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Forum DIET & CARE 3 month old bunny: When to transition to new pellets?

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    • emmabunny
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        Hi fellow bunny lovers! I am a first-time bunny owner, looking for some pellet/hay advice for my 3 month old Netherland Dwarf rabbit named Emma. She is such a sweetie pie  and I want to make sure that she is eating well. My sister gave Emma to me, after buying her right before Christmas and realizing that the bunny didn’t do well with children (they are too rough on her and keep trying to pick her up). Luckily for everyone involved, I love rabbits and have been seriously considering adopting one. I certainly did not expect that a beautiful bunny would drop into my lap one day! I have some questions about her pellets and would greatly appreciate if you can help a newbie out! 

        To recap: My sister fed Emma four (!) different types of pellets in the last week and a half – first the ones from the pet store, then when those ran out after a couple of days, she got pellets that would be considered “bunny junk food” with seeds, etc. in it. I couldn’t take Emma right away because I was on vacation, so I told my sister that she had to get Emma off of that junk food and on to plain, healthy Oxbow young rabbit alfalfa pellets. Apparently Emma didn’t like the Oxbow pellets (no wonder, after eating all that junk food!) so my sister switched her to yet another brand of pellets, this time with dehydrated vegetables pieces (and processed dried milk byproducts!!). So still not the ideal plain nutritious pellets for a growing young bun.  Now that Emma has come to live with me, I want to transition her to new, healthy pellets (possibly the Oxbow young rabbit pellets). In the meantime, I have been picking out the dehydrated vegetable pieces from her current brand and giving her only the plain pellets. However, I’m concerned about making changes since she has had so much change (in food and environment) in the last week and a half. 

        I have a few questions for you bunny experts! (For context, I have been giving her unlimited pellets, unlimited hay and plenty of fresh water): 

        1.) Should I wait a week or two till she is more settled in, before transitioning her pellets again? 

        2.) Should I transition her pellets to new, nutritious ones slowly by mixing in the new pellets gradually with the old pellets? Or should I do a complete switch since the current pellets aren’t healthy?

        3.) Is there another brand of alfalfa pellets I should consider, since Emma supposedly did not like the Oxbow ones and had soft stool (though I have a hunch that this happened because she was transitioned abruptly and my sister might have mistaken a cecotrope for regular stool). 

        4.) I am a little concerned that she is not eating enough hay, while she eats a LOT of pellets. I’ve been giving her an unlimited supply of timothy hay – should I mix in some alfalfa hay to make it more interesting for her? 

        Sorry for writing an essay.. Hopefully somebunny can help us out! Thank you!


      • blubudgie
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        178 posts Send Private Message

          1) Unless someone can correct me, if its been a week or so since she’s moved in with you, I think it is safe to start transitioning to a new pellet now.

          2) Transition slowly yes. Mix small amounts of new pellet in with the old one and gradually increase the amount of new pellet. In the meantime keep picking out the unhealthy junk food parts of the old food. Whenever you introduce new food (pellet, hay, or veggies) or change the amount given to rabbits do it gradually. It will give them and their gut microbes time to adjust to the change.

          3) Oxbow is the brand I use and many many people recommend it so I would stick to it and she should eventually give in. She is probably just used to the tastier but unhealthier old pellet. My friends 6 y.o rabbit was on tasty alfalfa pellets (should only be given to young rabbits) when she got her and it took some time to get him to eat the less tasty but healthier timothy hay based pellets. So it’ll take time and patience, don’t give up! of course make sure she doesn’t stop eating completely

          4) Hay should always be unlimited, pellets can be unlimited when young but eventually be limited. I used this website: http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/
          to figure out when to give her alfalfa or timothy hay or pellets and how much. Since she’s still young giving alfalfa hay is alright, timothy hay is better when they are adults Again make the switch gradual, she will probably hate being taken off alfalfa but it’s for her own good.
          If she doesn’t like timothy try other hays, my bunny hates timothy too so I use grass hay. You could also sprinkle pellets into her hay to get her to maybe eat more hay while she searches for the pellets.


        • Reeem
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          380 posts Send Private Message

            blubudgie gave you great advice ! I would suggest doing a half half mix of alfalfa and timothy hay. Alfalfa is way tastier and she will definitely eat that cause no hay is extremely bad for bunnies and can cause lots of health issues.


          • Bam
            Moderator
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              Blubudgie has given excellent advice. All transitions must be made very slowly. Young buns (under the age of 6-7 months) can have alfalfa hay + normal hay. Alfalfa is tastier and richer and good for growing buns but not for adults. You can mix bothe types of hay.

               It’s very normal to not want the healthy Oxbow when you’ve been used to feasting on candy =)

              So glad you could take her in! Bunnies are not always the best choice for small children. Small children can’t always understand that buns are fragile + a bunny will defend itself with its teeth and claws if it feels it has to.


            • emmabunny
              Participant
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                Thank you all for the great advice!! Emma has been with me for three days now, so I will wait till this weekend to start slowly transitioning her to the Oxbow pellets. Also I’ll start mixing in some alfalfa hay with her Timothy hay, to encourage her to eat more hay. Thanks again!!


              • emmabunny
                Participant
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                  And Emma says thank you as well.

                   


                • Reeem
                  Participant
                  380 posts Send Private Message

                    Oh my god. Emma is beautiful , her fur color and eyes are just gorgeous!


                  • emmabunny
                    Participant
                    20 posts Send Private Message

                      Thank you Reeem!


                    • blubudgie
                      Participant
                      178 posts Send Private Message

                        oh my gosh she’s adorable!


                      • LittlePuffyTail
                        Moderator
                        18092 posts Send Private Message

                          Awww….She’s a little doll!!!

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                      Forum DIET & CARE 3 month old bunny: When to transition to new pellets?