)

My late Scone MacBunny would never eat Oxbow BBT, either (he wouldn't eat anything involved with Timothy hay). So, he got the Agway house brand pellet (Big Red Rabbits Choice) all his life, and that's what I feed Natasha Rabbitova now. 

Given the small amount of pellets they get, the fact that it's alfalfa based doesn't really matter. I'd rather she gets the trace elements she needs from the pellets she'll eat, rather than have her pass over pellets with a timothy hay base.


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## OakRidgeRabbits (Dec 23, 2010)

Since you said she is being picky about both greens and timothy pellets, I'd just not worry about them and instead, make sure that she is getting a high quality alfalfa pellet and hay. It is then okay to offer a few of her favorite veggies as treats here and there too.

Timothy pellets and greens are not the only healthy diet for rabbits. So if she's not into that after a pretty extensive trial period, I'd just put her back on an alfalfa pellet and hay which se will be happy with and hopefully eat more of. Look for about 16% protein and a low percentage of fat (like 1.5% or so). Fiber percentage doesn't matter so much, as long as she is offered and eating hay.


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## Flick (Dec 23, 2010)

None of my rabbits like Oxbow pellets, either. However, all of them like Zupreem's "Nature's Promise" pellets, 28% fiber and 14% protein. It's sold at Petco. I've noticed that sometimes shelter rabbits who have only been fed pellets and few (if any) vegetables don't seem to understand that the new vegetables are edible. It's possible that if she sees the other rabbit eating "new" vegetables, that she'll catch on and try them.


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## Bunder (Dec 23, 2010)

I usually leave the pellets I give her in the morning until the next morning, and then throw them out and give her new ones. I'm going to buy another bag of Oxbow today just to see if maybe they are stale or something and my other rabbit, who will eat anything, just doesn't care.

She's able to get to the bowl, it's in her cage which is on the floor and she hops in & out of easily, and when she had to stay on "cage rest" after getting spayed it was the same.

Initially I gave her some greens but not a huge amount.. I am not really sure how to measure it, but I've started offering her more so she'll eat something. I've always offered the greens after I've offered the pellets though. I think there have been several days where I haven't given her greens, and she still wasn't really interested in the pellets... just eats hay.

There's no powder in the pellets, it's sometimes powdery at the bottom of the bag but I'm about halfway through so they're fine.


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## Bunder (Dec 23, 2010)

I don't know about an alfalfa pellet... I was thinking just a different Timothy pellet, temporarily. My other rabbit didn't like the Oxbow at first either but he got used to it when I switched over very gradually. I'd like her to eat the Oxbow... 
Maybe I'll give the Zupreem a try, I've seen it in Petco.


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## Flash Gordon (Dec 23, 2010)

if she doesnt like a certain veggie one day doesnt mean she wont like it in a month...all my buns have "changed" their minds about veggies when ive reintroduced them to them another time...weird i know.just thought id throw that in there ...:dunno


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## kirbyultra (Dec 24, 2010)

Zupreem is a good pellet. It's one of the few good ones Petco carries.


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## Bunder (Dec 26, 2010)

Got the Zupreem... she didn't touch it.


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## Flash Gordon (Dec 26, 2010)

sometimes buns who have teeth problems stop one of the items that they are fed ,,,,all buns are dif ive heard some stop the hay ,some stop the veggies,,some stop the pellets ...it depends on which food hurts that bunnies mouth when chewing.


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## Bunder (Dec 29, 2010)

Hmm, I guess that makes sense since the pellets are probably harder than anything else she eats. Is there a way I can tell if she has teeth problems at home or is that something only a vet can determine?


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## Flash Gordon (Dec 29, 2010)

u cant see to her molars..so u cant tell if there is a pointy part that hurts....trust me if there was some way to see id tell ya..actually some vets cant even see to the molars very easily either...my vet can...def a vet visit is needed for this..but its not an extra fee to check their teeths..its part of the inital visit exam...


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