What do I do?

[babeblvd]

My rabbit stopped eating hay the moment I introduced him to kale a year ago. Can it affect his digestive tract by NOT eating hay? He's an adult male and I know they're supposed to have Timothy hay, and I've bought several different bags thinking maybe it was old. Pretty sure he's just being a picky little ****.

Put a stash under the bed where he likes to hide hoping he'll get bored and eat it. Noooope. Little turd looks right at me and pushes it right back out.

 

[Blue eyes]

Could you please describe his normal daily diet? And how much/how often does he get kale?

 

[babeblvd]

1/4 cup pellet food
Small kale salad with fruit in the am and handful of kale in the pm.

 

[Blue eyes]

What kind of pellets?

Kale is really high in calcium and shouldn't be fed every day. It can be fed for several days but then it's good to switch to some other green for awhile. Variety in greens is recommended. Just be sure that each new type of green is introduced one at a time. Green or red-leaf lettuce, romaine, cilantro, mint are all good for feeding daily.

Fruit is high in sugar and could certainly keep a rabbit from eating his necessary hay. Fruit should be limited to no more than 1-2 tbsp per day max. It doesn't need to be fed at all since it is just a treat.

Aside from timothy, there are other grass hays that are fine to offer as well. Orchard grass, Bermuda, brome and meadow are all grass hays. Your rabbit may prefer one of these.

I'd suggest working on introducing other greens to your rabbit to get him off of kale for awhile. I'd also consider eliminating the fruit altogether for awhile.

Do you know the approximate weight of your rabbit? Depending on that, it may be ok to reduce the pellet amount as well to encourage the hay eating.

It will take consistency on your part because rabbits are smart. If they know that they will get what they want by holding out, then that is what they'll do. It may take him awhile to accept that he's not getting fruit. Once he realizes that, he's more apt to start on that hay.

 

[babeblvd]

Thanks for the info!

I did try to switch his greens but he wasn't interested, and I became worried no green stuff at all was going to have negative effects so went back to kale. I've also cut his pellet food down to 1/8 cup for awhile but it didn't encourage him to eat hay. Can't remember brand of pellet food but they only sell at feed stores. Starts with a P. I'll try the other hays you suggested. Guess he's bored of the same options?

He's a 3lb Netherland Dwarf full of attitude. I didn't realize how smart they were, he's my first.
He has a pretty solid way of communicating with me and it's on the border of hilarious and disturbing. If he doesn't want it, he'll look at me, pick it up in his mouth, throw it, and look at me again.....like "Did you get that?"

I try not to let him win all our arguments.

This has been a HUGE help, thank you so much!

 

[Blue eyes]

You're welcome.

Feed stores tend to sell rabbit food made for breeding rabbits which is higher in protein than is recommended for indoor, pet rabbits. The protein for our indoor rabbits should be no more than 12-14%. The fiber should be over 18% (higher the better). You can check the analysis on your bag to see what it has. Pellets too rich (high in protein) can discourage hay eating.

If you switch brands of pellets, be sure to do it gradually by mixing the old with the new. Just switching to a better brand may be enough. That alone could get him interested in his hay. (stubborn fella that he is!) There are some recommendations here.

Not to get too complicated, but because your rabbit is under 4 lbs, I would not suggest decreasing his pellet amount. Smaller rabbits tend to have higher energy and some don't do well with their pellets limited too severely. Just switching to a healthy brand may be enough.

As for trying different greens, don't give up after one try. They often resist that which is unfamiliar. By offering the same type several times, he may decide to try it after awhile. Basil or cilantro are both commonly liked.

I don't believe rabbits "get bored" of food that they like. They either like it or they don't. If they ever stop eating something that they normally would eat, that usually indicates a problem -- either with bunny's health or the quality/condition of the food. New foods are what sometimes take some getting used to.

 

[ladysown]

Looking at your original post you said that he stopped eating hay a year ago. That's when you introduced the kale. Is he looking acting appearing healthy? Is his urine a normal colour? If so why are you worrying?

