Rabbit not eating pellets; only hay?

[88james]

Hi there--

I have a new 9 week old netherland dwarf who i have had the past few days. I provided this rabbit with lots of timothy hay and a 1/4 cup of timothy hay pellets (kaytee brand). My rabbit only eats the hay; he has sniffed the pellets a few times but he has not eaten any of them.

Ultimately, I want to make sure my rabbit is getting enough nutrition from timothy hay only. Are there any tricks to get him to eat the pellets? Should i switch brands?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Watermelons]

Are they the same type of pellet the rabbit was previously on when you got it?

 

[Azerane]

That would be my guess too, that it's likely it's a different brand of pellet to what he was eating before, and is therefore put off by the different smell. If you can find out what brand he was getting before and get some of those I'm sure he will eat them, then you can slowly transition to the kaytee pellets. At the very least, it's good to know he's getting lots of hay.

 

[88james]

I'm not sure what he was fed previously. Based on the rural area where I got him, I'm assuming the breeder just purchased large amounts of commercial product from the feed store.

I thought maybe switching the type of pellet would help. I bought him oxbow since that seems to be a favorite on this forum. He ate one pellet and then went back to his hay. Should i take the hay away for a day and see if he sticks with the pellets? Any more suggestions on how to get him to eat his pellets?

Thanks again.

 

[JBun]

I wouldn't suggest taking hay away. It is good for him to be eating it.

Are the oxbow pellets the adult or young bunny kind? A rabbit his age should be getting an alfalfa based pellet instead of timothy based, as they need the extra protein and calcium while they are growing. If you aren't able to get the kind of pellets he was getting at the breeders, and if you didn't get the young bunny alfalfa pellets, then you may want to try those, but you will want to start off with a small amount and gradually introduce them into his diet, slowly increasing the amount each day. Usually rabbits seem to like alfalfa based pellets so he may eat them more readily.

 

[missyscove]

At just 9 weeks old he is still growing so it's really important to get him eating more than just timothy hay. Can you contact the breeder and ask what sort of pellet he had been fed? Ideally you would have brought some of his previous diet home with you to gradually transition him over to a new pellet. Which of the Oxbow pellets did you buy? I'm definitely a fan of Oxbow, but he'll need one of their pellets made for young, growing rabbits. If he still refuses to eat his pellets, I would try adding some alfalfa hay into his diet and possibly a mineral lick to supplement the additional minerals that would be found in his pellet.

 

[88james]

Thank you for your help. I bought the adult ones with timothy hay since i was getting the idea alfalfa is bad for rabbits and will make them overweight. He is eating the oxbow now without issue but i will be the young rabbit ones tomorrow. How old should he be to switch him to the adult formula? Thanks again

 

[Azerane]

I think around 6 months is around the time that people usually start switching to the adult formula of oxbow, perhaps a month or two later with larger breeds. I'm not sure but I should think it would recommend an age on the back of the packaging too.

 

[whiskylollipop]

I think around 6 months is around the time that people usually start switching to the adult formula of oxbow, perhaps a month or two later with larger breeds. I'm not sure but I should think it would recommend an age on the back of the packaging too.

I use oxbow young rabbit, and the back of the package says to feed it till 1 year of age.