Bunny was fed pellets only….

[jessjupiter]

Hello everyone! First time poster here! Feel free to move this topic to somewhere more appropriate since I’m not very forum savy! 

We’re adopting a rabbit from a friend who hasn’t been able to take care of her for a few months now. She’s been left with friends that have just been ‘keeping her alive’ with feeding, basic cage cleaning, and water. (I was rather heart broken to hear about it, and we’re very happy to be adopting her and getting her the proper life she deserves)

As far as we know she’s been fed pellets and only pellets for at least the past few months. I have no idea what her diet was before that or even what brand of pellets they’ve been giving her. We’ve taken her out to give her some lovin’ and attention a few times and she’s wee’d in the play pen. Its been a milky light brown color (which, from what I read, can be indicative of poor nutrition from a pellet only diet). Obviously we’ll be taking her to the vet to get checked out and any appropriate vaccinations for our area, but that’s all dependent on when a vet that has bunny experience has an opening once we’ve moved (which could be anywhere from three days to a week). 

My concerns lie with what we’ll feed her straight away. I want to put a hay/grass source into her pen once we take over, but I’m just not sure if it would be a bad shock to her system to start her on the right diet without a transition. (I know bunnies have delicate GI tracts I just don’t want her to suddenly see these wonderful foods before her, pig out, and put her system into an even worse state.)

Anyone have any advice on easing a bunny back into good food?  

[LongEaredLions]

Thank you for rescuing her!
I would start on grass hay immediately, it usually doesn’t upset the system. Just keep an eye on how much she is eating. You do however, need to introduce different pellets slowly, mixing gradually increasing amounts of new pellets in the old pellets over a course of a few weeks. After that, slowly introduce veggies one at a time in very small amounts. As long as you do it very slowly and gradually, it should work out.
I agree a vet trip would be a very good idea.
Welcome to the forums!

[MoveDiagonally]

Hello and Welcome!

Hay is very natural to a bunny (it should be 80% of their diet) so it’s very unlikely that it will shock her system. I would offer unlimited hay and slowly start limiting pellets based on her weight. Greens are the biggest concern for causing digestive issues. You’ll want to wait until she’s been eating hay for at least two weeks before trying to give her any greens (in small amounts one at a time).

Bunny pee can range from yellow to red and brown is not completely abnormal so I wouldn’t be too concerned with that. Pellets for all the issues they can cause are pretty concentrated nutritionally. I don’t think a pellet only diet would cause her to be malnourished it’s just not good for her teeth, weight or digestive tract.

[tanlover14]

Personally, I would not go pellet-less. Especially if she has not been having an adequate pellet, she may really benefit from the added vitamins and nutrients rabbits get from their pellets. On a pellet-less diet, it’s important to ensure that she is getting the right amounts of what she needs (nutrient-wise) from a large variety of veggies. Other on here have definitely done pellet-less and really it’s a matter of preference BUT it’s always important to discuss this with a rabbit-savvy vet beforehand to ensure the bun is an appropriate candidate – some NEED the supplemental pellets for various reasons.

Pellet intake depends on weight. I think it’ll definitely be important to limit back her pellets (I do 1/4 per 6 lbs of rabbit which is typical. 1/4-1/2 is the recommended.) A favorite pellet is Oxbow. Make sure you get the Adult formula as the Young Rabbit Formula is made with alfalfa. Alfalfa is only for growing baby buns, any rabbit over 7 months should not be getting alfalfa based pellets or alfalfa hay. If she has been on a pellet-only diet it’s essential she begin eating hay to help with GI issues AND to keep those teeth trimmed. She will need access to Timothy hay or Orchard Grass or an Oat hay 24/7. I would try a few different kinds if you have it available to you as she may not be as inclined to eat it if she’s been eating the pellets in place of hay. If she refuses to eat the hay, there are some other tricks you can try for getting her to munch on some.

You’ll want to introduce her to veggies slowly as well. If you’re not sure if she has had or if you’re sure she has not had veggies in her diet, definitely start small and work your way up. Introduce 1 veggie a week in smaller doses, making the amount larger, each day. The spread out of introduction will help you figure out if she has any issues with certain vegetables. Good ones to start with are fragrant herbs like basil or cilantro. Some regular romaine lettuce, red leaf or green leaf lettuce are great as well – but stay far away from iceberg lettuce. Here is a great link for rabbit vegetables along with amounts of which can be given: http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/ and here is another link regarding diet overall: http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/

Rabbit.Org (House Rabbit Society) is one of the greatest resources house bun owners have available to them, I definitely urge you to take a look around that site as well as BinkyBunny to get a feel for the general care and handling of rabbits.

[tanlover14]

Grass/Hay source – not all grass/hay diet! Sorry for the mix-up, you can ignore my babbling about pellet less diet

[Roberta]

Hay should be fine to introduce immediately… Maintain pellets for now and lots of fresh water… When she starts to eat the hay you can think about introducing a green… But go very slowly and try something simple like bok choy, basil or mint…. as you eventually increase the greens then you could reduce pellets but it will be a long slow process to transition.

[jessjupiter]

Thank you so much for your replies! I’ll keep everyone updated on her progress when we’re able to pick her up in the next couple of weeks here! I’m very excited to be giving her the life she deserves finally! 

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