Eating hay

Question
Hi Andrea,

My rabbit used to love to eat hay about a year ago when i first got him. But now doesn't like to eat hay, and he's stopped eating hay for a few months now. I used to put a bunch of hay into his cage to see if he would eat it but he only eats the sunflower seeds and pellets i give him. I tried to cut down on pellets to make him eat more hay but it didn't work and he just pushed the hay to a corner of the cage so now i put very little hay and most of the time it goes uneaten.

I've heard a pellets-only diet is bad for rabbits as they don't have enough fibre and can get intestinal problems. What can I do to make my rabbit eat hay?

Answer
Has anything changed in his poop during this time that he's stopped eating hat?

Have they gotten smaller, dryer, or less frequent.  I ask, just in case some gi problem might have been starting.

If everything seems normal, there are some things you can try to entice him to eat hay.  You can try different varieties.  Depending on where you shop, you can find different types and mixes.  You can also try putting some in his litter box, in a basket, or stuff some in a paper towel roll.

Hopefully, the hay is a good quality.  Most rabbits won't eat brown hay.

One thing that may help is to try changing his diet some more.  

You are correct, that rabbits should get a lot of fiber.  Rabbits also need a well rounded diet that consists of three things, hay, pellets, and vegetables.

I use the house rabbits guidelines as my foundation for my rabbit's diet.  Then I tweak it as I see how the rabbit does.

Pellets - pellets should be a small portion of a rabbit's diet.  Your rabbit is old enough to be on Timothy pellets.  You'll want to find a high fiber brand with at least 18% fiber.  Some brands have instructions on how much to feed of pellets.  If yours doesn't, this site can guide you:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html
Also, pellets should be just pellets.  No seeds, no dried fruit or vegetables.  A diet of pellets with that stuff can eventually cause digestive problems.  And rabbits don't need them anyway.

Hay - you already know about this one.  

Vegetables - are also an important part of the diet.  That site I gave you talks about vegetables, including how much to feed. And it has a link on the right to good veges for rabbits.

You might consider balancing his diet with a good pellet.  With an appropriate amount and add some veges.  In time, he might start eating the hay again.

If you do switch his diet, you'll want to do this slowly to avoid gi upset.

If you're not comfortable doing that, try some of the things listed at the top to see if those things get him interested at all.

I hope this helps