Why won't my bun eat her hay?

[Mel1991]

Hi all,

I have a Dutch about 7 years old. She's a sweet curious little thing, and I've been worried about her lately.

She hasn't been eating much hay lately. She'll eat some of the smaller, softer pieces but ignored all the stiff hard and long pieces. It's affecting her pooping. Fewer pieces and much smaller.

She eats everything else normally, and has been drinking water as well. She seems pretty active and the only other difference I noticed is she seems more cautious when I approach sometimes.

Is this an age issue? Should I try another type of hay? Is it a GI issue?

Any thoughts or help would be great. Thank you!

 

[whiskylollipop]

It could be a dental issue that's making it hard/painful for her to chew up the tougher pieces of hay. Get her to an experienced rabbit vet who can give her a full dental check, including molars.

 

[Mel1991]

If that is the case, would she be eating pellets? She still eats them.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Pellets break up into pieces in the mouth and don't take much effort to chew up compared to long, tough strands of hay. Also, most bunnies are far more motivated to eat up yummy pellets, treats and greens than boring old hay. If everything else seems normal and she has no other illness symptoms, then I would strongly suspect teeth issues.

 

[Mel1991]

Thanks for your help! I am looking into a vet now who specializes with rabbits.

 

[JBun]

I agree with Laura, that dental issues are a good possibility. Selective eating is a common occurrence with dental problems. Because chewing some foods can be more painful to the rabbit depending on what tooth is bothering them and where the pain is, they will tend to avoid or limit consumption of the food that is causing the most pain to chew. Other common symptoms are food dropped from the mouth, drooling or a wet chin(that is not from drinking from a dish), changes in how a rabbit is chewing such as with excessive head movement while chewing. Unusual changes of behavior can also be an indication of a health problem, such as with dental pain.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/D_problems1.htm
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=472

One other possibility for the change in your buns eating, is if you recently got a new batch of hay, and that your buns hay 'pickiness' happened after this. Sometimes rabbits can be particular about their hay, and they may not like the taste of a new batch or certain type, and this can affect how much hay they eat. If you suspect this is what may have happened, then you just have to start trying different varieties or new batches of hay to find one your bun likes.

I personally would suspect a dental problem to be the most likely cause though, considering your buns age, the change in eating habits, and also the usual change of behavior. If you do end up needing to have your bun checked, you may be able to find a good rabbit vet near you on one of these lists.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/forumdisplay.php?f=21
http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/