# How long can a rabbit safely go without food?



## hisenthlay

This is in reference to the thread about my rabbit not wanting to eat his hay, and only eating pellets, treats, etc. I'm trying to only feed him hay and water, until he gets hungry enough to eat the hay. I've let him go for about 30 hours now with only hay, and I don't think he's touched it. How long should I let the standoff continue until I have to worry about his actual health/safety?

Oh, and a different question--is it possible/likely for a rabbit to overeat and kill/hurt themselves? I'm wondering whether it's ok to use those automatic feeders filled with pellets (like if we wanted to go away for a weekend), and let the bun free feed.

thanks,
h


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## rabbitgal

I'd would not want to leave my bunnies alone over the weekend, but an automatic feeder full of food would last mine several days...depending on the size. You can get ones that hold like 5 pounds of feed - awesome for litters - but they take up about a foot of space on the front of the cage. My juniors are getting as much feed as they want.


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## orphy

I don't understand why it is so improtant to you that he eat hay. I would just leave it available. There is alfalfa in the pellets and as long as you are feeding the diet you stated before you should have no problem. Is this really worth fighting for. He must be ok or he would be dead already. JMO


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## Bernadette

It's my understanding that pellets are the all round balanced food that rabbits need. Hay is extra for roughage. My pellets are very high in alfalfa. I have to continually withhold hay (alfalfa) from one of my buns because she doesn't clean up her pellets.


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## holleegee

I don't think I would let her go that long without food. I have english angoras and some love hay some love straw. Have you tried different types of hay. 

I wouldn't go away for a weekend and depend on the automatic feeders. Some rabbits will dig out all of the food. If your rabbit is use to getting a measured amount of food every day then you fill up the automatic feeder she may eat too much and get diareha(sp?) Too many things can go wrong.


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## DocM

I've raised rabbits for 20 years and never fed them hay, or treats. 16 or 18% pellets only. I've left my rabbits alone for a couple of days by filling their big hopper feeders and attaching more than one water bottle to each cage. They were fine. A rabbit could go a couple of days without eating and be fine too - although I wouldn't recommend it. I've never had a case of a rabbit overeating either.


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## Spinner

Mine are just the opposite, they eat the heck outta the hay, and most of the pellets either set in the feeder or end up under the cage. What a waste. I feed Timothy hay, are you feeding some other type? I don't buy alfalfa hay because they won't eat that kind. Since I found a list of foods that are safe for rabbits, I feed lots of natural things and try to avoid the pellets as much as possible. I'm hoping to get completely away from all store bought foods ASAP.


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## trixiwick

In theory, a rabbit should not be without food for even a day. Their digestive systems need to keep moving. Welcome to the world of rabbits - you are finding that they can be STUBBORN and OBNOXIOUS.  

Don't starve your guy, but don't give up yet, either. If he really hates timothy, you might try orchard grass, or even alfalfa just to get him used to the idea.

For meat rabbits that you plan to process after 6 months or so, I think pellets are a perfectly fine full-time diet, but if you want a long life for a fiber animal, hay is the way to go. Better for their digestive system, better for their teeth, better for keeping the flab off. 

So, don't let him beat you just yet...but some pellets in the meantime won't do any harm either. 

One more idea...you might want to try stuffing a treat like a baby carrot inside a toilet-paper roll stuffed with hay - he might eat the hay while trying to get to the carrot. It's a thought, anyway. :shrug:


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## hisenthlay

I want him to eat hay because I've read (and also heard here) that angora rabbits need hay to prevent wool block, and to keep their teeth in good shape. For those of you whose rabbits never eat hay and were fine with it, were they angoras, or other breeds? I personally couldn't care less what he eats, as long as he's healthy. If he needs hay to be healthy, I want to figure out some way to get it in him.

This hay is an orchard grass/timothy blend. I haven't tried alfalfa, but he does like his pellets that have alfalfa, so maybe I'll have to give that a shot. I can also try straw, although it seems funny to me that he would eat straw but not hay--then again, my experience is with horses, not rabbits.

I'll try the paper towel roll trick with another treat inside mixed with the hay. I tried just putting hay in the roll, and he's not interested. I wonder if he'd eat the hay if I dipped it in a little molasses or something.... 

In any event, I'll give him some pellets today. I'm glad to--I really don't like making the little troublemaker go hungry.

Oh, and I don't have any immediate plans to leave him for the weekend--I was just wondering what the protocol is with rabbits. It sounds like I should definitely have the neighbor kids come over and check on him if/when we do go away for a couple days. 

Thanks.


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## orphy

My angoras love straw. It's not the hay in particular that they need it's the fiber. Your rabbits seem to be getting enough fiber, according to what you said before. I find that they enjoy clover hay more than grass. They also seem to like junky weedy hay instead of good alfalfa. So I keep pellets in front of them and feed them greens or whats available. I also feed carrots, apples, peaches, plums or what ever I can get ahold of. In the spring I give them new growth ends of oak, hickory, or what ever I have growing. Except cottonwood. Several have developed an allergy to that. But the list is endless and it is all fiber. Hay is not the only kind. If you are worried about their teeth give them a small chunk of wood or a piece of branch to keep and chew on. Mine also each have a tuna can and a pill bottle with a couple of rocks in it to rattle. I also buy parrot toys when I find them on sale to keep them occupied. There are many possibilities.


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## trixiwick

They do make timothy pellets and also timothy hay cubes (held together with some molasses, I think), so these are options your little snotbox (that's an affectionate nickname around our place  ) might accept if he continually snubs the hay. 