 

[Popsicles]

I had a rescue bunny a few years ago who just would not eat hay, any type, he just wasn’t into it. He lived happily with us for another 5 years just on greens and pellets I know it’s not right, but like ladysown said if he is fine after all this time presumably he’s okay with it

 

[JBun]

Your bun sounds an absolute riot! And quite clever

If you're ok with giving kale and he doesn't seem to have thickened calcium sediment in his urine, then I probably wouldn't worry about it either.

If you'd rather he ate some hay, try blue eyes suggestions, or you could even try oat hay which most rabbits usually quite like. Just keep an eye out for any signs of mushy poop, as the oats in the hay can sometimes cause this to happen for some rabbits.

Another thing to consider is if a rabbit won't eat hay, it can sometimes be due to them developing some sort of dental issue like molar spurs. So a dental check by a good rabbit vet might be a consideration.

 

[babeblvd]

Looking at your original post you said that he stopped eating hay a year ago. That's when you introduced the kale. Is he looking acting appearing healthy? Is his urine a normal colour? If so why are you worrying?

His poo started to change. Went from the normal pellets to a mound of mush. He stopped being able to make it to litter box. Rushed him to the vet but he couldn't find anything wrong. He has these strange poops still but not often. Think I just need to find the perfect protein, fiber, calcium, etc balance. Otherwise he appears to be perfectly healthy. This morning I caught him doing a happy dance as I was leaving for work.

 

[babeblvd]

I had a rescue bunny a few years ago who just would not eat hay, any type, he just wasn’t into it. He lived happily with us for another 5 years just on greens and pellets I know it’s not right, but like ladysown said if he is fine after all this time presumably he’s okay with it

Good to know. I used to not be able to keep enough hay in his cage he burned through it so fast. I stopped all kale and greens for months to get him to eat his hay again. Then he got fat because all he ate was pellet food.

 

[babeblvd]

Your bun sounds an absolute riot! And quite clever

If you're ok with giving kale and he doesn't seem to have thickened calcium sediment in his urine, then I probably wouldn't worry about it either.

If you'd rather he ate some hay, try blue eyes suggestions, or you could even try oat hay which most rabbits usually quite like. Just keep an eye out for any signs of mushy poop, as the oats in the hay can sometimes cause this to happen for some rabbits.

Another thing to consider is if a rabbit won't eat hay, it can sometimes be due to them developing some sort of dental issue like molar spurs. So a dental check by a good rabbit vet might be a consideration.

Thank you! I did have his teeth checked. All normal. No blockages in stomach, etc.

 

[VioletRose]

My rabbit stopped eating hay the moment I introduced him to kale a year ago. Can it affect his digestive tract by NOT eating hay? He's an adult male and I know they're supposed to have Timothy hay, and I've bought several different bags thinking maybe it was old. Pretty sure he's just being a picky little ****.

Put a stash under the bed where he likes to hide hoping he'll get bored and eat it. Noooope. Little turd looks right at me and pushes it right back out.
View attachment 37219

Hello! Your bunny sounds super cute and feisty. I have a feisty boy too. He is definately the boss of me! I just wanted to say that hay is meant to be at least 80% of a rabbit's diet. This is due to their unique digestive systems which require high fibre diets to prevent gut statsis, which is nasty and often fatal and causes a lot of pain - distended belly, bunny will stop eating and drinking and can die within 12 hours of onset. Not trying to be ghoulish but felt to let you know as I keep an eye on this too. My bunny really likes hay cubes, have you tried those? I'm from Australia so I'm not sure where you would get some. This is some info about this not being as nutritious as fresh hay due to the process of heating and compressing (it's just compressed hay in small crunchy blocks), but it's better than no hay. Also, I'm growing rye grass in small containers on my balcony, as hay is just dried grass, fresh grass is one solution. My bunny loves all fresh grass but decorative lawn grass is not rich in nutrients either, rye and there are some others if you google, are good options. Too much fruit can lead to diabetes as well. I use Oxbow pellets and they are high in fibre (22-25%). A lot of pellets contain wheat and grains, sugar, fats and other rubbish which rabbits don't eat naturally and have trouble digesting. I also put hay toppers on my bunnie's hay, dried herbs that are safe like dandelion flowers, rosehips, rose petals, there are lists of safe options online in many places. This makes hay a little more interesting and adds some enrichment in terms of foraging and vartiety like buns experience in the wild. Hay also keeps buns teeth trim, so I'm wondering how your buns teeth are? These grow very fast and need constant chewing to keep at a healthy length. Diarrhoea is a sure sign of not enough fibre in the diet and can be quite dangerous long term. Good luck with your little boss!

