Rabbit stopped eating hay — brand quality drop fix

A rabbit that was happily eating hay and then suddenly stopped is a real warning sign — especially when the only obvious change is the brand. Hay isn't optional for rabbits: it needs to make up around 80% of the diet because it keeps the gut moving and wears down teeth that never stop growing. When quality drops — dust, coarse stalks, a different smell — rabbits will simply refuse it, and that's a problem. Before I point you toward something better, can you tell me: is your Lionhead Lop otherwise well in herself, eating her pellets and greens normally, and how long has she been avoiding the hay?

That's really useful — healthy otherwise, normal droppings, just refusing the hay. Two weeks without much hay is already pushing it for gut health, but the fact she's otherwise fine tells me this is almost certainly a palatability and quality issue rather than a medical one. Dusty hay is a real problem for rabbits: the dust irritates their airways and they learn to associate the smell with discomfort, so they walk away. Coarse, thick stalks from an older or poorly harvested cut are harder to chew and less appealing. Does she have any history of dental issues or respiratory problems? That would affect which hay type suits her best.

Perfect — then I'd go straight to Burgess Excel Timothy Hay. It's consistently high quality, cut from proper timothy grass rather than mixed meadow, and it's notably dust-extracted so you won't get that fine powder that puts rabbits off. The stalks are fine enough for a Lionhead Lop — their jaws aren't as strong as larger breeds — and the smell is clean and fresh, which matters a lot to rabbits when they've been put off a brand. For a 4-year-old who should be eating hay all day every day, you want something she'll actively choose to forage through rather than tolerate. Burgess Excel Timothy is the one I'd trust to get her back on track. I'd also throw the rest of the old bag away entirely — don't mix it in, don't transition gradually, just switch completely.

Most rabbits will go straight back once the hay smells and feels right — quality is really the main thing. That said, there are a couple of things worth doing. First, put the new hay somewhere slightly different, like a fresh hay rack or a pile on the floor of her enclosure, so it doesn't feel like a repeat of what she's been rejecting. Second, reduce her pellets slightly for a few days — not dramatically, just pull back to about a tablespoon — so she's hungrier and more motivated to explore the hay. At four years old she should be on a fairly small pellet ration anyway, maybe 25–30g a day. Within 48 hours of smelling the fresh Burgess Timothy, I'd expect her to be pulling at it again.

Good plan — you've caught this at a sensible point before it became a real gut problem. Once she's back to eating hay freely, keep an eye on the quality each new bag: fresh colour, minimal dust, and a clean grassy smell are the things to check before you fill the rack. If she ever goes off it again without an obvious quality explanation, that's worth a vet check to rule out early dental changes — Lionhead Lops can be prone to them as they get older. Hope she's back to foraging happily by the weekend.