7 month diet questions!

[Allie2620]

Hi all,

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I have a few questions now that Daphne has hit the 7 month mark.

1).  I’m trying to start limiting pellets, but the House Rabbit Society guidelines are a little hard to interpret for my dwarf bunny that hovers around 2lbs (since the guidelines say 1/2 cup per 6lbs).  Other dwarf owners, how many pellets do you give your little guys?

2).  I’ve been using Kaytee pellets for juvenile rabbits, and have been planning to transition to Oxbow Bunny Basics, but the local Petsmart runs out of it in a second (they NEVER have it in stock when I show up), but I did find Oxbow Organic at a Pet Supplies Plus in town, so I bought a package yesterday.  However, the packaging says its not recommended for use in bunnies under 1 yr, so should I ignore the packaging and start switching over, or mix the Oxbow with Kaytee until we hit the year mark, or should I avoid it all together?

3). Daphne loves pellets over hay/veggies and so I’ve started feeding her veggies/hay at night, and filling her pellets up in the morning.  Is this a good method?  I think she’s at least eating a little more hay/veggies this way.  Granted, as soon as I give her pellets, she goes crazy for them.

4).  Veggies.  Ugh.  I’ve tried SO MANY types now.  I started out with lettuce (Romaine or Green Leaf), but after a few months, she starting snubbing it so I decided it was time to experiment with other veggies.  I’ve tried, without success, to give her collard greens, broccoli, green peppers, basil, parsley, and carrots.  The bunny is a snob.  So, we’re back to lettuce again.  I truly tried the collard greens and broccoli and parsley for a solid week each, and she ignored them every single day.  I’m still working my way through the House Rabbit list, hoping to find SOMETHING that sparks her interest, but I’m getting discouraged.  Any thoughts?

5).  Daphne has been eating Timothy and Alfalfa hay for quite some time now, and I figure I might buy one more bag of Alfalfa after the current bag and then transition her to just Timothy (and maybe introduce Orchard or something fun).  My question is, is it bad to just keep the hay in the plastic bag it comes in?  Everyone talks on here about ways they store their hay, and I can’t tell if it’s because they buy it in bulk or b/c the plastic bag is bad…..thoughts?

*phew, I hope that’s not an overwhelming list of questions!  I appreciate any input I can get!  Thanks!!

 

oh, and in case you remember, Daphne is actually a neutered boy now, but I’ve given up on trying to stick with one pronoun.  One minute, Daphne is a she, the next, I say he.  It doesn’t seem to bug the bun

[jerseygirl]

haha, well i’ll attempt answer some questions though I don’t own a 2 pounder!

I believe people with small rabbits work on about 1/8 cup per day. If you’re free feeding them at the moment, work out roughly how much she is consuming per day and gradually start reducing it if you aren’t already. You could start a mix of tim and alfalfa pellets now also. She might eat only the alfafa and a little of the timothy so start reducing her own intake that way.

If oxbow might be hard to get hold of, you’re probably better going with a pellet that is in ready supply. It’s better to go with one and stick with it. I believe Kaytee do a tim pellet (Timothy complete) Also, Zupreem and American Pet diner are some other options. I think HRS gives a nutritional profile that indicates a suitable pellet so anything within that range could be used.

I think you’ll find she might sample the greens more once her pellet ration is reduced. Currently she’s probably not hungry enough to try things. Sometimes once they actually taste what you’ve offered they become big fans but they can certainly turn their little noses up at these foreign offerings. 

It’s good she’s eating alternative hays now. Will make her going onto grass hays full time that bit easier. Go easy on the alfalfa because she might go looking for it more if she’s not getting the alfalfa pellets anymore. That said, you could continue to offer her it as a treat now and then if she’s not had any issues with it. It does cause some messy poop for some rabbits, or cause weight gain but if she’s always been ok on it, then it’s a good fiberous treat.

[Elrohwen]

Jersey gave some great advice.

I would add that it’s ok to start limiting her food at that age, no matter what the Oxbow bag says – small rabbits mature before the 1 year mark, so that is more of a caution than anything. I think it would be ok to transition her over now and then start limiting her intake to eventually get down to about 1/8c or less – my rabbits are on 1/8c, but weigh 4lbs and 5.5lbs, so a smaller rabbit could have even less – maybe around a tablespoon. I would start by limiting her to 1/4c for a while though, as she is young – no rush. She’ll probably eat hay and greens better once her pellets are reduced.

[Monkeybun]

My 2 girls, 1.5lbs and 2.5lbs, share 1/8 of a cup of pellets each night, and they do great with that amount

Definitely start to ease out the alfalfa, as it will take time to switch out anyway.

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