As soon as I found out hay is good for rabbits, I tried encouraging him to eat more. He eats his pellets, drinks water, & loves his veggies. He'll only eat it if I actually stick it into his mouth or wave some in his face. Is there any way to make the hay more appealing to him? (I've tried Kaytee & some from a feeder.)
2007-05-02 16:57:00 · 4 answers · asked by Mint 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
That's odd that he doesn't like it. Do you offer him loose hay or blocks? He may like blocks of hay that are harder to chew and wear down his teeth some. Try the following things which my rabbits love: Apples and bananas (sparingly - twice a week at most because they can make bunny fat!) and Fresh Pineapple (the enzymes help with bunny's hairballs). Good luck!!
2007-05-02 17:06:42 · answer #1 · answered by Ashleigh 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you are right. Timothy hay is good for your rabbit. And veggies are bad for it. Veggies can not only give your rabbit diahrrea, but they can possibly make it fat by giving it a diet with too much energy.
If you are going to try giving your rabbit timothy hay, I'd recommend giving it fresh loose timothy hay. You may tend to have trouble getting your rabbit to eat the timothy if it is already full or if you use straw as bedding.
Most rabbits like it, but not all are alike. What some will eat, others will not.
Orchard grass hay or straw will have the same effects pretty much as timothy hay does. This is because hay falls into two categories as far as feeding it to rabbits: wide-leafed hays (such as alfalfa and clover) and (narrow leaf hays such as timoth, orchard grass, straw, etc). Basically, the difference is the amount of leaf they have compared to the amount of stem they have. Narrow leaf hays have more stem. The stems have more of a substance called lignin. Lignin is what gives plants their "woody" or hard texture. The more lignin that is in a certain part of a plant. The more woody in nature it will be. The more lignin the plant has, the more fiber it has. Fiber helps combat diahrrea in rabbits, just the opposite of vegetables. That is why timothy has a lot more fiber than alfalfa. The leaf portion that is less woody in nature gives more energy and is higher in protein.
2007-05-04 06:47:10 · answer #2 · answered by devilishblueyes 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The stuff you get at the store is, unfortunately, not very fresh. If you're near any farmers, start making some calls and see if someone has any to sell.
Other than that, maybe call your Vet and run the diet by the Dr - then you'll know how much you should be worrying about it :-)
I had three rabbits, and only gave them Timothy as a supplement - they also got to walk and eat grass and dandelions (in my yard and parks - you have to avoid fertilizers, etc). But I'm glad to see you said Timothy, not Alfalfa!
2007-05-03 00:09:06 · answer #3 · answered by yp_bri_vancouver 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you could also try feeding him alfalfa hay or hay cubes, he may like those. If he likes the alfalfa you can try mixing in the timothy to get him to "accidentally" pick some of it up with the alfalfa. If he picks the timothy out of the alfalfa then I would say that you are just going to have to find a different kind of hay that he likes.
2007-05-03 00:53:45 · answer #4 · answered by wenchgirl04 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