Bunnies that are meant to be eaten…exactly. They weren’t planning on keeping those rabbits around for 8+ years like we are now.

Have you read what is in pellets such as oxbow ingredients? Info is here from BB store

* Crude Protein min 14.00%
* Crude Fat min 1.50%
* Crude Fiber min 25.00%
* Crude Fiber max 29.00%
* Moisture max 10.00%
* Calcium min 0.35%
* Phosphorus min 0.25%
* Salt min 0.50%
* Salt max 1.00%
* Vitamin A IU/KG 20,000
* Vitamin D IU/KG 880
* Vitamin E IU/KG 140
* Copper mg/kg 20

Nothing stands out to me as something terrible and not natural.

This food helps keep there weight on and the high fiber to optimize their digestive tract. The vitamins and minerals are good for them, and they make up for what they might not be getting from veggies and hay only.

You basically answered the question for yourself though; knowing that we want to keep our pets healthy and happy and giving them a well balanced, nutritious diet is all about supplementing it with pellets. And obviously if you keep your rabbits outside to breed and eat them..you aren’t going to buy them top quality pellets.

Pellets shouldn’t be the main diet of the rabbit, but it should be part of it. My bun’s love their pellets but the veggies and hay are also a must in their lives.

In my opinion, pellets provide necessary nutrients. Bunnies can get these nutrients from veggies, but the owner has to be sure to provide an extremely varied diet so that they can get everything they need. I know some bunnies can’t have pellets (like BB’s Jack) but I would personally continue to feed pellets to buns who can eat them to make sure I’m giving them everything they need.

Check out the diet guide in the Info above. Baby bunnies should have unlimited pellets, but they can be reduced around 6 months to 1 year, depending on the size of the bunny (dwarfs could be cut back first, but something like a Flemmie needs to have unlimited pellets for longer). At this point the general rule is 1/4cup per 5lbs of body weight.

Some rabbits get as little as a teaspoon a day of pellets. It definitely is not meant to be the main part of a house rabbit’s diet!

2 full cups? That’s a lot, even for a young bunny, so I don’t think it’s wrong that you restricted it to that.

How much does she weigh? That will really give us an indication of how much her adult amount should be. Also, does she get veggies?

Can you get measuring cups and figure out how much the tea cup holds?

I would increase her veggies. She’s old enough that she can have an adult amount of veggies if they are ones her stomach handles well.

As a dwarf, her current weight sounds within range. Does she seem skinny? The best way to tell condition is really just looking at the bun and feeling it – you can’t always go on what the breed standards are because some bunnies will always be larger or smaller.

For her size, I think 1/8cup would be a good adult amount. If you can get measuring cups and figure out how much that is, then find out how much you’re currently giving, you can gradually reduce the amount she’s getting over a few months. You just don’t want to reduce the amount all at once.

Can you get cheap measuring cups at Walmart or something? Unless you have a good knowledge of how much 1/8 or 1/4 cup is, you could be giving her far too much. Of if you can find similar coffee cups online it might tell you how much they hold. A coffee cup can be anywhere from 1/4cup to a full cup or larger.

Can you see her spine? Or does she look generally round without bones sticking out? Dwaves are very petit, but they shouldn’t have bones sticking out.

Bougatsa, a ‘cup’, as we use it in North America measures 250 ml in volume. In terms of pellets, that translates into about 120 g of pellets!!! That is about 4 times what a small bunny should get.

That small cup looks to be more than 1/4cup and at her adult weight she should probably be getting only 1/8cup (sorry, I don’t remember the mL conversions!) But basically it looks like one of those cups could easily be twice what she should get in a day.

Honestly, it’s not that important right now, since she’s only 6 months, but I would try to get a measuring cup (or borrow one from someone) and figure out exactly how much she should have as an adult so you don’t overfeed her. As she’s young, overfeeding isn’t really an issue.

And her weight looks fine to me – I can’t see any of her bones sticking out and she’s certainly not chubby either. She’s very cute!

It is impossible to tell from photos how big of cups we are talking, especially since European dishware is different anyways.
Just measure in ml. 60 ml will do for a petite young bunny. How old is she again?

