# My Rabbit will only eat pellets and treats



## Marshi (Oct 19, 2012)

My rabbit (Marshi) refuses to eat anything except his pellets and hand fed treats (like apples). I tried to get him to eat hay and grass, but he won't have it! I stopped giving him pellets in the morning to get him to eat his hay during the day, but he just stomps all over it! The closest thing he's come to eating hay is chewing it through his front teeth and throwing it aside :X ! What do I do? Help Please!


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## KittyKatMe (Oct 19, 2012)

When my rabbit was being stubborn about eating her Timothy, I gave her Orchard for a little while and slowly mixed it so she would eat it. Try giving him his favorite hay or stop feeding pellets alltoghether for a litlle while and just give him hay and veggies.


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## Imbrium (Oct 19, 2012)

have you tried different varieties of hay? any type of grass hay will do, and there are plenty of them to choose from! oat, wheat grass, bermuda, coastal, orchard grass, etc. (if you use a cereal type (oat, wheat, rye, etc.), try to get some that's been cut early if possible - if not, you'll want to pick out the oats or whatever so that your bunny isn't getting too many extra carbs and calories)

you can also try keeping the hay very fresh (many bunns won't eat yesterday's serving of hay) and varying the ways you offer it. you can stick it in toilet paper/paper towel roles, put it in the litter box, tie it up in zipties and use a carabiner to attach it to the cage, use a manger, etc.


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## JBun (Oct 19, 2012)

I would try the different grass hays available to see if you can find one he likes. There's orchard, bermuda, coastal, oat (make sure it's early cut with no oat seeds in it). You can usually find the small bags of these at petsmart or petco. If your bun is under 6 mo. you could try alfalfa hay. They generally like that really well, but you'll want to start with small portions to make sure he adjusts to it ok,

I have a bun that I don't think was ever given hay before I got him. He would not eat hay. I cut his pellets back and he would sit there and starve til it was time to eat pellets again, even if he had a huge pile of hay in front of him. So I just had to stick with the pellets and always put a little hay in with him. He's started to nibble on it a little more, so that's an improvement.


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## KittyKatMe (Oct 19, 2012)

Thats what happened with CC. She would not touch Timothy, so we went the way of Orchard. Now, they are all on a mix of Timothy, Orchard, Oat, and Meadow grass hays. It gives them lots to choose from and sometimes they will eat it over pellets!


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## BugLady (Oct 19, 2012)

Is it possible for you to get timothy hay from a local farm or farm stand?

If you have space to store a bale, it's much cheaper, and usually mixed with clover and grass which bunnies go nuts over. Just make sure it's not mixed with alfalfa. 

A bale from a local farm stand cost me $7 (compare that to pet store prices!). The bunnies like to pick out their favorite pieces of clover, then gradually eat the timothy hay. The freshness and softness of the hay is wonderful, and it's not crunchy and dusty like pet store hay.


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## Nancy McClelland (Oct 19, 2012)

We cut pellets way down and it only took 2 days to get Peter to really go after his hay. Also added veggies and never gave him an increase in pellets.


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## mdith4him (Oct 19, 2012)

Our bunny, Nibbles, wouldn't eat hay either when we first got him. Someone suggested giving him the hay in a different way. We had hay in a hay ball for him, but then put hay in a paper bag. He LOVED it! He eats a ton now (although we've switched from the bag to a shoe box with a hold in it). Try giving the hay in a different type of hay container, too!


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## Marshi (Oct 19, 2012)

Unfortunately, there are very few, if any, hay farms around Los Angeles. The horse barns around the area don't carry Timothy hay (or at least that I know of). I do give him grass clipping from my lawn (don't worry! there's not pesticide on it!) and nibbles it, but doesn't really eat much of it.


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## Imbrium (Oct 19, 2012)

do the horse farms carry other grass hays? it doesn't have to be timothy. coastal, bermuda, oat, wheat grass, etc. are all just as good (though with cereal types like oat/wheat/rye you'll want to pick out any oats or whatever that you find so they don't get the extra calories/carbs).


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## Blue eyes (Oct 19, 2012)

*Marshi wrote: *


> Unfortunately, there are very few, if any, hay farms around Los Angeles. The horse barns around the area don't carry Timothy hay (or at least that I know of). I do give him grass clipping from my lawn (don't worry! there's not pesticide on it!) and nibbles it, but doesn't really eat much of it.


Bunny World Foundation (on facebook too) has a list of hay suppliers out there. They are based in San Diego, but I'm sure they have recommendations for closer to LA. 
If nothing else, Petsmart will have timothy and orchard hay. 

It's really a matter of cutting back on those pellets (assuming your bunny is 6 months or more). You can do this gradually. 

The "treats" like apple slices, shouldn't be more than 1-2 Tbsp worth per day. So if you slowly cut back on pellets and add some fresh greens in lieu of the treats, you should see him eat more hay. It is really important to get him to eat they hay.


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## Imbrium (Oct 20, 2012)

petsmart has oxbow oat hay, too.


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## mdith4him (Oct 20, 2012)

We order hay online from http://bunnybale.com/

A 25lb box is only $15. Shipping from them to us (we're both in VA) is only $15 extra. I'm assuming it would be more to ship it to LA, but check it out and see if it would be worth it (price wise) for you to order. Our bunnies love the hay.


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## Marshi (Oct 20, 2012)

The horse stables have quite expensive hay (because all of it's imported from out of state) Also, the hay is 80% stem, so Marshi won't even consider eating it at all!


