Out of money, what to feed bunny?

[LuckyBunny]

I have enough pellets for my rabbits for tomorrow but I have literally NO money until Friday. Is it ok to feed them romaine lettuce until Friday? I thought the pellets would last a week but they didn’t. And tractor supply was out of bales of coastal last Friday so they have no hay either. I feel horrible but I dont know what to do. Please no judging… Thank you. Any other ideas of what I can give to them also would be really appreciated!

[Q8bunny]

If you can, make the pellets stretch by sprinkling a few on their romaine at mealtime (to not puzzle them with ‘but mom, where are the pellets?’). Also, for variety, if you have access to a field or yard, you could pick some dandelions (leaves or stems/flowers), wash them super duper well, and supplement the buns’ meals that way. If your little ones have never had dandelion, introduce them slowly. And as always, plenty of hay will also do in a pinch.

[Shadow13]

This is my personal response.

I think it’s not the best but won’t be bad since it’s only a couple more days. Maybe feed other veggies like celery,parsley,etc. (And lettuce) maybe you could get some grass from outside and feed that to them.
Do you have any herbs?

[Gina.Jenny]

Buns can manage on reduced pellets but really shouldn’t be without hay, as the fibre keeps the stomach moving. Can you find somewhere where you can cut some clean grass? Hay is dried grass, the long grasses with seed heads will do fine as long as they are clean.

Dandelion leaves and stalks are good, my buns eat the giant daisies grown in our front garden, and clover which grows in patches out the back, goose grass is also a safe, high fibre option. Raspberry and strawberry leaves are both good to give.

[Bianca]

Ask all your local supermarkets and groceries if they have any animal scraps they don’t want. I get a lot that way. They have to throw out anything damaged or too old or leaves that fall off lettuce, carrot tops, etc. So lots of places will save them in boxes for people who ask for animal scraps and only bin them at the end of the day if no-one asks.

Do you know any horse owners? If so, ask if they have any hay scraps. Maybe offer to sweep or clean their hay shed in exchange for some scraps or a biscuit of hay.

It isn’t ideal to go without hay but it’s possible for a day or two. I would definitely try to feed as much variety as possible though, and scatter it/make eating into some games to keep their interest going and slow them down.

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Gina.Jenny on 6/13/2017 11:28 PM

Buns can manage on reduced pellets but really shouldn’t be without hay, as the fibre keeps the stomach moving. Can you find somewhere where you can cut some clean grass? Hay is dried grass, the long grasses with seed heads will do fine as long as they are clean.

Dandelion leaves and stalks are good, my buns eat the giant daisies grown in our front garden, and clover which grows in patches out the back, goose grass is also a safe, high fibre option. Raspberry and strawberry leaves are both good to give.

Totally agree with this. Grass will be good for them in the meantime. I actually wouldn’t feed them too much more romaine (or just romaine) then they are used too. 

Also, check craiglist, freecycle etc to see if anyone is giving away hay they can’t use. Worth a look.  Good luck!

[sarahthegemini]

Whatever you feed them, just make sure you give it at regular intervals so they’ve always got something in their tummy

[LuckyBunny]

Thank you so much for the helpful responses! I live in Florida and we have crab grass I think it’s called. It looks like grass but creeps along the ground. Is this ok? And I will check Craigslist!

[Q8bunny]

Ohh! I missed the part where there was no hay either. Sorry. My duh. Yes. Crabgrass is fine as long as it’s clean and has no burrs that might injure a bun’s booplesnoot

[princessbookworm]

Jerseygirl brought up a really awesome tip! Even if you cant find any free, for after Friday, you should totally look into local farmers for hay. I’m on a budget too because I’m a law student and I got 50lbs of organic orchard grass for $3.50. The bunnies love it!

[Author]

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