If she is already 6 months old I would reduce pellets even slightly more down to 50 ml, if you are feeding a commercial pellet. I suspect that in Greece you can’t buy Oxbow pellets, can you list the ingredients of your rabbit pellets here?

Yeah 2 of those small cups is far too much for a little bun, definitely time to cut down.

Does that tea or coffee maker next to it have measurements on it? You could measure how much water fits in the cup, and see how much it holds that way.

it’s a mix? i’d find a different pellet to buy, one that is ONLY pellets, nothing else.

can you list the ingredients. Pellets are made of different things.

It lists soybean hulls and meals, and flaked peas and such in it… makes it a mix to me O.o

Bougatsa, I just saw your list now. If you cannot get a timothy-based pellet, this one you are using is fine. Just feed sparingly and make sure your bun eats plenty of hay. don’t let her fill up on pellets and then pass up her hay, feed hay first and then a couple of teaspoons of pellets later. These pellets are very rich, so a little goes a long way.

You should be able to feel the spine and ribs quite easily if you touch the bunny.  I recently had one of my bunnies- Griffin- in to see an exotics vet because he would not eat- and she was pleasantly surprised to not have a fat bunny to examine!

ok, i hate to take away from Bougatsa, but i have also really wondered if i am feeding my buns too much pellets?! i feed all 3 the same amount. it is 1/2 cup a day. should i be giving buck more then the 2? should i be giving the girls less? buck is a flemish/new zealand cross, moose is a meat rabbit, dont know really what she is and luna is a new zealand. californnia cross?, not too sure. i know she is part NZ. buck is 7wks and 5lbs, moose is 4 1/2 months and 7lbs and luna is 3 1/2 months and is about 6lbs??

We pick up Pixe friday. Right now the breeder is feeding her purina rabbit show chow. Is this good or should we switch her to Oxbow or a different product??

Luna, your rabbits are all young so they should have unlimited pellets. Especially since they are all large breeds, they need the extra nourishment for longer than the small breeds.

Pixiemom, I’m not really sure if it’s a good food, but I believe it’s for breeders – breeder bunnies need extra calories to help them raise young. I would switch to Oxbow for a house rabbit.

Thanks Elrohwen…i was thinking I should switch and was reading up on Oxbow

I know she is sending me home with the purina food…now should I mix that with the oxbow so she does not get diarrhea or just totally switch once she gets home??

All food switches must be done slowly – I would recommend spreading it out over a month. For the first week, feed her 3/4 old food, plus 1/4 Oxbow. The next week, feed 1/2 old food and 1/2 Oxbow. Then feed 1/4 old food and 3/4 Oxbow and the week after that you can feed all Oxbow.

great thank you that helps me a lot!

My vet just gave me the info on pellets. He recommends Oxbow but you can’t get it unless you order it online or by phone. He also recommends Timothy Complete by Kaytee. You can get that at Petsmart. He said that Alfafa isn’t good for bunnies. He said that it causes kidney problems. Use the Timothy based pellets. He also gave me a guideline: 2-4 lbs…1/8-1/4 cup
5-7 lbs.. 1/4-1/2 cup
8-10 lbs..1/2-3/4 cup
10-15lbs..3/4-1 cup
Hay should be the bulk of your bunnies diet as it keeps thier ever growing teeth down and it helps to break down food, hairballs, and bacterias in thier stomachs. Of course they need thier veggies

Posted By Elrohwen on 05/12/2010 09:09 AM
All food switches must be done slowly – I would recommend spreading it out over a month. For the first week, feed her 3/4 old food, plus 1/4 Oxbow. The next week, feed 1/2 old food and 1/2 Oxbow. Then feed 1/4 old food and 3/4 Oxbow and the week after that you can feed all Oxbow.

I’m really glad you said that! I am switching as well. That is really good to know. Thanks

Nibbles… my local PetSmart does carry Oxbow products, so you may want to check. But if you need to order online, the cost is usually lower than at the store, this way it makes up for the cost of shipping. Drs. Foster and Smith tend to do good sales on Oxbow and on shipping.

Thanks Beka! I hope so! I am going there today. I will definetly check. If they do, I will have to notify my vet.