Chin won't eat hay

[TeaEarlGreyHot]

Good morning, all! I have a chin that I adopted from a girl that couldn't afford him money/time wise due to a life change and he is THE BEST. He's very social and loves my daughter and myself. For the past month he's been eating his pellets and hay with gusto. I've added in some twiggies I bought from a member here (which he LOVES and thinks they are a treat), but since then he's stopped eating hay. I used to have to fill the hay every day but I haven't had to fill it since Sunday and it is now Thursday. His diet used to be 75% hay and a little pellets before this week. He's drinking fine, acting fine during playtime outside the cage, he has been a little more skittish than he normally is.

Any ideas? Something to worry about?

 

[Lilune]

I'm far from an expert, but from my experience, they can go through phases on what they like to eat. Some weeks, Amp will eat nothing but pellets, and won't need a hay bowl refill for days. Some weeks its the opposite, she'll barely touch the pellets and will empty her hay bowl in under an hour. I've not noticed a pattern or reason behind it, her tastes just vary from day to day. I'd say as long as you don't notice anything off about him, how much water he's drinking, changes in poos, weird behavior, it sounds like normal chin finicky-ness.

Also, Congrats on your new ball of fuzz!

 

[kellylynnmarie]

Mine have gone through phases as well like this. You mention him not touching it since Sunday... I typically find if I wait a couple days, then dump their bowl, rinse it out and add all fresh hay, it will sometimes entice them.

 

[chinchillin2005]

Mine eats all his Oxbow pellets every day but stopped eating hay. I don't know why but he doesn't eat hay anymore.

 

[kellylynnmarie]

Have you tried mixing the timothy hay with other types? Orchard grass? Botanical hay? Oat Hay? Sometimes switching it up will get them back to eating some hay. Hay is a very important part of their diet, so it's best not to let them go completely without any hay if possible.

 

[chinchillin2005]

He eats a tiny bit of timothy cubes, and his cookies have orchard grass in it. I also noticed he will sometimes eat a part of the pellet and leave the end in the bowl and there are also crumbs in the bowl.

 

[Airyn]

My guys won't touch it if it isn't fresh, so you may have just picked up a bag of old hay. In addition to switching hay types, you could try a different store or order online. American Pet Diner and KMS Hayloft are pretty popular. I've tried KMS and all 4 were pretty happy with it until I got through half of the bag. Then it was "old" and they lost interest. Good luck!

 

[Kara315]

My guys haven't been into eating hay for a little while either. They do like the hay cubes though, so I just keep getting those and try with loose hay every once in awhile but they don't seem to care for it anymore, or for now at least.

 

[holly89]

I have one who will only play with fresh hay, but he doesn't eat it! =/

 

[ticklechin]

If mine stoped eating hay I would buy a different brand or different type of hay to encourage them to eat hay rather than give up on feeding hay, hay is important IMO for teeth, gut and mental health.