 

[babeblvd]

Hello! Your bunny sounds super cute and feisty. I have a feisty boy too. He is definately the boss of me! I just wanted to say that hay is meant to be at least 80% of a rabbit's diet. This is due to their unique digestive systems which require high fibre diets to prevent gut statsis, which is nasty and often fatal and causes a lot of pain - distended belly, bunny will stop eating and drinking and can die within 12 hours of onset. Not trying to be ghoulish but felt to let you know as I keep an eye on this too. My bunny really likes hay cubes, have you tried those? I'm from Australia so I'm not sure where you would get some. This is some info about this not being as nutritious as fresh hay due to the process of heating and compressing (it's just compressed hay in small crunchy blocks), but it's better than no hay. Also, I'm growing rye grass in small containers on my balcony, as hay is just dried grass, fresh grass is one solution. My bunny loves all fresh grass but decorative lawn grass is not rich in nutrients either, rye and there are some others if you google, are good options. Too much fruit can lead to diabetes as well. I use Oxbow pellets and they are high in fibre (22-25%). A lot of pellets contain wheat and grains, sugar, fats and other rubbish which rabbits don't eat naturally and have trouble digesting. I also put hay toppers on my bunnie's hay, dried herbs that are safe like dandelion flowers, rosehips, rose petals, there are lists of safe options online in many places. This makes hay a little more interesting and adds some enrichment in terms of foraging and vartiety like buns experience in the wild. Hay also keeps buns teeth trim, so I'm wondering how your buns teeth are? These grow very fast and need constant chewing to keep at a healthy length. Diarrhoea is a sure sign of not enough fibre in the diet and can be quite dangerous long term. Good luck with your little boss!

That sounds absolutely terrifying! His teeth are fine, vet looked at him. He has a lot of wooden toys he chews on. I'll see if i can find hay cubes. Thank you!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

I am allergic to Timothy, so we use orchard grass. When Peter first came to us (rescue) he didn't know what hay was and only ate pellets. I cut way back on pellets and he started eating hay to the point he hardly touched his pellets.

 

[VioletRose]

That sounds absolutely terrifying! His teeth are fine, vet looked at him. He has a lot of wooden toys he chews on. I'll see if i can find hay cubes. Thank you!

Hiya! I thought you might find this helpful. It really is comprehensive and covers the things talked about in this thread, especially diet and it's effect on bunny tummies
https://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

 

[babeblvd]

I am allergic to Timothy, so we use orchard grass. When Peter first came to us (rescue) he didn't know what hay was and only ate pellets. I cut way back on pellets and he started eating hay to the point he hardly touched his pellets.

I bought orchard hay yesterday and he threw it back at me. Like picked it up in his mouth and threw it. Seems to be a pattern here.

 

[Blue eyes]

^ sounds like he is trying to "out-stubborn" you. I would consistently cut back on pellets as Larry suggested and keep trying various hays. He sounds like he will test you and it will be a battle of wills. If you outlast him, then he'll have to give in and start eating the hay. He figures he can manipulate you right now (or so it seems).

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Rabbits are excellent at training humans. Time, patience, and persistence.

 

[babeblvd]

Hiya! I thought you might find this helpful. It really is comprehensive and covers the things talked about in this thread, especially diet and it's effect on bunny tummies
https://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

So I bought the hay cubes...he has so far refused to eat them. And actually found out he has a new trick. He turned around and with his back foot kicked it at my face. I was bent down at the time so it hit my forehead and pieces went in my eye.

I think he hates me.