Veggie Question and Feeding Schedule???

[Flemish Mommy]

Ok, so far I have been feeding Sophie (my now 16 week old Flemish Giant) unlimited timothy hay, water, and two scoops of pellets from a 1/4 cup ever morning. I started feeding her veggies at 12 weeks (parsley and a couple carrot chips a day, she has also had celary leaves and loves them.) I would like to introduce new veggies because I have been reading and know that the parsley and carrot thing is not good for everyday, I just have no clue how to start. Also, I would like to know a good feeding schedule I could start her on. Every morning she is begging for pellets and when I give them to her she eats like Ive been starving her or something! She eats most of them in one sitting, is this normal? Or should I be dividing the servings into breakfast and dinner? Im a new bunny mommy so and info would be so helpful at this point. 

[Sarita]

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a young bunny – I think I would probably do an a.m. and a p.m. pellet serving. I would just do greens once a day whenever it’s most convenient for you.

You could also scatter her pellets around so she can forage for them – a little food and a little mental activity.

[scatterbunny]

It could just be her personality to eat everything right away. My bunny is about a year old and i feed him 3-4x/day (very small “meals”) when i work, mostly because i use his food to get him back in his pen with no problem, he gets breakfast, an afternoon snack about 2, another snack between 7 and 9 when i come home for supper, then again when i get off between 12&1. with the main large feedings being around 9/10 and 12/1am. EVERY time i feed him whether pellets or veggies, he acts like he hasnt eaten in years and never leaves the bowl until everything is eaten though he has hay to munch on all the time. He has his nose i the bowl before i can set it down and a few times has knocked it out of my hand in his excitement.

Though i do remember something about unlimited pellets for rabbits till they reach a certain age but i’m not sure how old that is since i have never had a baby bun, i got scat as an adult.

[bun-crazy]

I’m no expert at all, but from what I’ve read on this site and others, bunnies should be on unlimited pellets until about 7 months of age or so. They need the extra calories for all the growing their doing! As far as veggies, I started mine on Romaine lettuce first. Start slowly (only a little bit) for several days and watch her poos to make sure she’s not getting diahrrea and then you can increase it a bit. Once she’s ok with that, you can try other leafy lettuce (green leaf, red leaf, just NO iceburg). Again, do it one at a time and watch the litter box. Mine also love kale now. You can see the list of veggies, etc. on the House Rabbit Society website, I believe. It’ll give you good ideas! Good luck!

[bun-crazy]

Oh, and the BB has great stuff under the healthy diet guidelines that will help you, too and also refer you to the HRS.

[Flemish Mommy]

 Yes, I know about the unlimited pellets thing when they are young. (Im just afraid that she’s gonna stuff her self silly if I did that.) I also have the veggie lists printed out from HRS in my purse and bunny binder, so that next time Im at the store I can pick a few to try! She just looks up at me so sad looking with her big brown eyes when she’s looking for food after she has eaten it all.

[CinnabunMom]

That’s how they get you to give them extra treats!

Feeding schedule: well, here is mine, but it’s only my own personal one, don’t know if it will work for you.

7:30 am: wake up, full tray of hay (of course), 1/4 cup of pellets, 1 cup (a rough estimate as I tend to give her more greens than the recommend amount since she’s not a big drinker) of green veggies

1:30 pm: a little more hay (she still has a good amount, but just to get that fresh smell), and 1 cup of green veggies

7:30 pm: complete change of hay, no matter how much she has left. I keep refreshing until I go to bed at night. My bun tends to become an insane eater around 7 pm and goes through the hay like crazy.

She’ll get a raisin around 3 and maybe (MAYBE) some night time pellets if she’s looking really pathetic.
Cinnabun is a year old and a mini lop, so again, my schedule may not work for you. Also, it’s the summer and I’m not in school. It’s probably going to change slightly once I get back into classes.

[LoveChaCha]

I agree – that baby rabbits need their unlimited pellets until the age of 7 months. That is when my vet told me to transition to timothy pellets and slowly decrease the amount that is given.

Chacha was a baby when I got her, so I fed her unlimited pellets until 7 months of age, fed her unlimited hay, and 2 cups of veggies. She is now 2 and gets 1 teaspoon of pellets a day (She is 4 pounds) in the morning for breakfast (she causes such a ruckus for her breakfast! Hahaha!), her hay filled up when I wake up and throughout the day, and her 4 cups of vegetables at 9:30 pm.

[Elrohwen]

I feed both pellets and greens twice a day, but it’s really up to you. I think feeding something twice a day is best (or even more often) but you can decide whether you feed veggies only once, or during both feedings. Since baby buns should have unlimited pellets, giving her a few servings a day is good so you can monitor whether she’s eating or not. When Otto was a baby I didn’t completely feed him unlimited pellets – I just gave him about 1/2c per feeding, like you are, and made sure he was finishing it.

Bunnies always act like they’re starving, so don’t give in to the begging! Haha

[Amys Animals]

I never really had an experience with a baby bunny but so I can’t advise you what to feed her but I can share with you my bunnies feeding schedule.

When I wake up in the morning usually around 8 ish they get a half of a 1/3 cup of pellets (I use a 1/3 cup to measure) for breakfast.
Around 5ish pm they get more pellets..the rest of the half.
Around 8 pm they get their veggies..Usually about 2 cups of veggies. I don’t measure I just pile up.

Since I just got Valentine I am getting used to what she likes and how she eats. She eats A LOT. She’s a bit on the chunkier side. When I take her to the vet for her wellness exam they will weigh her and I will see how much exactly I should be feeding her. She is a little bigger than Rascal is.

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