Lop Rabbit Hay Rack Position & Flat-Faced Eating

Lops with a heavily built, flatter face often have a genuinely harder time pulling hay from a rack that's positioned too high — it forces an awkward angle that can put strain on their jaw and neck, and some simply eat less hay because of it, which is a real problem since hay needs to make up around 80% of their diet. It's the foundation of gut health and the main thing keeping those continuously growing teeth properly worn down — pellets are just a small supplement on the side. So yes, rack position absolutely matters for this type of rabbit. How old is your lop, are they otherwise healthy, and what are they currently eating day to day?

That tells me quite a lot — two things are likely going on at once. First, the pellet portions are almost certainly too generous. A 2-year-old rabbit her size probably needs no more than a tablespoon or two of pellets per day total. When pellets are freely available twice a day, rabbits fill up on the easy, calorie-dense food and simply don't bother working through hay. Second, that mid-height wall rack is probably uncomfortable for her face shape. Lops with a heavier build tend to eat hay much more readily from ground level or very low down, where they can approach it naturally with their head slightly lowered rather than reaching up and twisting sideways.

Floor hay works, but loose hay scatters and gets soiled quickly, which puts a lot of rabbits off eating it — and you end up wasting a lot. What I'd recommend is a low-level hay feeder that sits on the ground rather than mounting on a wall. The one I'd point you to specifically is the Rosewood Boredom Breaker Activity Hay Feeder — it's a small, weighted ground-level feeder designed so the rabbit approaches from the front with their head in a natural low position. It's ideal for flat-faced breeds because there's no awkward upward reach. Pair that with cutting the pellets right back to a tablespoon once a day, and you'll likely see her hay intake increase noticeably within a week or two.

Timothy hay is the gold standard for adult rabbits — it has the right fibre length and abrasiveness to keep the teeth worn correctly, and it's not too rich. Meadow hay is a perfectly good alternative and many rabbits find it more interesting because the variety of grasses encourages them to forage through it, which is exactly what you want. Avoid alfalfa hay for an adult rabbit — it's high in calcium and protein and is really only appropriate for young rabbits under six months. For a 2-year-old lop, I'd go with Timothy as your staple and mix in some meadow hay occasionally to keep things interesting.

Good plan — those two changes together should make a real difference. Give it about ten days to two weeks before judging, because she may take a few days to trust the new feeder and start making up for the reduced pellets. If her hay consumption still looks low after that, it's worth a vet dental check — flat-faced lops can develop subtle tooth issues that make chewing uncomfortable, and that's sometimes the hidden reason behind poor hay eating. But in most cases, fixing the feeder position and the pellet volume solves it completely.