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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE Is this a good diet for my bunny?

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    • ccscheurman
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        I just recently started giving my bunny less pellets and more greens, my little Juno is about 10 months old, and loves the new diet, but I want to be sure she has a good balanced diet.

        Constant access to timothy hay and water.
        Also constant access to a salt lick, not technically food, but she LOVES salt.
        3 handfuls of spinach
        a handful of kale
        A handful of arugula
        1/2 bowl of pellets in the morning and 1/2 before bed.
        2 heads of baby brocoli
        4 baby carrots
        2 SMALL slices of cantaloupe or honeydew (human bite sized)

        Is this too much food? Not enough? And is it well balanced? I wanna make sure she is perfectly happy and healthy. She always begs for more tasty pellets, but greens are far healthier.


      • litheandgraphic
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          Hi! Welcome to the forums! To address your questions…

          1. Rabbits don’t need salt licks. Actually, too much salt can become a problem for them causing dehydration and other complications. She may enjoy it, but it may cause dietary problems later down the line and she really doesn’t need it.

          2. Spinach and kale are very high in calcium, which can become problematic and cause things like kidney stones. Spinach is also high in oxalic acid and not recommended for daily intake, especially for such a young bunny. I’d cut these out (slowly) if I were you and replace them with milder greens such as romaine lettuce, cilantro, and red leaf and green leaf lettuce. The arugula is fine.

          3. How much is a bowl? At this age, she shouldn’t have more than 1/2 a cup (standard baking cup) of pellets per day per 6 lbs of her body weight. If she weighs less than this, cut it down to 1/4 cup to an 1/8 cup. Make sure, too, that these are pure Timothy hay pellets with nothing fancy in them – no colorful bits and bobs. Those kinds of “rabbit foods” are awful junk foods.

          4. Broccoli has been known to cause gas issues in rabbits with more sensitive stomachs. I wouldn’t personally risk it as part of her daily diet.

          5. Four baby carrots is way too much carbs and sugar for her at this age (or ever, really). Cut this down to a very small amount per day. Spread out 1-3 baby carrots per week.

          6. Again, the human bite-size is too much sugar for the bun. Cut this down considerably. She should only get a very modest portion of treats per day, at most. There’s no point in cutting down her pellets if she’s going to be given so much sugar and carbs!

          Take a look at the BinkyBunny list of recommended veggies (https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx) to determine a more balanced, healthier diet for your bun.


        • JackRabbit
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            I second what FLR said.


          • ccscheurman
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              Thank you for your answers.

              I will buy that in the future, but at the moment, I am low on funds. Any ideas on how to make due with what I have, to be specific it is…

              A medium package of baby arugula.
              A slightly smaller package of baby spinach.
              A huge stalk of kale.
              A half full container of cantaloupe.
              A full container of a mix of cabtaloupe, honeydew and watermellon.
              A 3/4 container of brocoli and carrots.
              A full bag of Timothy hay.
              A 3/4 bag of pellets.

              To be clear, this is also for me to eat, excluding the hay and pellets.

              To answer your question about the bowl. It is a tiny little thing from petco. It is a little shorter and slightly wider than one baking cup. It’s not a huge bowl like I may have made it sound.

              I used to give her junk food. She dislikes plain pellets. I am giving her plain pellets, and she won’t eat them unless she is in “oh, please feed me, I am a bunny in distress ” drama queen mode, in which case she will force it down. She will also eat it while I sleep. Any ways to make the plain pellets more appealing?


            • litheandgraphic
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                You could try a different brand of pellets. Oxbow Bunny Basics Adult is a great Timothy hay pellet and not too expensive (I pay $8 for a bag that lasts forever), but you can also find other brands. The main thing is to look on the back of the bag at the ingredients. You want high fiber (around 20%+, the higher the better) and low protein (below 15% ideally). You’ll also want a fat content lower than 2%. You also want to make sure that the first ingredient listed is Timothy hay, and not alfalfa meal. You don’t want alfalfa meal anywhere in the pellet. This will make your bun gain a lot of weight!

                If I were you, I would make a mixture of the kale and arugula and nix the spinach altogether or only throw in a tiny amount. You can eat the spinach — it’s good for us! I would keep her pellet intake at about 1/2 a bowl, from the sounds of it that’s probably about 1/2 a cup or 1/4 of a cup, which is fine. Cut out the broccoli entirely. Cut back on the carrots tremendously; like I said, spread out 1-3 baby carrots over the course of a week. Same goes for the melon – 1-2 pieces over the course of a week. You can have the rest. Obviously you can keep giving her Timothy hay!

                Once you get through this run of greens, go out and get 3-5 different greens as recommended by the veggie link I posted earlier (BinkyBunny’s Veggie List). If you don’t know or can’t decide which ones to choose, go with my mix!:

                – Romaine lettuce
                – Green leaf lettuce
                – Red leaf lettuce
                – Cilantro
                – Parsley (less than everything else)

                Each of these things only costs $2 each at my local store, so it only adds up to around $10 or less.

                She’ll be fine with just the kale and arugula for now, but once you get through the kale, I’d cut out the kale entirely as well to cut back on the calcium intake. You can keep the arugula in there if you want, though.


              • Flopsie
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                  i’m quite stingy on funds but you can get some romaine lettuce and green leaf lettuce for about a dollar a piece. Actually Romaine might be a bit more expensive but still, it should be cheaper than the kale and the spinach by far. Also, cilantro and italian parsley are really cheap. Again if you aren’t buying organic you’re paying less than 50 cents for a bunch. Organic ones are maybe a dollar a piece?

