This is a specific conversation about Rabbit food and hay — getting the diet right — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Hay refusal after a brand switch is a real problem — and more common than people expect, especially with small, particular breeds like Britannia Petites. Before we troubleshoot, a quick foundation: hay should make up around 80% of a rabbit's diet. It's not just food — it keeps the gut moving and wears down teeth that never stop growing. Pellets are a small supplement, not the main event. So when a rabbit stops eating hay, it's genuinely urgent. How long has she been refusing it, what brand did you switch away from, and what are you currently offering her?
She's 3 years old and perfectly healthy normally. We were using Burgess Excel hay and ran out, so we grabbed a supermarket own-brand bag. She sniffed it and basically walked away. That was four days ago. She's still eating her pellets fine and the odd bit of leafy greens, but she's barely touched the hay.
inparticular.ai
Four days is long enough to take seriously — gut slowdown becomes a real risk beyond that. What you're describing is almost certainly a texture and smell issue. Supermarket own-brand hay is often coarser, dustier, and cut from older stock. Britannia Petites are tiny rabbits with small mouths, and they're often more sensitive to hay quality than larger breeds. The good news is she hasn't been put off hay itself — she's reacting to this specific hay. Did the supermarket bag seem dustier or more yellow than what she was used to?
Yes actually, it looked quite yellow and there was a lot of dust when I opened it. I didn't think much of it at the time. Should I just go back to Burgess Excel, or is there something better?
inparticular.ai
Burgess Excel was clearly working for her, so going back to it is a perfectly solid option. But if you want to step up, I'd recommend Small Pet Select Timothy Hay. It's consistently cut from first or second cut timothy, which means it's greener, softer, and far less dusty than most supermarket options — exactly what a fussy small rabbit needs. It arrives in a box rather than a compressed bag, so the strands stay intact and it smells fresh, which matters a lot when you're trying to re-engage a rabbit that's already suspicious. For a Britannia Petite, the softer texture also makes it much easier to eat comfortably. Get the supermarket bag out of the enclosure entirely — even the smell of it nearby can put some rabbits off.
That makes sense. Should I mix the new hay with anything to encourage her, or just offer it straight?
inparticular.ai
Offer it straight, but make it tempting. Fill her hay rack generously — rabbits are more attracted to a full, fluffy rack than a sparse one. You can also scatter a small amount of dried herbs like chamomile or dried forage mix through the hay for the first few days; the smell draws them in and they end up eating the hay around it. Don't mix it with the old supermarket hay at all — remove that completely first. If she hasn't shown any interest within 24 hours of the new hay going in, give her a gentle check for signs of gas or bloating, and if she seems uncomfortable at all, call your vet. But most rabbits in this situation come round quickly once the good hay is in front of them.
Really helpful, thank you. I'll order the Small Pet Select today and get rid of the supermarket stuff now.
inparticular.ai
Good plan. Remove the old hay today, and once the Small Pet Select arrives, give her a generous fresh rack and let her approach it in her own time. Given she was eating Burgess Excel happily before, she should come round fast — it's the quality she's rejecting, not hay itself. Keep an eye on her droppings over the next couple of days; normal-sized, round, plentiful pellets are your best sign that gut motility is back on track. She sounds like a healthy rabbit who just got offered something below her standards.
