change diet for recently aquired rabbits

[Stephine]

Don’t give them straw, there are not enough nutrients in that. What kind of hay are you feeding them? Timothy hay is very good for them, so is or hard grass hay. You can also try oat hay (not straw). Give them some choices and see what they like best. Of course make sure the hay is nice and green and free of dust and mold. Brown or pale hay has not much nutrition left in it. Ask for good horse hay.
Are they eating their fresh greens with enthusiasm?

 

[Stephine]

Does anyone on this thread have any thoughts/ suggestions as to how to keep the rabbits from wasting their hay?

I’m not sure what to suggest for the OP without having the ability to get rabbit specific pellets (Purina Pro Rabbit “grain”).
Our rabbits love their Timothy hay.
My friends’ rabbits will only eat oats hay (again, not straw)
But we also both breed, and offer hay as much as 100% in front of them as possible, plus measured pellets daily (less in the summer heat, more in the winter cold)

But the hay waste is an applicable question to this thread, I think
Not trying to hijack the thread. Just trying to (learn as well as) help!

I have slow feeders on the side of hutches, and also always offer some “free” hay inside when I re fill the slow feeders, usually 2x daily.
Pellets daily as I mentioned, not many other treats offered here at all.
I just hate allllll the wasted hay that’s hard to find and very expensive around here :/

I can buy 3-4 (2 string) bales of local grass hay for my horses for the same cost as 1 (3 string) bale of Timothy for the rabbits
The oat hay is a little more affordable- but my rabbits have better body condition and poo w the Timothy and pellets ...

I am afraid wasted hay is just a part of feeding rabbits since they need to be able to pick and choose and you want to make it easy for them to get to. At least it can be bedding… Here, getting nice hay has been nearly impossible this last year or so, but if the situation is better where you are you can make sure you get really nice bales for them…

 

[HeritageFan]

I am afraid wasted hay is just a part of feeding rabbits since they need to be able to pick and choose and you want to make it easy for them to get to. At least it can be bedding… Here, getting nice hay has been nearly impossible this last year or so, but if the situation is better where you are you can make sure you get really nice bales for them…

I can get lovely Timothy- it’s just about $30 for a 3 string bale.
Kind of makes me wonder if staying in rabbits makes sense- esp bc the grain is also $30 a bag.
The hay lasts longer than the grain, but... when it’s less to have the
Ducks
Turkeys
And to feed the horses...
I’m honestly re thinking the rabbits - even though I’ve built a lovely hutch w 2 level areas for all of the adult/ breeding rabbits, so they can get as much exercise as possible, apart from a tractor (our property is very steep, tractors for grow outs are ok, but we have limited space where we can keep them moving without being on too steep a slope, or in the seasonal runoff that basically becomes a creek in the winter....)

Do you guys have tractors?
If so, what do you have on the bottom to keep everyone in and safe?

I’d like to keep the rabbits. It’s just becoming increasingly difficult to justify as the prices for everything keeps increasing exponentially

 

[Stephine]

I can get lovely Timothy- it’s just about $30 for a 3 string bale.
Kind of makes me wonder if staying in rabbits makes sense- esp bc the grain is also $30 a bag.
The hay lasts longer than the grain, but... when it’s less to have the
Ducks
Turkeys
And to feed the horses...
I’m honestly re thinking the rabbits - even though I’ve built a lovely hutch w 2 level areas for all of the adult/ breeding rabbits, so they can get as much exercise as possible, apart from a tractor (our property is very steep, tractors for grow outs are ok, but we have limited space where we can keep them moving without being on too steep a slope, or in the seasonal runoff that basically becomes a creek in the winter....)

Do you guys have tractors?
If so, what do you have on the bottom to keep everyone in and safe?

I’d like to keep the rabbits. It’s just becoming increasingly difficult to justify as the prices for everything keeps increasing exponentially

Sorry, I don’t have rabbits now and have only had pet rabbits before. Family friends bred Netherland dwarfs for decades, but they just let them hop around their suburban backyard in nice weather…
We pay $34 for a 3 string bale of poor orchard grass hay… my sheep waste a lot, I feel your pain…

 

[VanUnamed]

thanks for your kind responses. the hay is what i cut by hand on my land, it's a mix of various grasses, mostly fescue and rye. it is not mouldy or smelly or anything. here it is normal to just feed rabbits 100% mixes of grains, but that's not what i wanted the rabbits for. unfortunately if they do not thrive on what i have then i cannot have rabbits here. price is also a big concern, they cannot cost more than chickens, and chickens are pretty expensive too. I also looked around me for people that have bales, but it's the exact same quality as the one I have.

 

[Stephine]

thanks for your kind responses. the hay is what i cut by hand on my land, it's a mix of various grasses, mostly fescue and rye. it is not mouldy or smelly or anything. here it is normal to just feed rabbits 100% mixes of grains, but that's not what i wanted the rabbits for. unfortunately if they do not thrive on what i have then i cannot have rabbits here. price is also a big concern, they cannot cost more than chickens, and chickens are pretty expensive too. I also looked around me for people that have bales, but it's the exact same quality as the one I have.

Those should be fine for them to eat, BUT both of those grasses, fescue and rye, are known for being very susceptible to funguses that can contaminate the hay with toxins. Rabbits are usually pretty safe from getting poisoned, because they will not eat it. That might be your issue. Maybe have it tested? Where do you live?

 

[VanUnamed]

rabbits will not eat if it's infected? how can they tell?

 

[Stephine]

they probably have a

rabbits will not eat if it's infected? how can they tell?

keener sense of smell maybe?

 

[VanUnamed]

99% of what they "waste" is fescue. now I cannot say if it's because they dont like it, or because it's bad. all i know it costed me a lot of work to cut it, properly dry and stack it. and also that there isn't anything any better available, and i don't have a car so it's not like i can go and buy any far away from here.
tomorrow i will give each a bundle of clean straw as a test, and see if they eat most of it.
also, now it's winter, so it's not like you can easily find something else to feed them, or nearby places that have fresher/cleaner hay. would it be ok to feed them grains to avoid them dying over this time span?
thanks for your patience

 

[Stephine]

99% of what they "waste" is fescue. now I cannot say if it's because they dont like it, or because it's bad. all i know it costed me a lot of work to cut it, properly dry and stack it. and also that there isn't anything any better available, and i don't have a car so it's not like i can go and buy any far away from here.
tomorrow i will give each a bundle of clean straw as a test, and see if they eat most of it.
also, now it's winter, so it's not like you can easily find something else to feed them, or nearby places that have fresher/cleaner hay. would it be ok to feed them grains to avoid them dying over this time span?
thanks for your patience

Let me repeat: don’t feed them straw, it is almost devoid of nutrients and if they are loosing weight now, they will lose more on straw. Yes, by all means feed them the diet they were on when you got them, if the alternative is starvation. Transition them back slowly, they need time to get their gut flora to adapt. Keep the fresh greens coming if you possibly can, forbes (weeds) are great, they give them all the good stuff, sugars, protein, minerals and vitamins in variety plus water and fiber. Make any changes gradually, rabbits have sensitive digestive systems and need time to adapt to changes. Still offer hay on the side, just the rye if you can, you want to make sure they always have feed available, but not overfeed them the grains. Grains have a lot of calories and little fiber compared to hay and they really need the fiber to keep their digestion going. You don’t want to risk stasis. It will help if you give your rabbits enough room to run and hop around - movement keeps the digestion going.
Don’t worry at all about asking more questions, I am happy to help!