Best way to start a young (~2 month) old bunny on a good path

[SFbunnylove]

Hi everyone,

So after doing much research (maybe too much) I am a little bit confused on how to go about properly feeding a young rabbit.  My rabbit is around 2 months old, and I know that the breeder was feeding him pellets (adult type), Timothy hay, and vegetables as an occasional treat.  From what I have been reading, it seems that it is best to give 1 cup per 2 lbs of rabbit of vegetables (primarily leafy green).  I have also seen where it says that rabbits under 6 months should have unlimited pellets and hay.  

What is the best way to transition him over to vegetables, from solely pellets?  Currently I have been testing out vegetables slowly (one per day), and he has eaten romaine lettuce and spinach with no problems.  Today, I gave him a little piece of Kale while I was cooking and he seemed to like it.  After inspecting his poop, it looks like the pellets tonight are a little bit gooey and stringy, but it does not look like hair, it looks like undigested kale that is kind of coming off one of the pellets (sorry for the gross details).  Just wondering what this is a sign of I guess, does it mean that he is having trouble with Kale or that he needs more hay?  He seems like he is pooping frequently, and it is definitely not like diarrhea, I just want to make sure that this is normal.

He also does not seem extremely interested in his hay, he is eating some of it, but I guess I don’t have a grasp on how much he really should be eating is it better to mix it up with different types of hay rather than just timothy?  

Thanks for all of your help!  Any advice on young bunny nutrition would be much appreciated, doing my best, but it is always good to hear what other people have had luck with and also how to tell if the bunny is not tolerant to a certain vegetables?  

[Monkeybun]

I would do 1 new veggie a week instead of a day, that way you haev a better time frame to see changes in his poop. With a day, its hard to tell what is causing the changes.

For hay, I put it in the litter box, as bunnies like to eat and go at the same time. That definitely helped me getting all of my rabbits be good hay eaters. Different types helps as well. With your bun being only 2 months old, you may want to try alfalfa hay for now, it helps with growth

[SFbunnylove]

awesome, thanks for the advice! I will go ahead and try 1/week. I guess as far as bad changes, the main concern would be diarrhea?

The breeder who I got him from told me that if a rabbit has too much alfalfa hay, their heart will stop and they will die….any clue if there is any truth behind this or if its maybe an old wives tale? I couldn’t seem to find anything to back it up doing research.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’ve never heard that about alfalfa. Most people feed alfalfa to young rabbits since it’s more fattening. It’s not great to feed a lot of alfalfa to older buns because it’s higher in calcium and can cause urinary problems as well as too much weight gain.

[tanlover14]

I have to agree with LPT. I’ve never heard that about alfalfa either. From vets or anyone. All 3 of my buns were on alfalfa until 5 months old. But I think the normal is usually 6 months. He should definitely have unlimited pellets until he’s older (usually reduce around 6 months so by 7 he’s on about 1/4 per 6 lbs). And ALWAYS unlimited hay. From what I’ve heard, alfalfa is definitely the best for growing buns! But you can try many different kinds and maybe see which kinds the little guy prefers since that may help him eat more.

I would also go slowly with the veggies and only introduce one per week rather than day. I would also check out the list on here and on the House Rabbit Society website for a good list of what is okay and not okay to give your bun! It was a shock some of the veggies they shouldn’t be given a lot of and what should only be considered treats, not dinner salads!

Would also love to see pics of your little guy if you have any!

[Shay&Barcode]

From the research and what my breeder told me, rabbits under 6 months shouldn’t have vegetables at all. Strictly pellets and hay. Timothy hay is best for rabbits under 6 months. My baby rabbit Barcode just turned 2 months old on the 22nd of November. He’s diet is all pellets and Timothy hay.

[MoveDiagonally]

Welcome to BB Shay&Barcode!

We ask that members not respond to old posts as it causes confusion. This topic is over a year old. If you would like more info on the dietary guidelines most of us follow for our bunnies check out this article:
http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/ 

You are also more than welcome to start a new thread if you have diet questions.  I’m going to lock this thread.

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