The rabbit who "won the standoff" that I mentioned earlier was a New Zealand Red, who never did have any tooth problems, though his weight was an ongoing issue. I made him accept hay for dinner two times a week, and he got mad at me every time. :nono:


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## hisenthlay

You know, that's the other thing that worries me--he doesn't seem to do much chewing. In his area (cage + exercise pen) I've provided sticks and blocks of wood, various cardboard objects, the hay (of course), some old towels, a couple little stuffed animals, some cat toys (plastic balls with bells inside)--and he doesn't seem to chew on any of it. He likes to grab the towels and move them around, and he has occasionally nibbled the hay into pieces without actually eating any, but that's about it. Oy--my first foray into rabbits, and I'm going to have one with wool block and teeth growing out of control.  

I'll look for some straw and/or clover hay, if I can't get him to accept this kind. And if all else fails, I appreciate the suggestion for the timothy cubes--they sound like a likely success. I just have to wonder what he was eating and how he was kept before he became a stray and ended up at the shelter. :shrug: 

He's really a good little guy, generally--friendly and interested and very neat and clean. Just a picky eater, I guess. :shrug:


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## Danaus29

Have you tried using those carboard drink carriers as chew toys? All my rabbits love them and will eat them within a day. You really don't want a rabbit to chew on towels or stuffed animals, the cloth can cause digestive track blockages. If you really want your rabbit to get more fiber you will have to try sources other than the hay (which could be mouldy, I've had rabbits refuse it when it was mouldy) you currently have. Mine like dried grass but they also eat dried Maple and Sycamore leaves. Dried fruit also provides fiber, as well as pumpkin seeds, oats, and sunflower seeds.


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## trixiwick

hisenthlay said:


> You know, that's the other thing that worries me--he doesn't seem to do much chewing. In his area (cage + exercise pen) I've provided sticks and blocks of wood, various cardboard objects, the hay (of course), some old towels, a couple little stuffed animals, some cat toys (plastic balls with bells inside)--and he doesn't seem to chew on any of it.


Some are chewers, some just aren't. If it makes you feel any better, I've generally found that the ones who are most interested in toys and chewing are the dumb ones, while the smarter ones would much rather just interact with people.

Lots of rabbits are weaned off milk straight onto pellets, so that's all they're used to. We got a baby NZ White last spring who had no clue what hay was. She figured it out...eventually. Be patient, and don't worry too much. He'll probably be fine.


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## hisenthlay

Well, that's good to know. BTW, I didn't put the towels and stuffed animals in there for him to chew on, just for entertainment--I would remove them if he seemed to be eating them. It's just that I heard that rabbits were incorrigible chewers of all things (baseboards, electrical wires, expensive textbooks, etc.), so I thought he'd be chewing SOMETHING by now. I could try some fallen tree leaves--we do still have plenty of those around. I'll just check that saga of a list of poisonous plants first, before I offer him any. I really don't think the hay's moldy, but maybe he smells/sees something I can't. I don't have any cardboard juice boxes around, but maybe I could achieve the same effect by putting a little juice on paper towel rolls. He likes dried fruit (papaya, raisins, cranberries), but he has rejected pumpkin seeds, oats, and sunflower seeds. He also likes apples and carrots, but has rejected bananas. Honey Nut Cheerios are his favorites. Go figure.  

trixi--I like that--maybe he's just too smart for all these pedestrian little toys I've been offering. It's a pleasing hypothesis. Maybe I should get him a Rubik's Cube, or sign him up for obedience classes or something.


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## holleegee

hisenthlay said:


> Well, that's good to know. BTW, I didn't put the towels and stuffed animals in there for him to chew on, just for entertainment--I would remove them if he seemed to be eating them. It's just that I heard that rabbits were incorrigible chewers of all things (baseboards, electrical wires, expensive textbooks, etc.), so I thought he'd be chewing SOMETHING by now. I could try some fallen tree leaves--we do still have plenty of those around. I'll just check that saga of a list of poisonous plants first, before I offer him any. I really don't think the hay's moldy, but maybe he smells/sees something I can't. I don't have any cardboard juice boxes around, but maybe I could achieve the same effect by putting a little juice on paper towel rolls. He likes dried fruit (papaya, raisins, cranberries), but he has rejected pumpkin seeds, oats, and sunflower seeds. He also likes apples and carrots, but has rejected bananas. Honey Nut Cheerios are his favorites. Go figure.
> 
> trixi--I like that--maybe he's just too smart for all these pedestrian little toys I've been offering. It's a pleasing hypothesis. Maybe I should get him a Rubik's Cube, or sign him up for obedience classes or something.


My angoras love shredded wheat, cheerios, old fashioned oatmeal....


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## turtlehead

Here's a thought - I was looking in Carla Emery's book yesterday to see if it's okay to feed my buns some oranges (it was) and I noticed she said hay should be cut into 6 inch pieces (I think that is the length she said, maybe she said 2 inches; I was looking for different info so didn't really pay attention). At any rate, maybe if you cut up some hay he'll be more interested. 

She said it's something about the way their mouths and teeth are designed, they supposedly have a hard time with whole long stalks. She said to cut up root veggies (carrots, turnips) too. I notice my buns gnaw on carrots but don't really eat them, and maybe that's why. They eat the heck out of the tops though!


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## hisenthlay

Hm, thanks turtlehead--I'll try it.

I tried dipping a bit of hay in apple juice last night, but no luck. He sniffed it and kind of licked it once, but he wasn't buying. :cute: I also dropped a few pellets in among his pile of hay--you never saw an animal find (figurative) needles in a (literal) haystack so quickly, without once getting any nasty hay in his precious little mouth.


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