Diet Question

[kiles94]

Hello again! I wanna know ya’lls opinion on your rabbit’s diet. For those of you who don’t know me yet, my name is Kylee, and I have two rabbits named August and Theodore. For their food, they get SmallPetSelect Timothy Hay and their pellets. At first I was giving them pellets every day, but I changed to every other day because I was afraid they would gain too much weight. They get hay pretty much “twice a day”. I basically fill it when it’s empty, which is about once in the morning and once in the evening. Now they are not lacking “groceries” – they have plenty of weight on them, which is why I was afraid they would gain too much if I continued giving them pellets every day. However they act like they’re “starving” all the time. I just wanted to know what everyone feeds their critters and if I should go back to feeding them pellets every day.

Thank you!
Kylee

Update on shedding question: those of you that saw my question on them shedding, the pineapple has been working great!

[Sirius&Luna]

All bunnies tend to act like they’re starving all the time!

It sounds like their diet is pretty much correct, but I would make sure they never run out of hay, so it shouldn’t ever really get empty. Can you top it up a bit more often? I top mine up 3 times a day, but I always leave much more than they can eat between top ups, the top up is mostly to ‘refresh’ it a bit.

Can you give them a smaller portion of pellets, but every day? I give mine a couple of tablespoons each once a day, sprinkled into the hay.

I also see you don’t mention any vegetables? Is there a specific reason you don’t give veg? It’s a good way to give them some variety, and also a treat that isn’t pellets. Mine get a bowl of veg in the morning and evening.

[kiles94]

I’ll try topping off their hay more! I’m just at work all day most days so I usually don’t have the ability to do so, but I think between me and my husband we can fill their hay a bit more. It never gets completely empty, but I think we could do better about keeping it more full.

I’ll try smaller amount of pellets every day too. I usually give them a scoop of pellets, about 1/4 of their bowl full. I can try a couple of tablespoons a day instead!

They do gets fruits and veggies, as well as some oxbow treats periodically. I used to give them veggies once a day, but I heard/read that too much isn’t good for them. How much do you give yours??

[Sirius&Luna]

I normally fill their hay before I leave for work, when I get home from work, and before bed, as I’m also out for a good proportion of the day. I think they just tend to get more excited about fresh hay too.

Fruit should be only given occasionally as a treat (eg. mine will get a strawberry or a small piece of apple/carrot about once a week – I’m so mean! haha). Also remember that carrot counts as a fruit in this context because of it’s high sugar content.

But leafy green veg should be a staple of their diet, unless they specifically react badly to it. I give mine a bowl of veg (roughly two handfuls) in the morning and evening. This normally consists of at least three of the below: romaine lettuce, mixed leaf lettuce, rocket, spinach, kale, celery, spring greens, coriander, parsley, basil, mint, cauliflower leaves. I have herbs growing in a window box so I can always sprinkle a few of them on top of the lettuce etc that I buy for the week.

If they’re not used to eating veg, you should introduce it slowly in small portions, and only one at a time. Eg, start with a couple of lettuce leaves every day for a week, and if that goes well, add a few coriander sprigs the next week. It sounds like they have had some veg before, so maybe you don’t need to be so cautious. It’s always good to be especially aware when you give them a new veg for the first time though – some veggies cause gas for some buns.

Also, don’t feel bad about them acting starving, it’s totally normal bunny behaviour!

[LittlePuffyTail]

How old are your bunnies and are the pellets timothy or alfalfa?

[kiles94]

They are two and one years old. They are getting Timothy pellets.
I have stated giving them less pellets every day, instead of more every other day, topping off their hay more, and giving greens at night. We’re still figuring out what everyone likes, my two year old is a bit more picky than my one year old, but we know they both like spinach, spring mix, and kale!
They seem to be doing great so far!

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By kiles94 on 11/22/2017 8:50 AM

They are two and one years old. They are getting Timothy pellets.
I have stated giving them less pellets every day, instead of more every other day, topping off their hay more, and giving greens at night. We’re still figuring out what everyone likes, my two year old is a bit more picky than my one year old, but we know they both like spinach, spring mix, and kale!
They seem to be doing great so far!

Sounds good

For my two, I give timothy, orchard and oat hay every day. They get 10 individual pellets a day and I give them one or two at a time throughout the day as treats. For veggies, they get romaine and thyme for breakfast, dill before bed and a portion of greens at dinner time. I’m trialing things but at the moment they’re enjoying coriander and carrot tops. They also get dried dandelion after dinner as we play “find the dandelion” every evening

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