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!