Pellet intake

[luvmyhunybuny]

Prior to getting Toby, I was feeding Tillie a good amount of pellets as she is still a baby (as per advice from vet). Toby is a young as well (about a year) but he loves his pellets and tends to over eat. I normally would not be concerned (he is not overweight and vet said to only limit pellets if buns are older or overweight, yes she is a bun savvy vet). My concern is that Toby seems to be producing way too many cecals. He only gets greens once a day and not a large amount. Also, how do you keep your other buns from eating each others pellets? Both my ‘kids’ are free range and while they have their own bowls, they eat out of each others, so Toby tends to hog them all. Advice?

[Beka27]

If he’s over-producing cecals, that means the diet is too rich, so he does need to be limited. It’s difficult to limit one’s pellets while the other is getting a higher amount, so you’ll need to start limiting them both. The pellets should be limited starting at about 7 months; feeding too many pellets allows the buns to not eat hay and veggies which need to make up 95% of their daily intake. You’re fine with feeding veggies once a day, but for two buns, they should have at least 4 cups of veggies available to them each day: for example, a full head of romaine, half a head of something else, and half a bunch of parsley. 4 cups sounds like a lot, but they are grazers and the fresh vegetation helps to keep them hydrated.

If he continues to eat her limited portion of pellets, you’ll need to separate them for feedings.

[Elrohwen]

How old is Tillie now? I’m guessing she could be reduced on pellets as well. I’d go down to 1/2c for the pair (so 1/4c for each) and gradually reduce from there as she gets older.

What’s the general quantity of greens you feed? I would increase that as well, since you said you’re not giving much.

I feed pellets in one bowl – 1/8c at each feeding and they share. I put veggies in two bowls because it prevents Hannah from chasing Otto away and each bowl holds about 1-2c so that means 2-4c per feeding to split between them (I feed twice a day)

 

[Tate]

What kind of pellets are you feeding? There might just be too much bad protein in the pellets. A portion of protein content in many rabbit specific pellets comes from animal byproducts which aren’t useable at all by rabbits. The only pellet I know of that doesn’t contain animal products is APD. I’ve started supplementing with alfalfa hay… A very small amount once or twice a week. That would help with cutting back pellets and in turn increasing hay consumption.

[luvmyhunybuny]

Posted By Elrohwen on 09/02/2011 07:52 AM

How old is Tillie now? I’m guessing she could be reduced on pellets as well. I’d go down to 1/2c for the pair (so 1/4c for each) and gradually reduce from there as she gets older.

What’s the general quantity of greens you feed? I would increase that as well, since you said you’re not giving much.

I feed pellets in one bowl – 1/8c at each feeding and they share. I put veggies in two bowls because it prevents Hannah from chasing Otto away and each bowl holds about 1-2c so that means 2-4c per feeding to split between them (I feed twice a day)

 

Tillie is 5 months old. They have been getting about 3 cups of greens per day, in the evening.

 

[luvmyhunybuny]

Posted By Tate on 09/02/2011 09:06 AM
What kind of pellets are you feeding? There might just be too much bad protein in the pellets. A portion of protein content in many rabbit specific pellets comes from animal byproducts which aren’t useable at all by rabbits. The only pellet I know of that doesn’t contain animal products is APD. I’ve started supplementing with alfalfa hay… A very small amount once or twice a week. That would help with cutting back pellets and in turn increasing hay consumption.

 

I have been mixing Oxbow Bunny Basics adult and young pellets. Should I go to all adult and supplement with alfalfa hay?

[TriBun]

5 months is still pretty young. She definitely needs her pellets. I always hand-feed Rosy her pellets so that Kevin doesn’t eat them (he’s on a pellet-free diet because he’s a little overweight). I give her some in the morning before work, some when I get home from work, and some before bed. So she ends up getting about 1/4 cup a day. She should still be getting some alfalfa for a few more months, whether its in pellet form or hay.

[Tate]

I supplement with alfalfa once a week and I found that it has worked well for my rabbits, one of which is extremely sensitive to pellets. Most people DON’T suggest to give adult rabbits any alfalfa because it’s fattening, but I read it in a nutrition book by Lucille Moore. Like I said, it works for my guys. But they are also on a low protein pellet so it evens out. I don’t think you would really need to supplement long term with alfalfa if you’re using Oxbow. Tillie may benefit from extra calories right now since she is young.

[luvmyhunybuny]

Do you all think it is the alfalfa pellets are causing the excess cecals? Wondering if I should switch to APD pellets. Both buns are at a great weight, but with Tillie so young I know she needs all she can get. I have been told conflicting things about the pellets. Some say just timothy based for them some say alfalfa based.

[LoveChaCha]

Alfalfa is very rich. When I got Chacha spayed at 6 months, the vet told me to switch her over to timothy pellets..

[Tate]

It’s very tricky- on the one hand, pellets should ideally be used as a supplement and therefore only a small portion of the diet… You SHOULD be able to get away with alfalfa based pellets without any problems. On the other hand, pellets probably make up a bigger part of the diet than they should, mostly because they are cheap and convenient. Personally, I can’t afford to not feed my rabbits pellets. Veggies are expensive! You kind of have to decide which is better for you.. that’s where the mixed information comes from!
I’ve found that Fievel is very sensitive to both alfalfa and Timothy pellets. I’m using Oxbow organic right now. It’s a grass hay based pellet with low protein. I’m seriously considering switching to APD Timmy pellets though… Still undecided.

[luvmyhunybuny]

Thanks, Tate. I am going to check out the Oxbow organic. I have been satisfied with Oxbow, but really need to get the cecal issue under control. This morning I only found a few, but this afternoon I found about 5 more “bunches” laying around. Sigh.

[Tate]

I think you will see a big difference- Fievel was the same way and once I switched, it was under control. Granted, I do have to limit his pellet intake but he’s able to eat and digest more of the Organic pellets than he could of the timothy and alfalfa pellets.

[Monkeybun]

honestly, neither Squirrel nor Monkey have had alfalfa hay, and they do fine. Monkey never even had alfalfa pellets, she’s been timothy only since I brought her home. They would be fine being switched to timothy pellets and hay only.

[Joyfull_music]

I had the weird rabbit who preferred timothy to alfalfa as a baby. She got alfalfa for her first month and a half with me, then I started to introduce the timothy at about 4 1/2 months of age. Then she started to snub the alfalfa. Even the vet found that strange.

[Beka27]

Meadow was never fed alfalfa pellets before we got her, so at 4 months, I saw no point in switching her to alfalfa for a couple months, then switching back. Alfalfa pellets are not a necessity. A little alfalfa hay is fine.

[luvmyhunybuny]

Posted By Beka27 on 09/04/2011 06:21 AM
Meadow was never fed alfalfa pellets before we got her, so at 4 months, I saw no point in switching her to alfalfa for a couple months, then switching back. Alfalfa pellets are not a necessity. A little alfalfa hay is fine.

 

Beka~

My guinea pigs have never gotten alfalfa pellets either and they have grown just fine. I keep hearing conflicting things on whether the bunnies should get them, but I guess everyone has an opinion. I just bought a bag of Oxbow alfalfa pellets, but I am giving them to Smudge as he really needs to gain weight (and he is young).

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