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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE ALWAYS hungry?

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    • Danika
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        So my bun is making me feel like the worst bun mom ever
        I am starting to think that I’m doing something wrong. She is a 3 month old jersey wooly. Adorable. I’ve had her for almost 2 months since I got her when she was reallllly little (I did not know at the time they should only be weened at 8 weeks and will always feel terrible). Anyway, she has unlimited access to teff hay (I am from South-Africa so I don’t have access to timothy hay) and alfalfa (since she is still young). She is not very fond of her hay and I’ve tried many tricks. She gets a half a handful of pellets in the morning and at night. I give her more than one cup greens per day, spread into three servings. And she even gets a rabbit-friendly treat each day. But. It feels like she is ALWAYS hungry! She storms me everytime she sees me and begs for food! And then I feel awful if I don’t give her something. Am I the only one here whose bun does this? I actually thought I was feeding her too much since she sometimes does not eat her cecals. I also feel like I don’t feed her enough variety? The greens I feed her are coriander, parsley, mint, rocket, romaine lettuce, cabbage, basil, whatever I can find. What am I doing wrong? Should I get more variety pelets or food or something so she doesn’t get ‘bored’? Please help me….


      • Danika
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          *weaned (excuse my spelling)


        • Bam
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            A bunny should always act very hungry. It’s probably an important survival mechanism. In the wild rabbits graze on skinny food (grass) and they must feed fr many hours every day in order to get the calories and nutrients they need. A bun that gets full quickly wouldn’t bother with all that risky grazing in a world full of predators, so hunger (or drive to eat) is really important.

            You are definitely not the only one that has a really hungry bunny =) If you can get fresh pesticide-free grass you can complement the hay with grass. Grass is low cal but often yummier to a bun than hay is. My Bam is currently on a diet, but he can have lots of fresh grass. Grass or hay isn’t just important for the tummy, it’s vital for a bun’s teeth as well. Their teeth need constant wear because they grow continously all through the bun’s life. It doesn’t really matter what type of grass/grass hay you use, timothy is just very common in many places, but it’s not necessarily better than other types of grass hay. I myself avoid timothy, because I’m allergic to it.

            Bunny hunger is not all bad and a cause for constant feelings of guilt in the owner, it’s actually good for us bun owners. because very often the only early-ish sign of illness you see in a bun is reduced appetite. Bunnies are otherwise very good at hiding illness, so appetite is an important clue to their health.


          • Ellie from The Netherlands
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              As long as she’s growing well and doesn’t show signs of illness it’s just the good old begging trick. Bunnies LOVE their food and can get very theatrical about begging for it.

              My bun often walks up to me with a happy posture and I think: “Hey how cute, he wants to be cuddled!”. But when he notices that I don’t have food he runs off. *Sigh* it’s wonderful to be appreciated isn’t it…

              The veggies sound very good except for the cabbage. Cabbage can cause painful gas episodes in rabbits. And for the rest: she’s very lucky to be with you ^_^ Most rabbits worldwide have to get by on water and pellets, and to be fed with fresh herbs makes her a really lucky bun!
              Favourite veggies here are: carrot tops and the occasional tiny piece of carrot, celery (both the stalks and the leaves), and fennel.
              If you’re looking to expand and vary her diet, there are several lists online about safe rabbit veggies. Some should be fed only in moderation, because they contain oxalate. Oxalate can form kidney stones when it reacts with calcium, and rabbits are prone to kidney stones as their urine is so concentrated.

              The fresh grass suggestion is a great idea! If fresh grass is difficult to find: you can buy cat grass kits from a pet shop. You can grow these indoors at home, if you can keep your bun out of them long enough… Right, Breintje??? *Breintje bun has spontaneously forgotten about that one time when I found him upside down behind the couch with the contents of the cat grass tray scattered all over him, the window sill and the floor* There had been a slight miscalculation there, oopsie!


            • LittlePuffyTail
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                My bunnies are worse than dogs when it comes to that.


              • joea64
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                  Just be aware that bunnies can be picky about their herbs. I’ve tried parsley, dill, mint and sage (all of which I’d been assured they loved) with Panda and Fernando thus far. Panda eagerly eats all of them but Fernando, that fluffy little white rascal, can be real choosy. He turns up his nose at the dill and mint I’ve offered him and can be on-and-off about parsley, but with sage, I’ve finally hit on a herb he always eagerly noms. It’s a comparatively expensive one though so I’ll have to buy it from the herb shelf of the produce section at Walmart, but then again that’s where I get their spring mix and they love it, particularly the organic variant, so.


                • Danika
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                    Posted By bam on 10/15/2017 12:15 PM
                    A bunny should always act very hungry. It’s probably an important survival mechanism. In the wild rabbits graze on skinny food (grass) and they must feed fr many hours every day in order to get the calories and nutrients they need. A bun that gets full quickly wouldn’t bother with all that risky grazing in a world full of predators, so hunger (or drive to eat) is really important.

