Will a rabbit go off it's feed moving to a new home ?

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HOWsMom

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I know that my cat and dogs will go off their food for a day or two when we've moved house in the past, my rodents don't care one way or the other, and the fish are little piggies for their food !

But when Bug4H brings her bunny home in a couple of weeks, should we expect it to be off it's food for a few days?

Is there any especially valuable calming / relaxing / moved to a new home, new family, new everything supplements that could be added to the food or water for a little while ?
 
yes they can, sometimes for days.

Usually I offer hay, some oats and a bit of fresh grass to tempt a bunny to eat. if it comes to it, I always keep a bit of electrolyte solution powder to mix up, gatorade or pedialyte work as well.
 
As a breeder I always put my young rabbits in individual cages the week before they are picked up so they get use to living by themselves

I also send the rabbit home with a weeks worth of food so the new owner can slowly switch them to the brand they buy

I advise the new owner to only feed pellets and grass hay for the first week and not any "treats". Once they've been in their new home for a week they can start offering infrequent and tiny, pieces of fresh foods and to closely monitor bowel movements, at the first sign of any sickness stop all treats for a week and then try again.

I also recommend they not handle the rabbit for the first couple days and then for only short sessions so as not to over stimulate the baby bunny
 
We only have Timothy Hay here right now.

Would "Orchard Grass" be okay ? I can usually find that nearby.

I think the bunny will be a bit older - but I'm not sure how old exactly, less than a year though.
 
Timothy hay is the best, but orchard grass is ok. I feed a mixture of the two, so the buns can eat what they prefer (usually the Timothy, but that's so much more expensive).
 
Most of the rabbits I've purchased did not eat the first day. By the second they were eating. I just let them settle, and fed hay and the same food they were on. I actually had to ask one breeder for some food.
 
Timothy is a grass hay. It is not the "best". It is simply the most common. None are really better than the rest aside from a few with minor differences. Some like brome tend to be a bit higher fiber, a little less sweeter, and turn brown easier than other grass hays but they are still fully suitable as the only grass hay and many times the animals still like it just as well others. Depends a bit on personal preference and what they are used to eating. We use bluegrass for the chinchillas and some uknown mix of plains/meadow grasses that do well in Iowa, I haven't asked what he plants cause it doesn't matter, with some alfalfa for our rabbits and guinea pigs. Timothy is more likely to cause allergies in humans and one of the first things to switch if you have problems. Some cuts can be stemmy where many other grasses are only stemmy if cut wrong.

Some rabbits will go off feed, some rabbits won't go off feed. It's usually not enough to be a health risk and if you got some of the previous feed just mix with the new food slowly until they are eating the new brand. If the rabbit is very upset and not eating at all or eating poorly for more than a couple days then oats or plain oatmeal is a good choice for awhile. Some fresh food might be needed to tempt a difficult rabbit but be careful what you choose to use and how much you feed. Once they are eating normal or any digestive problems are gone you can slowly add in the new pellets and slowly reduce the oats. Some rabbits might like a quiet place with part of their cage covered but if you don't have a very busy house and the rabbit is well handled it might be interested in being the center of attention learning it's new home and family. Currently my dogs are wrestling with full growling and yipping noises over where the rabbit cages would be in the basement and between my chinchilla cages. My animals are not phased by much of anything when they move to a new house. I just make sure people know how to adjust them to new food and they all do fine.
 
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