Wont eat fresh food

[KohanaManso]

My rabbit who is a Netherlands Dwarf, refuses to eat anything but her rabbit food. Even that she is picky with, she likes crackers, but those are a very rare treat. and also rarely ill give her store bought treats. but thats all shell eat. I see so many owners feeding their rabbits all sorts of fruits and veggies, and i wish i could have that fun with mine, but she doesnt care for it. Just wondering if this is normal.

 

[Watermelons]

Nothing wrong with a bun that only eats their hay and pellets just be happy she eats those and its not the other way around with her refusing the good stuff and only eating the fruit/veggies.

id probably drop the idea of fruit, veggies are better. Have you tried Cilantro? What does your bunny think of you? If shes close to you sometimes you can trick them into eating veggies if you eat them first, this always works for my parrot, if she wont go for something, i pretend to take a bite out of it, then offer it to her again... she looks at it like .. oh really, hmmm.... so i pretend to take another bite, then i get an even more curious look from her, so i pretend to take another bite, eventually she sticks her foot out to grab the food from me. Heard of this working with alot of buns too, they want what you have. If she wont eat any, no worries, nothing wrong with a good healthy hay and pellet diet, you can have just as much fun offering different kinds of hay! Oat, Timothy, Botanicle, Orchard grass, meadow... etc

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Rabbits can be picky little eaters. Gus turned his nose up at almost everything new I gave him. He's gotten better this last year, but for a long time I had to offer him something new at least 3 or 4 times before he'd eat it. Silly rabbit.

How much pellets are you feeding her per day? It could be she's filling up on the pellets and isn't hungry enough to try something new.

However, it won't hurt her not to eat veggies. They provide variety and interest to a rabbit's diet, but aren't necessary if she's eating a quality rabbit pellet and hay.

You didn't mention if she eats hay? I would definitely try to get her eating that if she isn't already. Hay is important to keep her teeth evenly worn and to promote healthy digestion.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[KohanaManso]

watermelons : hmm okay thanks, and yeh shes not a big timothy fan i already know lol cause i accidentally bought it instead of her usual alphalpha lol. and this is a post explaining issues about her behaviour towards me if you are curious http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=68270&forum_id=48

rue: and yeh sorry she eats lots of hay!! and well i put about a handfull of food everyday, and dump the old out. i have pretty small hands, so its not too much. she just doesnt eat alot, but shes not scronny. so she is eating enough.

thanks tho, now im not worried haha.

 

[Watermelons]

You say shes 2 years old?
Bunnys shouldn't have alfalfa past 6 months of age, its way to high in protein and cause lead to kidney problems and other major health issues later in life.
She needs to be switched off the Alfalfa onto a hay with less protein. Like any or a combo of some of the ones I listed.
What is the base ingredient in her pellets?
What brand are you feeding her?

 

[KohanaManso]

what :S everywhere ive read says feed the hay, never said an age limit :S

We just got a petsmart, so i recently switched her for Hartz Bonanza to All Living Things - Rabbit Daily Diet , its a blend of timothy hay, grains, fruits and veggies it says.

the vitamins are better in her old food. but its has so much unhealthy treat stuff in it, thats why i changed it. so i dont know if i want to switch back or not.

i also give the hay to my rats. they seem to enjoy it, and i read up that they can have it.

how much protein is too much

 

[Nancy McClelland]

you only give alfalfa to bunnies up to six months because it is much higher in protein and calcium and is good while they are growing but will cause problems with an older bun. Timothy hay should be given with no limit and there is usually a guide on the pellets as to how much they should be given. Probably need to go to the library for more specific info here.

 

[Watermelons]

Alfalfa and hay are generally concidered 2 seperate things, so typically when you read "hay" alfalfa isn't included. Even for horses alfalfa is more of a treat.
Get her off the alfalfa (slowly ween her off it onto some other kind of hay)

As for the pellets shes eating, im sorry, but its just not that suitable either. The Bonanza from Hartz isnt good either.
You want her on a diet thats %100 pellets, not a mixture of pellets and grains and other things. And you want it to be a timothy based pellet with a lower protein typically most adult formulas are done with timothy.
Petsmart carrys lots of good brands that are suitable to switch her onto. Oxbow is an amazing one. Here are a few...
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3135803&keepsr=0&clickid=prod_cs
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753453&lmdn=Pet+Type

The brand of hay you get her doesn't matter, as long as it looks nice and green and smells good, no mould in the bag etc.

Heres a topic that has some good nutrition info
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=56821&forum_id=48 You want your protein to be on the lower end.

 

[KohanaManso]

i read the amounts of pellets i should give. and im doing it just right.
and it is called "ALFALFA HAY" soo...

well ill try pellet, hopefully she eats it.

 

[Watermelons]

KohanaManso wrote:

i read the amounts of pellets i should give. and im doing it just right.
and it is called "ALFALFA HAY" soo...

well ill try pellet, hopefully she eats it.

Well regardless of what you've seen it get called she needs to be weened off the alfalfa onto a hay with much less protein. Alfalfa is still fed seperatly even though its technically still a "hay", definatly not for older bunnies.

Continuing to feed her alfalfa, as well as lower quality rabbit diets can lead to alot of health problems. The extra sugars found in some of these items may be a player in her "bahaviour" problems as well, Think of it as a kid who gets KD andcarrot cakeevery day, while their still getting their grains, dairy, and veggies in that diet, it doesn't necessarily mean its good for them, both in a health and kid hopped up on sugar way.

This is a great opportunity to learn, dont take it as a fault.

 

[KohanaManso]

thankyou!

 

[LaylaLop]

Alfalfa is a legume hay (like clover) whereas timothy is a grass hay (along with the others like bermuda, orchard, etc). Legumes are notoriously high in nitrogen (protein) whereas grass hays are lower in protein. Most recommend timothy since it is easy to find, slightly sweeter than some hays (so more tasty), and keeps fairly well. It also has a fairly good calcium to phosphorus ratio for adult animals so it maintains their bones and teeth, whereas alfalfa has a much higher ratio and can cause calcium stones in their bladder and other nitrogen-based problems because it is in excess and the unneeded portion has to go somewhere.

I have a 6.5 week old bunny right now and she is on mostly alfalfa with a bit of timothy and orchard hays so I can make the transition slightly easier in several months. Her breeder gave the mom and babies a 50/50 mix of timothy and alfalfa, so you may want to try that for a while to get her used to it.

 

[KohanaManso]

meh i just switched it to KAYTEE Timothy Hay , she loves it its better than the one i bought a while back that she hated