My bun won’t eat hay

[TrinaHrejsa]

Hi. I desperately need suggestions for my bun not eating any hay. She was good until 4 days ago when she went off her hay. I took her to the vet and they said she has a molar problem and needs to have them ground down. She doesn’t go until February 4 th., which is concerning for us. Until this problem she ate hay great, but now she won’t touch it. I’m not sure how to get her to eat it, she does week except for this. I’m hoping to get some suggestions as to what I can do until feb 4th. Critical care isn’t much of option as she doesn’t do well with it. Please help. .

 

[Preitler]

What does she eat?

You can try to cut the hay very fine, or put it in a coffee blender if you have one - my rabbits like the fine residue that falls out of a bale and I think it doesn't need the same kind of chewing. You can also try to dampen soak a little hay (whole or cut) and see if that makes it easier for her. Just throw it out after half a day so it doesn't mold.
Can't tell if anything of this works, but I think it's worth a shot.

I also would keep looking around for another rabbit savvy vet, I couldn't imagine my vet sending me away for 3 weeks with such an issue, but I reckon things are different in the US.

 

[Blue eyes]

I also would keep looking around for another rabbit savvy vet, I couldn't imagine my vet sending me away for 3 weeks with such an issue

Ditto this.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Look for another vet for sure--our vet techs do the nails and teeth, not the Vet, so I don't know why they are moving so slowly on a major health issue. Try contacting any other Rabbit Rescues and see if they have someone else you can see, or just start calling around to other Vets.

 

[Moonshadow]

I don’t know if this will help you at all but maybe your bunny hates the flavor of the critical care you tried giving her.

Due to a recent incident with our bunny, we have to syringe feed him critical care. The vet gave us “apple-banana” flavor and he outright loathed it and struggled each time we fed it to him, even spitting it out of his cheek. A friend had actually shipped a different oxbow critical care to us when she first heard about the accident and it arrived a day later. That one was “papaya” flavored. We tried feeding him that one instead and at first he didn’t have much of an opinion on it but didn’t struggle as much. Tonight, he actually went after the syringe to try to eat more of it. He decided he liked it.

Oxbow critical care apparently has three flavors; apple-banana, papaya, and anise. I hope your bunny will tolerate at least one.

 

[cwebster]

Our bunny had her molars trimmed a week ago and i gave her the apple-banana critical care. She still wont eat hay. I ordered some papaya flavored critical care plus am giving her whatever i can get her to eat from my hand (kale, dandelion greens, carrot tops, long green grass, wheat grass). She cant get back in to the vet for another week. Three weeks is too long. I begged the vet for a GI stimulant and meloxicam today until i can get her to her vet appt, plus am giving her simethicone to prevent gas pain, as people have suggested here.

TrinaHrejsa, i hope the vet can either refer you to a rabbit savvy vet or at least give you meds to prevent GI stasis if your bun wont eat.you might try grinding up hay or pellets in a blender with water and veggies and see if your bun will eat some through a dropper, to keep her gut working. Moonshadow, am glad to hear your bunny likes the papaya flavored critical care. I hope Dutchess will eat it. I tried the Emerald brand but she hates it too.

I dont know why vet wait times are so long right now but it is very hard. I hope this changes.

 

[Moonshadow]

Our bunny had her molars trimmed a week ago and i gave her the apple-banana critical care. She still wont eat hay. I ordered some papaya flavored critical care plus am giving her whatever i can get her to eat from my hand (kale, dandelion greens, carrot tops, long green grass, wheat grass). She cant get back in to the vet for another week. Three weeks is too long. I begged the vet for a GI stimulant and meloxicam today until i can get her to her vet appt, plus am giving her simethicone to prevent gas pain, as people have suggested here.

TrinaHrejsa, i hope the vet can either refer you to a rabbit savvy vet or at least give you meds to prevent GI stasis if your bun wont eat.you might try grinding up hay or pellets in a blender with water and veggies and see if your bun will eat some through a dropper, to keep her gut working. Moonshadow, am glad to hear your bunny likes the papaya flavored critical care. I hope Dutchess will eat it. I tried the Emerald brand but she hates it too.

I dont know why vet wait times are so long right now but it is very hard. I hope this changes.

Hope your bunny likes papaya too. Let me know how it goes.