I feed a hay-based diet, with some greens and a small amount of pellets – more as “supplements” than anything else.  I use a plain high-quality timothy pellet (Oxbow Bunny Basics) and Pepper goes nuts for them.

Pellets with colorful bits and seeds mixed in are not recommended because all of the “extras” in there are usually junk food for the bunnies.  Rabbits should not eat nuts and seeds- and if they are already getting treats from their owner- they certainly don’t need more higher sugar/higher fat items mixed with their daily food.  In general these types of foods are created to visually appeal to the owner and the bunnies sense of taste.  But that does not mean that they are healthy for the bunny- but the owners are happy because the food is visually appealing and the bunny generally likes it.  Kids like candy bars and sugary cereal- but you wouldn’t let them eat that every day as part of their blanaced diet. 

Bunnies really only get hay, veggies/greens, pellets and limited treats- all of those CAN be healthy.  And the bunnies are just as happy with getting their sweet tooth met with healthy treats- and mine are at an appropriate weight because of a proper diet that they can binky and zoom around the house.  Now that is a happy bunny!

Most mixes have a ton of crud in them, often things that pose serious health risks (sunflower seeds can cause choking, ect). Rabbits need hay (timothy, and other grass hays) more than anything, and a plain pellet (alfalfa for under a year, timothy for older) is just a supplement as Wendy said. Greens are also very important, but be careful with introducing them, especially to rabbits under 6 months. Most of the people who claim that rabbits should be fed only pellets are breeders who have the goal of getting rabbits to adults so they can breed them. They tend to not worry about how long the rabbit will actually live.

Well, think about it, if they are saying you have to watch to make sure they don’t selectively feed, then why not just feed them the regular pellets which you know are good for them – we know everyone agrees that good high quality pellets are recommended.

Pellets are not the better choice for adult buns. The better choice is unlimited grass hay (like timothy) and 2 cups of fresh, green veggies per day. In addition to that you can do a limited amount of timothy based pellets. Since she is a baby, it is okay for her to get more pellets for now, but you still want to make sure she is eating a lot of hay and that she begins to eat veggies since those two will be the majority of her diet as an adult.

NO! Bunnies should not eat corn. There are a TON of things at Pet stores for bunnies that they shouldn’t have. Like Yogurt drops, dried fruit mixes, and and seed/fruit/veggie “bars” My personal diet for my adult bun Oreo is 3 cups of leafy greens a day, unlimited hay (Mostly Timmy) and 1/2 cup of Bunny Basics T pellet. My baby bun (around 8 weeks) gets unlimited hay and pellet (same type Oreo gets) and he’s starting on green leaf lettuce tomorrow–hopefully. I think that having the pellet there for an adult bun is a good idea, if your looking for supplement. Oreo is a gobbler, so for me, knowing he has the pellet available in between breakfast and dinner is important to me. I think it’s all in how you do things, and what you and your vet thinks is best for your bun– House Rabbit Society has a list of safe veggies/fruits, as well as a list of things to avoid. Its also available on here under Bunny Info–>Diet. =)

No, corn is not good for bunnies and should be avoided completely. In that case, yes, plain pellets is the way to go. Mixes are not healthy and can have adverse effects on health, such as impaction from seeds.

I actually think petstores at least Petsmart is getting better because they offer Oxbow and they offer the Kaytee Timothy brand as well and the Kaytee Rainbow Pellets (which are extruded a different way than traditional pellets and lower in calcium than other pellets) and also Oxbow hay (although I have to say the bagged ones they have don’t look to good to me, but that’s my opinion) but it’s better than some things I know. They still offer the crap as well but at least they are starting to offer some good stuff too.  Also Zupreem pellets.

And remember, it’s only recently that they even started making pellets specifically for house rabbits so while they aren’t perfect, they’ve come a long way.

If they think people will buy it- pet supply companies will make it!  Look at how small some of the cages are that are made for bunnies- it borders on cruel!

Bunnies usually love the sugary junk treats- so owners have a false sense of security thinking they are doing something good for their bunny.  But the companies play up on the good ingredients and want you to overlook all the added forms of sugar- molasses, fructose, sucrose, etc.  There are very few companies that make ONLY good products for bunnies.  And some of the other companies are responding to the newer market for timothy pellets- but I usually do not buy their products because they still makes foods and snacks that are absolute garbage- so I refuse to support them.  That is my personal opinion- and when I was choosing a pellet- I had 3 available types in my area to choose from.  I based my decision on company history, company contact- I emailed and asked a question and saw what type of response I got and what was locally availabe (in case the food got wet or the dogs got into it and I needed pellets ASAP I wanted something I could easily get).

Julie

Posted By Adalaide on 05/18/2009 01:37 PM
Wow, the companies making this stuff are truely stupid or something. Are they trying to kill bunnies? That won’t make them more money if everyone has a dead bun. And if pet stores really want people to have healthy pets like they say, why would they sell that crap?

My thinking on this is it’s usually about making a profit!  They make alot of things that rabbits will go nuts for because they’re sweet and it can be marketed as healthy.  So because the rabbits likes it so much, owner feeds it alot and you go thru the product faster.  So then you have to buy more because Bunny can’t go without….          Sort of like food products marketed toward children.  

And if pet stores really want people to have healthy pets like they say, why would they sell that crap?

 Pet stores are really about making a sale aren’t they?  The labels all over products claiming to be healthy is probably a result of competition.  So if the market is buying a healthier product, other companies products will suddenly become “healthier”.  That is they’ll point out ingredients on their labels that seem healthy despite the other ingredients. Or they’ll have “Now with Omega 3” or “With added Fiber” but the increase is probably minimal.   Course, I’m just guessing at this – I’m pretty skeptical about alot of products on offer for pets and for us!