                    You are definitely not the only one that has a really hungry bunny =) If you can get fresh pesticide-free grass you can complement the hay with grass. Grass is low cal but often yummier to a bun than hay is. My Bam is currently on a diet, but he can have lots of fresh grass. Grass or hay isn’t just important for the tummy, it’s vital for a bun’s teeth as well. Their teeth need constant wear because they grow continously all through the bun’s life. It doesn’t really matter what type of grass/grass hay you use, timothy is just very common in many places, but it’s not necessarily better than other types of grass hay. I myself avoid timothy, because I’m allergic to it.

                    Bunny hunger is not all bad and a cause for constant feelings of guilt in the owner, it’s actually good for us bun owners. because very often the only early-ish sign of illness you see in a bun is reduced appetite. Bunnies are otherwise very good at hiding illness, so appetite is an important clue to their health.

                    Thank you so much for the reassurance ^”^ She is eating as much as ever haha. But now I just don’t feel like I’m starving her anymore. This forum is amazing, really. I love it and have learned so much using it. Thank you for taking the time!


                  • Danika
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                    29 posts Send Private Message

                      Posted By Ellie from The Netherlands on 10/15/2017 6:10 PM
                      As long as she’s growing well and doesn’t show signs of illness it’s just the good old begging trick. Bunnies LOVE their food and can get very theatrical about begging for it.

                      My bun often walks up to me with a happy posture and I think: “Hey how cute, he wants to be cuddled!”. But when he notices that I don’t have food he runs off. *Sigh* it’s wonderful to be appreciated isn’t it…

                      The veggies sound very good except for the cabbage. Cabbage can cause painful gas episodes in rabbits. And for the rest: she’s very lucky to be with you ^_^ Most rabbits worldwide have to get by on water and pellets, and to be fed with fresh herbs makes her a really lucky bun!
                      Favourite veggies here are: carrot tops and the occasional tiny piece of carrot, celery (both the stalks and the leaves), and fennel.
                      If you’re looking to expand and vary her diet, there are several lists online about safe rabbit veggies. Some should be fed only in moderation, because they contain oxalate. Oxalate can form kidney stones when it reacts with calcium, and rabbits are prone to kidney stones as their urine is so concentrated.

                      The fresh grass suggestion is a great idea! If fresh grass is difficult to find: you can buy cat grass kits from a pet shop. You can grow these indoors at home, if you can keep your bun out of them long enough… Right, Breintje??? *Breintje bun has spontaneously forgotten about that one time when I found him upside down behind the couch with the contents of the cat grass tray scattered all over him, the window sill and the floor* There had been a slight miscalculation there, oopsie!

                      She seems to be growing fine. And fast, haha. I have actually tried celeey sticks but she didn’t even look at it twice. I have one very picky little rascal! Oh and I actually just bought some wheatgrass at a supermark today that I am planning to keep growing for her. She loves it. So I’ll put it out for her untill she ate it to the ground, and then I’ll just grow them out again. Thank you for the advice. I appreciate that you took the time.


                    • Danika
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                        Posted By LittlePuffyTail on 10/15/2017 7:12 PM
                        My bunnies are worse than dogs when it comes to that.

                        Haha oh my goodness I can relate so much! My bun is constantly performing all these theatrical little tricks for food. Worse than dogs, definitely!!


                      • Danika
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                          Posted By joea64 on 10/16/2017 10:02 AM
                          Just be aware that bunnies can be picky about their herbs. I’ve tried parsley, dill, mint and sage (all of which I’d been assured they loved) with Panda and Fernando thus far. Panda eagerly eats all of them but Fernando, that fluffy little white rascal, can be real choosy. He turns up his nose at the dill and mint I’ve offered him and can be on-and-off about parsley, but with sage, I’ve finally hit on a herb he always eagerly noms. It’s a comparatively expensive one though so I’ll have to buy it from the herb shelf of the produce section at Walmart, but then again that’s where I get their spring mix and they love it, particularly the organic variant, so.

                          Haha oh I am aware, believe me! My bun has the worst case of pickyness. ‘Fiemies’ (pronounced pheemees), like we call it here in South-Africa. She pulls up her nose at mint and sometimes basil. In the beginning she LOVED parsley. Now she decides on the day whether or not she will eat it. Her current favourites are coriander and watercress. With dill she is also on again, off again. I haven’t tried sage yet, but it seems worth it. Thanks for the tip! I wish we had a Walmart here. I struggle so much acquiring bun-essentials here in SA since bunnies are not all that common in the pet area. More so in the ‘kept in cages on farms’ area, which breaks my heart… Anyway, thanks for taking the time to reply. It is greatly appreciated =)

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                      Forum DIET & CARE ALWAYS hungry?