                  I think you can have the kale and the spinach as many sites do list them as viable foods, but I would have them sporadically as it is mentioned to have too much calcium. Think of them as treats and give them a small amount intermittently. As far as the carrots, I agree, cut those down, I use them as “treats” as well. As in once in a great while.

                  Fruits should also be used sporatically. Consider their body weight as a reference. My mom always asks why do I only give half a grape and I always reply a grape is equivalent to you eating a whole cake. Well maybe thats an exaggeration but you get the point.

                  I feel you about the pellets. Truthfully, i wasn’t as educated about the pellets at first and I bought the ones with the added things inside. My bun loooves them and so she kind of became a picky pellet eater. The way i’ve dealt with it is i’ve mixed the plain Oxbow pellets and the pellets she likes and i’ve slowly decreased the “bad” ones and increased the “good” ones. It was a process but eventually she was weaned off of them.


                • gingerg
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                    For what it’s worth, my exotic vet says bunnies can’t live without hay, but they can live without pellets.So long as you always have hay and water available, I wouldn’t worry about the bunny getting hungry. When she’s hungry enough, she’ll eat them!

                    Regarding the veggies, I agree with FLR: go ahead and feed your bun the kale/arugula/spinach you have, but as you run out of them, replace them with milder leafy greens like romaine, and only buy kale/spinach in the future to accent the lighter veggies. (I’m like you–I buy the buns what I like to eat, for the most part, and we eat from the same fridge! Fortunately, I really like romaine.)


                  • Eepster
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                      Since budget is an issue, consider foraging and gardening in your yard before winter sets in. This obviously only works if you have access to a yard free of chemicals.

                      Dandelions, clovers, violets, rose petals and grass are common and easy to find. Next spring you can plant nasturtium, basil, parsley, cilantro, etc.


                    • Sarita
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                        I think kale and arugula are just fine – kale is not problematic and neither is arugula.

                        I would not feed the spinach however.

                        Please read the following article which will have good information about various greens by a reputable vet with lots of rabbit experience:

                        http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

                        This is also on the House Rabbit Society website concerning kale:

                        Please note that there is currently dispute within the scientific community regarding the levels of oxalates and goitrogens in kale. Many of our rescuers have fed kale daily, combined with other veggies, with no ill effects. Others have found that kale fed in large amounts on a daily basis may contribute to bladder sludge and other health issues. HRS encourages you to make your own decisions on how you feed kale to your rabbit based on this information, and when solid, undisputed research is found we will update this and other articles relating to feeding kale.


                      • ImaBunnylover
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                          I just wanted to jump in and mention that you’ll want to be careful with the transition of the diet- modifying all the amounts and foods at once could cause an upset tummy.

                          The vet mentioned is right about the need of only hay and water. This should not be a long term thing thing though.

                          I also know that parsley is a common food to feed bunnies BUT I tried to introduce it to my three on Sunday and they all ended up with upset tummies. Strangest thing because it happened to Cinni, my last bunny, too.

                          Because of the parsley induced upset tummies I skipped their veggie meal Sunday night and gave them only hay and water until Monday morning. I started fresh with their regular veggies and pellets for their Monday morning meal and they had done a 180° turn for the better and were fine.

                          So: just a thought, but I would excercise caution since she is going through a complete diet makeover Watch closely as I’m sure you are!

                          Good luck!


                        • ccscheurman
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                            Thank you all for the advice! This is an excellent community for all things bunny.

                            She has been liking her diet fine, although the first time I gave her the reduced number of pellets she looked at me like “really? That’s it?” It was quite the skeptical look, she isn’t a very vocal bunny, but has the most expressive face! She has been getting plenty of hay and water (all day) I always give her fresh hay at the same time I eat my breakfast. At about 5:00 she is getting a small helping of Kale and Arugula, then she just gets hay until nightfall, where she gets a bit more Kale and Arugula, a lot of hay, a half bowl of pellets, and one treat, usually a leaf or two of spinach, a little bite of mellon, a half a baby carrot and a bit of brocoli (I consideres cutting brocoli, but she is crazy for the stuff!)

                            She seems normal and is eatting fine. The only thing I notice is she seems to have a bit more energy!

                            I will be buying the lighter stuff you recommended as soon as this runs out. There is a lot of kale left, a lot pf Arugula and spinach, but the remaining mellon is my breakfast tomorrow (she will get a bite, since she has been VERY good about not complaining about her diet) and the carrots and brocoli are about half gone.

                            Thanks again for all the advice!


                          • ccscheurman
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                              And to be clear. I know broccoli causes gas, so it has been rare, she has had one piece since I talked to you and won’t have more for a while, even though she has a strong stomache. It will be exceptional rare.


                            • Sarita
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                                This is from the article I linked for you to read which I hope you read concerning broccoli:

                                Some people are concerned about feeding foods that cause gastrointestinal (GI) gas in people such as broccoli. A rabbit’s GI tract is not the same as a human’s and many of the foods that may cause gas in a human do not cause gas in a rabbit. The most common types of foods that do create havoc in the rabbit’s GI tract are those that are high in starch and sugars because they create a change in the pH of the cecum and eventually can throw the whole system off. The result can be serious GI disease. Foods that are notorious for causing rabbit GI problems when fed improperly are grains of any kind and legumes (beans, peas, etc). Even starchy root vegetables and fruits if fed to excess with their high load of sugars and starch could be a problem and should only be fed as a very small part of the diet.

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                            Forum DIET & CARE Is this a good diet for my bunny?