stopped eating hay

[WhiteTree]

My boys get oxbow hay. Usually they eat it up the second I put it in the rack and it's gone by the end of the day. For the past week however they haven't been touching it. It's the same bag they ate just a week ago, it's still fresh and smells good. I go down and pull out the old hay from the rack and throw it out and put in fresh everyday but they just won't touch it and I'm wasting hay, I'm unemployed at the moment so wasting supplies isn't something I take lightly. Why won't they eat their hay? I'm going out tomorrow to restock their pellets so I'll pick up another bag of hay but there's nothing wrong with the bag I have, it's still fresh and there's still half a bag left. They don't eat alot of pellets either, they never have. Their weight hasn't changed, they look and act healthy, they're drinking and pooping. I worry they won't get enough nutrition without the hay because of how little they eat of the pellets. Any ideas on why they would suddenly stop eating their hay that they previously couldn't get enough of?

 

[chinchildren]

sounds like you are looking at all the right things (i know this is not what you want to hear since it has not given you an answer). has anything else changes? bedding? temperature? lights? i think it may just be nothing to worry about (other then the waste) since chins will fluctuate in the consumption of water, pellets, hay etc.

one thing (though i doubt it since it is both of them) is that they might have something stuck in between their teeth. it is really hard to do alone (for me it is impossible) and i know you don't have money for a vet visit just now but try and take a look and see if there is anything you can see of feel. maybe someone who is more successful than i am in chin dental hygiene can give you tips on how to do this.

maybe some one else can help.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Maybe they are just don't that hay anymore.

Maybe trying moving the rack somewhere else or putting the hay in something else other than the rack.

Chase has a hay rack in his cage (where he can't get to it other than to eat from it) and we went 2 days without eating hay. If I handed him a piece he'd eat it, but he wouldn't eat it from the rack. So I had to stop using the rack and now he eats his hay.

 

[WhiteTree]

I've check their mouths, it's easy with my standard he'll let me do anything to him, the mosaic bit me but they're mouths are fine. They ate a little bit today but the rack was pretty full. The only thing I can think of that's different is this entire months we've been having storms practically everyday and earlier in the month Scamp escaped so the doors are all locked up. Maybe I need a new brand of hay?

 

[chinchildren]

i have seen storms trigger all sorts of behavior. could be that. if they are eating, drinking, pooping fine i would just let them be (continue to offer hay but you really can leave it in more than a day if it is in a rack and left over) and keep an eye on them.

I've check their mouths, it's easy with my standard he'll let me do anything to him, the mosaic bit me but they're mouths are fine. They ate a little bit today but the rack was pretty full. The only thing I can think of that's different is this entire months we've been having storms practically everyday and earlier in the month Scamp escaped so the doors are all locked up. Maybe I need a new brand of hay?