Greens

[IsabellaRobyn]

Hey guys.  I’ve been thinking about the amount of greens I feed Belle a day and I’m looking for some advice/guidance on the topic.  Belle is turning 5 months on Thursday and at the moment she gets about 3/4 cup of a mix of Spring Greens and Romaine Lettuce with the odd basil leaf thrown in from time to time.  I know she should be getting around 2 cups of greens when she’s an adult but I’m not sure about as she grows.  (She also gets 1/3 cup pellets & unlimited hay/water).

Do you think she is at an okay amount for now?  I’ve been gradually increasing the amount of greens she’s been getting since I got her as the lady I bought her from was already feeding her greens at 8 weeks (a piece of Spring Greens about the size of half a palm).  I’m worried I’m not giving her enough for her age but I don’t want to suddenly give her double what she gets just now in case it upsets her tummy.

Please don’t tell me about greens per pound of rabbit because the last time I found out her weight she was much younger and smaller so I don’t really know what she weighs.  I’m looking for more of what you guys have done while giving your baby rabbit greens and if you think I’m going about it the right way !  Thanks guys .

[Deleted User]

Hmmm…How big is Belle? Have you tried weighing her on a scale with you holding her? My bun is about 4 1/2 lbs and I give her probably 2 1/2 c. of greens. I know it’s on the much side. But I give her about a 1 tablespoon of pellets on top of her digestive enzyme so that extra 1/2 cup is to make sure she isn’t hungry. She of course has unlimited hay. =]

[FrankieFlash]

I would probably increase SLOWLY the amount of greens you give until you get up to 2 cups. She’s at the age she should be able to handle it. Just take things slowly. She also could probably still have unlimited pellets if she wanted them because she is still growing

Now I am also a spoiler and Bunjamin gets 3+ cups/day but we worked up to that and I watch his poos to make sure everything is all good. And just to be sure because even though I’m a day away from our bunniversary I still double check everything I do with my vet and she said that’s great as long as poos are normal. lol.

[IsabellaRobyn]

She’s quite a small rabbit. I’ve been comparing her with how big the rest of the bunnies I seen at the breeders house and she seems much smaller than all of them. I’m not sure if she still needs to grow or if she’ll just be a little petite rabbit haha! I have a scale that measures in stones and kgs so I’m not sure it would work that well because it isn’t 100% accurate and I doubt her tiny weight would make a noticeable difference on the scale.

FF – Belle has never had unlimited pellets. When I got her from the breeder she told me I should only feed a third of a cup because the feed I use would upset her tummy if I gave her more. She has excel dwarf and junior rabbit pellets which is a really highly recommended brand but she said it is really rich. I’ll keep giving her more and more greens. I might start adding in some greens in her morning feed and slowly increase that up to what she gets at night time that way she’d have double the amount but not all at one time.

Thanks for all the help!

[CinnabunMom]

If you’re going to increase the amount of veggies, it won’t hurt to lower the amount of pellets as well. By 7 months, the rule is 1/4 cup per 4lbs of bun. There are a lot of people around BB that actually lower the amount to 1/8 (like me!) and increase the veggie amount above 2 cups (Cinnabun gets about 3 1/2 – 4 cups a day) because the greens are healthier. Just remember to do it slow!

[Elrohwen]

I’d say you’re fine to increase up to 2 cups. You don’t have to do it all at once, but spreading it out over 2 weeks or a month should be more than enough. I’ve had poopy-butt issues with feeding new greens to one of my rabbits (the other has an iron stomach) but changing the amounts has never caused problems.

At her age, I wouldn’t decrease pellets (she could even be getting more, according to HRS guidelines). That brand of pellets certainly isn’t so rich that she can’t have a bit more as she’s still growing. I would switch to a timothy based pellet once she’s 8 months to a year old.

 She looks like a holland lop from your siggy? Holland size can vary from 2-4lbs (and some even a bit larger if they are false dwarfs) so being small isn’t an indication that anything’s wrong with her. She’s probably just a smaller bunny. My holland boy was full weight at 6 months, so she probably won’t get much bigger.

[IsabellaRobyn]

Thanks Cinnabun!

Elrohwen – There is another type of excel pellet for adults that I’m going to switch to when she gets that old which I think is timothy based ! I don’t plan on decreasing her pellets because the vet told me it was a good amount I was giving her when I went.

She is a mini lop (uk version) so yes, I think she is a holland lop haha! I think she is just a small bunny and I’m pretty sure she’s not a false dwarf. That’s interesting that she won’t get much bigger, she’s really tiny haha! I’ve never had a rabbit before so I’ve not got much to compare to just what I expected so she’s probably normal size ! I’ve never thought there is anything wrong with her, she seems perfectly healthy just small. Thanks for the help .

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