Baby rabbit refusing to eat hay...help! :(

[sarah92lynn]

Hey guys! I haven't been on here in a while but I've been having some trouble with my new baby bunny & I hoped you guys could help. Sorry for the super long post!
So I've had her for a little over a week now and she's sweet as ever. But the place I got her from wasn't so great. All of the rabbits there seem healthy but they never get fed hay, they just feed them pellets and fruit. That day after we brought her home I gave her some of Lilly's oat hay until I could get her some alfalfa and she was munching on it like crazy! It seemed like she loved it but now she won't eat any of it even if I try to offer it to her like a treat. I was hoping once I got her some alfalfa hay she would try it and want to eat more of it, but no luck.

I wouldn't normally be freaking out this soon but she had a lot of cecals in her cage for a few days and I did some research and read that I should cut down her pellets and feed mostly hay until her poop became more normal. But since she won't eat hay I've been trying to get her to by putting just hay in her bowl and no pellets, hoping she would get hungry enough to munch on it but it hasn't been working.. Today she went from the morning until 3:00 without eating any of it!! I gave her pellets cause I don't want her to to be starving especially since she's so young. (don't know an exact age but I'm guessing around a month) I've noticed since I've been trying this method (I am NOT starving her, I give her small amounts of pellets about four times a day) there has been no cecals but also not very much poop either...I don't know if she's eating them all cause she's hungry or what but it's starting to freak me out!!

Any advice helps!

 

[Blue eyes]

I hope someone experienced with babies hops on here. I've never had one as a baby. Hopefully you are wrong on the age since babies should still be on mother's milk for a full 8 weeks (from what I've read). Also, they shouldn't have been given fruit (or even veggies) at such a young age. (it sounds like you may already know that)
I don't know if it's a good idea to cut back her pellets though. I'd think it's more important that she keeps eating, but hopefully the baby-savy members will jump in.

 

[sarah92lynn]

Ohh yeah I was kinda upset when I saw all those little buns munching on fruit! Right now she is about the size of an adult guinea pig if that helps for age determination! I'm bad at it obviously LOL
That's why I wanted to get on here and get other peoples opinions. I still give her a good amount of pellets every day just not unlimited and it's spread out through the day. I don't know how else to get her to eat her hay =/

 

[Blue eyes]

I don't know if this would help in determining age, but I once stumbled across this site. I don't know how much it varies among breeds though.

http://www.mybunnies.com/baby_bunnies3.htm

Just click at the top of the page for the different ages by day/week old.

 

[JBun]

First of all, is she eating her pellets, and is she eating very much of them? Oat hay can actually be a problem. If it's a late cut it will have oat seeds in it. Yes rabbits love it but the oat seeds just means more carbohydrates. If it's an early cut then there won't be the problem with the oats in it. So check your hay for oat seeds. That might be part of why she's not eating it now because if there are oats in it, it could have upset her digestion. Also with her not being used to hay, introducing it to her should be more gradual. A little at a time to get her used to it and make sure it doesn't upset her digestion. If she's still eating her pellets then just keep an eye on her poops to see if they return to normal. Are her pellets the same kind that she was eating at her previous home? Has she been eating them ok until now? I wouldn't limit her pellets because it's what her tummy is used to. If she's eating them ok I would just give her unlimited pellets. You want her to keep eating and drinking to help encourage her digestion to keep moving, keep an eye on her poop and when she's back to normal then you could try the alfalfa again, but just little bits to start with.

 

[sarah92lynn]

She eats her pellets just fine, and a good amount too. I will probably go back to feeding unlimited pellets and hope she decides to try the hay again. I'm not feeding her oat hay anymore though, I got her alfalfa. I'm just afraid she won't learn to eat her hay but I'll wait it out. Thanks for the help guys I'm gonna check out that website too.

 

[JBun]

That's good she's eating her pellets. She obviously liked eating the oat hay in the beginning. I would bet once she gets back to feeling normal and poops normal, she'll feel more inclined to try the alfalfa. If she just won't eat it, you could try one of the grass hays like timothy. Just take it slow, just giving a little each day, to make sure her digestion is adjusting to the change in diet.

 

[sarah92lynn]

She's a good bun. Just wish Lilly would be nicer!! Haha thank you again

 

[Imbrium]

too much pellets can = too many cecals left behind, but that's more of a concern for adults. babies often leave cecals around even if they're NOT over-producing them - Gaz left them behind like crazy at 8 weeks old >.> (the vet said it's totally normal and is due to babies' short attention spans)

I wouldn't worry too much about it and would let her have unlimited pellets while encouraging her to eat hay.