diet overhaul

[MrBun&Daisy]

I need to over haul my buns diets. They don’t eat much hay (due to mom giving too many pellets) and I would love for them to eat some salad. I’m just not sure how to start this. I know the first step is to cut down on the amount of pellets. I’ve read that pellets should be 1/4 to 1/2 cup per 6 pound bun. Mr Bun is around 5 pounds and daisy is around 4. They share 2 food bowls in their house. How much should I put in each bowl to make sure each bun gets the proper amount?

                              I was thinking a 1/4 cup in each bowl once in the morning and once at night. Would that be okay? That way they are both (assuming they share equally) getting 1/2 cup per day?

I also would like to introduce salads. We have tried a few herbs but they never liked anything we gave them. it worries me because everything says they need to have greens daily. So do I just try to find something they like? and is it 3 cups of salad a day? What if we don’t find something they like, is that horrible?

PS* both buns pee and poo normally so I’m not concerned over a specific health problem I just feel like they don’t have a great diet. they do have unlimited timothy hay available. We get our hay from the local supermarket and I am currently looking into pricing and companies to have hay shipped to us for better quality.

Any suggestions are welcome- i just want to give them the best diet possible.

[Q8bunny]

First off, all pellet reductions and new food additions should be done suuuper gradually to avoid affecting the buns’ tums and livers.

Next: 1/2 cup for a 4lb bun is HUGE. The less pellets, the better. I recently took my 4+lb bun from his food-bag recommended amount to 2tsps each morning and evening and his poos are picture perfect now.

Keep trying the greens repeatedly. Buns are like kids. Often it’s just a matter of finally tasting something and if one sees the other one try they might try it too. A couple of cups a day each should be great.

Let us know how you guys get on and don’t give up.

[tobyluv]

Rabbits that are 4 and 5 pounds should only get about 1/4 cup per day, so if you split up their feedings, you should only give them 1/8 cup twice a day. Slowly reduce the amount.

Here are lists of veggies, showing which ones are okay to give daily and which ones should be fed more sparingly.  Go slowly when introducing new veggies.  One new one a week.

http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx

You can try some other varieties of hay, such as orchard grass or any of the grass hays to see if your bunnies like it better than timothy. Also try different brands. There can be a big difference in brands. I get most of my hay and pellets from drsfostersmith.com. Their prices are good, they often have some items on sale, and their shipping charges are free if your order is a certain amount. Lately, they give free shipping at only $19, where it used to be at $49. Once you get on their email list, you will get notices of sales and sometimes free shipping at any size order. I buy Oxbow hay, different varieties and American Pet Diner Timothy Gold.

[Kim]

I agree with the others introduce the new veges very slowly.

I try to rotate Gizmos salads every week so and adding a new vege in the process.
Last week salad was Kale, romaine, and bell pepper (red, yellow and orange)
This week he is getting Broccoli slaw with greens and cilantro added or parsley
He gets just about a cup of salad a day. And he weighs just over 3 lbs
For his pellets he may get 1/4 cup maximum, he may also get a tiny bit of oatmeal and alfalfa hay with his pellets as well

And his timothy hay is unlimited.

I try to buy fresh veges, like the bell peppers, and bring them home chop them up(yes I remove the seeds and white stuff inside) then place in a zip lock bag and toss in freezer. I buy his brussel sprouts, green beans, peas, cauliflower, and broccoli already frozen so all I need to do is unfreeze for him. Plus this way, the food does not spoil before he gets a chance to eat it, and I am all for saving money whenever and however I can.

As for fruit that is VERY limited, its candy to them, so I use it as a treat.
He will get part,maybe 1/4 of the dried cherry and that is it

[Azerane]

I agree, cutting back pellets is the primary step here. 1/2 cup each is a big amount for a 4 and 5 pound rabbit. Mine weigh 6.7 and 5.5 pounds and both get 2 tablespoons of pellets etc per day (1 in the morning, 1 in the evening). They also get about 3 cups of greens split between them daily.

With the greens, you just have to keep trying. Some bunnies are fussy about trying anything new, but once they eventually try it, they learn that it actually does taste quite nice. Only introduce one new green at a time, and only in small amounts to avoid upsetting the gut. Leafy greens are the best, not just herbs but romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, bok choy, endive, silverbeet, kale etc. Pick one, and offer a piece several times a day until they start eating it. Once you’ve got them eating one, you can try another. You can also try fresh grass if you happen to have a garden with lawn

[MrBun&Daisy]

thanks for all the input guys! I have already started to slowly decrease their pellets as I knew that was the biggest step. From your advise my end goal will be the 1/8 cup twice a day. We will also be switching to a better brand of pellets (once I find one) as theirs currently has more “goodies” in it than I’d like. unfortunately there aren’t too many stores that sell rabbit food and the variety is not great. so I’m beginning to look into online shipping for better quality food.