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## Marshi (Oct 20, 2012)

*mdith4him wrote: *


> We order hay online from http://bunnybale.com/
> 
> A 25lb box is only $15. Shipping from them to us (we're both in VA) is only $15 extra. I'm assuming it would be more to ship it to LA, but check it out and see if it would be worth it (price wise) for you to order. Our bunnies love the hay.


Unfortunately, it would cost $45 to get it shipped here . That hay looks really good though! :shock:


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## Marshi (Oct 20, 2012)

*Blue eyes wrote: *


> *Marshi wrote: *
> 
> 
> > Unfortunately, there are very few, if any, hay farms around Los Angeles. The horse barns around the area don't carry Timothy hay (or at least that I know of). I do give him grass clipping from my lawn (don't worry! there's not pesticide on it!) and nibbles it, but doesn't really eat much of it.
> ...


We've stopped giving him pellets for the time being. I do give him dandelions, rose leaves, and strawberry leaves (all of which he adores) from my garden and lawn.


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## Blue eyes (Oct 20, 2012)

Why don't you just get some hay from petsmart or petco?
They have timothy, orchard, and oxbow oat hay.

The treats need to be stopped, pellets limited. Try different types of hay and see which he'll prefer. I put hay in the litterbox and they always step in it and sit on it -- that's ok. 

You just have to treat your bunny like a little child who'd rather eat candy and sweets. You have to be the one to provide the healthy food and forbid the junk food. Once he realizes he won't get the junk, then the healthy starts to look more appealing.

edit: oops. we were posting at the same time, lol


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## Marshi (Oct 20, 2012)

*Blue eyes wrote: *


> Why don't you just get some hay from petsmart or petco?
> They have timothy, orchard, and oxbow oat hay.
> 
> The treats need to be stopped, pellets limited. Try different types of hay and see which he'll prefer. I put hay in the litterbox and they always step in it and sit on it -- that's ok.
> ...


We aren't giving him apples right now. It's also raining  so he can't get any leaves today. It's not really the hay he's eating that's the problem, it's getting him to eat it! The good news is that he's starting to eat more of his hay right now. We currently have 6 lbs of hay at our house so we aren't going to buy any more until we finish it.


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## Blue eyes (Oct 20, 2012)

Hey, I like your new avatar photo you put up. That's really cute!!

The reason I was suggesting you try different types of hay is because you said you were having trouble getting him to eat it. Some bunnies prefer some types over others. He should be eating a bare minimum of an amount of hay that is equal to his body size each day. So if he's just kinda nibbling at the type you have, and you've cut out the treats, then it may be an idea to see if he'll be more enthusiastic about a different hay type. 

Once he's eating his hay well, you can offer some other greens as well, like romaine lettuce, cilantro, mint. Here's a youtube showing more ideas on veggies that you may like:
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Food/Food_main.htm


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## Marshi (Oct 20, 2012)

*Blue eyes wrote: *


> Hey, I like your new avatar photo you put up. That's really cute!!
> 
> The reason I was suggesting you try different types of hay is because you said you were having trouble getting him to eat it. Some bunnies prefer some types over others. He should be eating a bare minimum of an amount of hay that is equal to his body size each day. So if he's just kinda nibbling at the type you have, and you've cut out the treats, then it may be an idea to see if he'll be more enthusiastic about a different hay type.
> 
> ...


Thanks! it took me while to make it :3
He already eats dandelions from our yard (because for some reason, those weeds are everywhere). For some reason, he hates cilantro, whereas his (she doesn't have a name yet  ) neighbor eats everything in sight. 

The good news is that he is eating more hay, but only the leafiest/softest bits. After we're done with his current hay, we are going to order some orchard hay online (because it's cheaper and fresher).


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## NorthernAutumn (Oct 20, 2012)

Hat lasts quite a long time - no need to have all 6 pounds are finished before getting other hay. Grab a small bag of alternative hay at the local pet store, and see how he does on a mix of old and new. If he prefers the other hay, you can always sell your existing supply to another rabbit owner


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## Blue eyes (Oct 20, 2012)

:yeahthat: Don't wait.


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## SweetPeasMom (Oct 21, 2012)

I was going crazy trying to get Sweetpea to eat something other then her favs; She would ONLY eat the stems of alfalfa and nothing more she would throw her dish across the room. She would get mad and NOT eating nothing for days.

I found a hay she loves!
http://tidyfeeder.com/?ref=dfl

I take baby steps with her; I'm using the weening one right now and its helping she is eating all her hay.


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## Marshi (Oct 21, 2012)

*SweetPeasMom wrote: *


> I was going crazy trying to get Sweetpea to eat something other then her favs; She would ONLY eat the stems of alfalfa and nothing more she would throw her dish across the room. She would get mad and NOT eating nothing for days.
> 
> I found a hay she loves!
> http://tidyfeeder.com/?ref=dfl
> ...


I saw this hay too! I can't find any petstores that sell it around me and ordering online is in incredibly expensive .


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## Imbrium (Oct 21, 2012)

petco has something similar - the sales lady showed it to me when she was confirming what I said about them being out of alfalfa. way too pricey for my liking, though - my rabbits would go through a box a day easily.


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## Ziggy Smalls (Oct 23, 2012)

Stay vigilant! Your rabbits diet should be 90% hay! Most rabbits may turn away new foods the fist few times u serve it. Check your local House Rabbit Chapter for store hours. The San Diego one here has a bunny store that sells nice big boxes of hay for $12! It is a combo of timothy and other hays. As u know fruits are high in sugar and not a healthy choice of treat. I used to give Ziggy mango but now buy him special bunny crackers made from hay, and he loves them more than fruit now! I would be cautious of grass trimmings as well, any unseen mold can make him sick. Even the most stubborn bun will come around and break bad feeding habits, good luck!!


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