Hungry bun :/

Our bun isn't eating enough hay. She has a constant supply, I was using farm hay but I bought timothy hay earlier in the week but she really isn't much more interested in that.

She gets about 1 eggcup of pellets (burgess excel) a day, she has a ball with treats in it, apple and willow sticks that she ignores although she does have a nibble on her willow basket, carrot and dandelion sticks (not all the time as the packet said they shouldn't have too much and the last one was gone in 2 days! ), the occassional barley ring, she also gets a few handfuls of fresh leaves/herbs/veg and also dried leaves and rose petals. I have picked her grass as well and she's not interested in that either :/

The problem is, as she is not eating the hay, she is hungry! I am introducing more fresh/dried leaves gradually, but atm when I put in more she is actually diving on it!

How much fresh/dried leaves can I feed her (continuing to introduce it gradually)? I don't want her to be starving all the time, and I want her to be eating foods that will be wearing her teeth down (she has jagged teeth on one side which will need attention soon)

The dried leaves she has got atm are apple, dog rose, sunflower, clover/plaintain mix. Fresh leaves she mainly gets are curly kale, dill, parsley, dandelions, plantain, dog rose. There are much more things I can get I just need to work out whats what first

I know others may say different but I would just give her more pellets if she is hungry.
Our Rose is out all day about 12 hours sometimes and grazes all day and she still starving she munches on hay all the time and has 2 handfull of pellets a night and they are gone by the time im on my way to bed so I just give her more, she also has treats hay and what ever she can steal off the birds during the day, when I took her to the vet she said she was fine just some are hungry more than others and she agreed with the pellets.
Me and the bairn often wonder our and pic loads of weeds and apple branches. let us know how you get on xx

The problem with pellets is that there isn't enough friction causes to wear down their teeth. When they chew hay it is so much more abrasive.

Jay suggested grating pellets over hay so that the smell encouraged them to have a bit and also trying different hays. I know that Katie had to try a lot before Princess Daisy found one he liked.

Are you sure she is hungry? Rabbits will eat loads and not necessarily be hungry. They are built to graze poor quality food all the time, but the pellets are probably giving her everything she needs so an increase in pellets is probably not necessary. If you bun is really hungry it would eat the hay. Have you considered changing brand of hay - mine won't eat PAH hay of any description but the devon meadow hay is fine as is the branded stuff. Try mixing the leaves into the hay to promote accidental hay eating. I would remove the treats altogether until hay is being eaten and then put the pellets in the treat ball. Also try different ways of feeding the hay - in a hay rack, in the litter tray stuffed into boxes etc. Mine will eat it all ways except from those hay racks. And don't increase the pellets, as nickie said they do not provide the necessary motion to keep the teeth down and they will have already provided enough daily nutrition.

I had to try a million different hays before I found one his lordship would eat.

The hay Experts do a hay selection pack which has lots of different kinds that you could try to see if there is one she likes.

In the mean time - while the weather is still okay - try her on grass. Give it a bit of a rinse and give it to her. It will also help with her teeth and has similar properties.

cheryl'n'bruce'flo wrote:Are you sure she is hungry?

Well, no... I just assumed she was from the way she was diving on the food. She never did this previously, so I thought she must be hungry :/ Could this diving on food be playfulness?

The treat ball already has about 1/3 treats, 2/3 pellets (it only has a small amount in it also)
I already mix leaves in with the hay, she is excellent at picking them out! I also have it in a basket, in her 'hide', in the end of the litter tray that she doesn't use, stuffed in toilet tubes and in 2 cardboard boxes (which we use as 'forage boxes').

@Katieb

I picked her some grass yesterday, she never touched it for ages but did eventually eat it when there was nothing else left! (she had not yet eaten it when I made the post!) I will try giving her grass first next time

I'll stick with the PAH timothy hay for another week and if she's still not interested I'll try one of those selection packs

she could just be doing it out of playfullness or bordom or just cos she feels like it, jasper kick the whole tunnel over then everyone runs for the food lol xx

You could try the alfalfa king Timothy hay that PAH sell. It is very different to the PAH stuff. Much thicker and coarser. Mine love it.

How are you presenting the hay? Have you tried stuffing some into a loo roll inner? My trio have hay stuffed in loo roll inners, in a childs welly boot, from a cargo net on the roof of the run and stuffed into various other toys they have in the hutch. They have it in a hay rack/tuband in the litter trays. Tie some in bunches tied with string and suspend from something, roll some up in a ball of newspaper... Make it more interesting to find. I must be lucky with my lot, they eat any old hay! Good luck!

I give it to her stuffed in toilet rolls, in a willow hay basket, in the end of her litter tray she doesn't use, I also use it in forage boxes
I'll try tying some up and hanging it

I bought her one of these http://www.petsathome.com/shop/woodlands-stuffed-woodroll-treat-100gm-15752 and she is knawing away at it so hopefully that will help with her teeth

The diving on the food could simply be pure excitement! Buns seem to get very excited over pellets, mine act like they're starved and then straight after pellets Jeeves will move onto hay.

I would just keep trying different hays, has she any favourite treats that you can hide in the hay to make her forage, we sprinkle different dried herbs such as Burgess Excel Mountain Meadow herbs, or Naturals Dandelion Delight, or Woodlands Blackcurrant & Apple leaves and Burns Plantain over hay to encourage poor hay eater's to nibble hopefully the herbs and hay

My buns absolutely love the botanicalhay from Oxbow. It's abit expensive, atleast in Norway, but maybe you should try that one? http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/products/type/detail;jsessionid=D6CD5844AB6E4253EC4350C8FF11CE7A.vipa-01b?object=1525
Or maybe some other of those hay-types?