I will also look into other types of hay as well. we do have a lawn but with so many animals in the neighborhood and a very sandy soil type I wouldn’t feel comfortable feeding the grass to them even after washing it.

As for the greens- how should they be fed? I give them their pellets and restock their hay once in the morning before I leave for work and once before bed. Should I give the greens in the morning and leave them in their house during the day? or should I give them while I’m home with them? is it okay for them to sit out?

I am going very slowly as I know not to upset their systems. With bun having just turned 1 and daisy passing the 6 month mark I felt it was needed to get their diet right as I don’t want them growing unhealthy as they get older. Both buns are healthy and at a good weight (I use the Bone feeling method day to day and weigh on a scale about once a month) so getting them on a good diet now as they begin to enter the “adult” stages of life when its harder to adjust to diet changes. We are also saving to have Daisy spayed before she turns one (our vet is finally comfortable with her size yay!!) and I want her tummy to be as healthy as possible before she goes through that.

Daisy has always been more willing to try new things so hopefully we will find some veggies she likes and that will help entice MrBun to try it as well.

Here’s to giving my buns better food for a better life!

Oh and toby mentioned one website- anybody else have any good places to get hay from?

[Theodorusrex]

Any goodies in a rabbit pellet generally means it’s full of rabbit junk food – good quality pellets will be uniform to prevent selective feeding.

When we adopted Theo he was getting much too high a portion of pellets – we slowly cut him down to 1/4 cup per day (he weighs 5.5 lbs). He was previously never a big hay eater but with the lower portion of pellets you may find they start munching on more hay. As someone has already mentioned it may be a good idea to try different varieties – Theo is much fonder of orchard grass hay than timothy and subsequently eats much, much more. Try feeding small bundles of hay often as well – I find if hay sits out too long, even for a few hours, it gets ignored in our house.

[MrBun&Daisy]

Selective feeding!!! yes! its amazing how quick they figured out they could just pick out the good stuff. I’m currently browsing the site toby mentioned to decide on a new food. also browsing the hay selection. we just did buy a new bag of timothy hay so I’m going to wait until that is low so I don’t leave the new stuff sitting around. which by the way- how fast will hay go bad? I don’t want to order a large quantity then have it sitting around and go stale. Same thing with pellets- we are on a budget and have looked into buying in bulk but I don’t want to have to throw away a half a bag of food/hay because its gone bad.

[Theodorusrex]

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp

Above is a really helpful resource with picking a food. I feed science selective, having previously fed Burgess. I find science selective very good and bunny loves it.
It shouldn’t go bad quickly if kept somewhere dry with good ventilation. Not sure how long you can keep it for tbh – we go through a 3kg bag every month and we get it delivered once a month but if you’re buying bulk I’m honestly not sure. We buy food in 2kg bags to which does us for a few months at least but we keep it in air tight containers once its opened. Someone else might have better info if you’re buying hay/pellets in bigger bulk than that.

[Theodorusrex]

If you’re switching from a food with goodies in it to a regular pelleted food bunny will probably not be too pleased – do it very gradually and be persistent. It will take them a while to adjust to a less-sweet flavour. Also it’s important to do it gradually, mixing old food in with new food so as not to upset their tums.

[Azerane]

Hay stays good for months if kept correctly If it gets moist or is incorrectly stored it can go mouldy etc. (hay sweats in plastic and needs ventilation so it can breathe) But it does keep for months on end when stored well.

In terms of feeding greens, as long as you feed them a good time apart from the pellet meals, it doesn’t matter. Pellets take longer to digest than greens, so it’s best to keep feedings separate. I feed pellets early morning and late evening, and greens early afternoon. I just sit them in cage, 1/2 to 3/4 of it is eaten almost immediately, then the rest might get picked off over the next couple of hours. I think they’re fine to leave for a couple hours, but probably wouldn’t leave them all day (especially if it’s warm in your house).

[MrBun&Daisy]

Great thank you! I do have an old dog food holder that is no longer being used and is air tight so we could wash it out and use it to store food. Not to my buns liking we have begun the transition to a better diet! I have started gradually reducing pellets and will start mixing the new ones in once I pick one and it arrives. we are going to the store tonight to find some veggies and see if we can get somebunny to nibble on them! Here’s to health bunny tummies!!

Also just while playing last night we noticed daisy is a little……chubby. we were joking that she has grown so much and is almost as big as MrBun now but then I felt her bones and theres definitely not much definition there. We are going to weigh her tonight and keep track to see if cutting the pellets down will get her back to the health “covered in thick cloth” bones.

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