A question on Hay

Hi, I've just joined and have a question already!

We have a 10 week old bunny that doesn't seem to be eating hay. He eats his pellets and seems to enjoy all types of suitable fresh food. I've put hay in different places in case he has preferences there but the hay still remains untouched.

I'm not sure how much hay baby rabbits eat so could it just be that he's eating a tiny bit that isn't noticeable? Or maybe he doesn't like the taste of the hay I give him (timothy hay).

Any advice would be appreciated, thank you

You say different places? Where have you tried. Sorry if you've tried any of these before but best to make sure eh? Mine were very fussy and would only eat hay if it was either off the floor somehow (in a manger or hay rack) or in their litter tray.

Obviously the latter was very messy but there you go, bunnies like to eat whilst pooping.

Maybe try a different brand of hay, you might just have a particularly fussy bun? I found excel herbage was quite good but it just depended on their moods

That's a good point about putting the hay near where the rabbit goes to the toilet. I was keeping it away from there for hygiene reasons but maybe it would prefer to eat and poo! I'm going to try that and see what happens, thank you

A lot of people offer hay in the litter tray as a lot of rabbits like to eat and poo in the same spot, it can encourage good litter habits to do this too. Another reason rabbits may be reluctant to eat hay is if they have filled up on pellets first, given the choice they will nearly always pick pellets over hay.

How many pellets is your little bun having each day, and also, has he had a check-up at the vets including a dental examination...

Mine has hay in the tray and a dish with hay beside the tray. He eats both Some buns like to spend a lot of time in their litter tray, esp. when they feel vulnerable, so having hay around it is a good idea.
Mine doesn't eat the hay he wees on though, but it may just be that he's fussy

Hi. Thanks for the advice everyone. He's not been to the vets yet. We've only had him a week so have only just registered him with the vet. We're due an appointment for his VHD jab soon though so we'll get him checked over then.

I did also wonder if the type of hay would make a difference. He is being fed timothy hay but maybe I should change to alfalfa. Thanks again for all replies

Alfalfa is fed to young buns such as yours, as it has a higher Protein content than Timothy or Meadow hays, so is good for a growing bun. It shouldn't be given to healthy adult buns, as the protein content is too high and they can develop problems with it.
You could try a variety and include Alfalfa. Timothy is good because it's long and brittle, good for their teeth, and GI. Meadow hay is a good all rounder.

I hope it all goes well for him at the vets, you'll need to book him in for his Myxi jab 2 weeks after his VHD

Thanks Jay. He had his myxo jab done before we bought him so don't need to worry about that for a while:) I think I might try some different hay if positioning it differently doesn't work. If my 4 children are anything to go by, he could just be fussy!

I have a fuss pot bun, actually, he's just spoilt, so it's my fault Thing is, if they're hungry enough, they'll eat hay, if there's pellets out, they'll eat those instead. I don't know enough about young buns to advise you though, Sooz and many others do

Something to bare in mind wih alfalfa hay is that it also has a high calcium content so needs to be fed in moderation, as excessive calcium consumpion can lead to a build up of 'sludge' & stones in the bladder.

I didn't think mine was eating hay for ages because he never ate it from his manger, just pulled it out and ragged it round his living space in the hutch if he could be bothered. Then I realised, it was because he prefers to eat his bed - silly bun! He also uses the back of his bedroom as a toilet so he can poo eat & sleep without moving! LAZY BUN!

Could he just be eating his bed? (Unless of course he sleeps inside the house and has a soft, foam type bed of course, I very much doubt he is eating that - at least you'd hope not but you never know!)

It seems that every rabbit has a different personality and the likes/dislikes vary immensly.

When I first for the bunny I thought it would sleep inside it's hay and bake a kind of nest out of it. But he just lays on it all and flattens it! I don't think he eats any of it but there's a lot in there so I could easily miss it if he's just nibbling on it.

I might give alfalfa a go but in moderation, thanks for the advice:)

I forgot to say, I've been giving him pellets twice a day as I read young rabbits should have food whenever they are hungry. I've also been giving him fresh food so maybe he's getting full up on that too

Magoo wrote:It seems that every rabbit has a different personality and the likes/dislikes vary immensly.

too true Mine won't touch fruit, but others love it, for example

Magoo wrote: When I first for the bunny I thought it would sleep inside it's hay and bake a kind of nest out of it. But he just lays on it all and flattens it!

Ha ha! That's exactly what I thought and exactly what happened with mine, glad to hear he's not the only freak.

I fill their bedroom with two litter trays and fill them with hay and they eat their bed, then use it as a toilet. It means that all the poop and pee in in the litter tray and the rest of the hutch is spotless. They have a manger too but only go on to that when they absolutely have to!

They are also freerange during the day in their compound and I put piles of hay in covered areas for them to nibble on during the day.

Thanks everyone. I put some hay where he does his toilet business and I caught him yesterday eating the hay! So problem solved. Thanks again

Great news!

Tibbs is mega fussy about her hay - like Buddabun's she won't touch it unless it's off the floor somehow. She also likes just the right amount of fresh greens mixed in there with it, but only on days with an "e" in them. You'll soon get used to bizzarre habits!

^ I misread that and thought Tibbs had taken to raving

I must be the only person who has rabbits who will only eat hay from a bowl. Not all of them mind, just a certain twosome....

Nope, Bertie prefers a bowl. He flatly refused to eat from the clip on cage manger, and will only eat from either his big food bowl, or a 6" Bonsai pot that is next to his tray

Jay wrote:^ I misread that and thought Tibbs had taken to raving

:lol!: :lol!: :lol!: :lol!: :lol!:

Jay wrote:^ I misread that and thought Tibbs had taken to raving

For the love of god, Jay, don't go giving her ideas!