Pellet vs. hay intake

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This topic has 7sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 7 months ago by Free2Dream.

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- 07/20/2010 at 6:27 PM
  Free2Dream
  Participant
  128 posts
  Hi everyone! I have some newbie questions, lol, so please bear with me. I am a first-time owner.
  
  I tried to do as much research as possible before taking the plunge, and I learned a lot. I never knew that rabbits needed to eat hay, but I understand its importance because I grew up around horses and their digestive systems work similarly. I bought a bag of Oxbow Botanical Hay, which Oliver nibbles on, but he doesn’t seem to really *enjoy* it. I was wondering if maybe its strong fragrance was putting him off? I wasn’t able to find out what kind of hay he was being fed at the breeder’s, so is it possible that he’s just trying to adjust to the new stuff? Should I introduce another type of hay?
  
  As far as pellets go, the back of the bag (I’m feeding Oxbow brand; I forget that exact name, but the package says it’s for “growing and active” bunnies) says to feed an unlimited amount of pellets because of Oliver’s age. But that seems like a lot to me. How much do you think I should be feeding? I feel like the more pellets I offer, the less interested he is in his hay.
  
  Thanks in advance for your responses. I’m so glad to have found this community.
- 07/20/2010 at 6:31 PM
  Monkeybun
  Participant
  10479 posts
  He may not be interested in that kind of hay. Mine adore most kinds of hay, thankfully. But it may be the store bought pre-packaged bags. I know when I first got Monkey, she dealt witht he Pet store hay, but when I discovered a hay that is packed locally here by a rabbit group… she ADORES that stuff. Fresh is better! If you can find a feed store, or a local farmer that has timothy or orchard grass hays, I know mine love that stuff And its usually cheaper than the pet store stuff!
- 07/20/2010 at 6:32 PM
  Monkeybun
  Participant
  10479 posts
  Oh, and if he seems to be favoring the pellets over the hay, definitely cut down on the pellets, gradually. He wont starve if he gets less, even if he makes it seem like he is The more hay intake the better.
- 07/20/2010 at 11:02 PM
  bunnymum16
  Participant
  429 posts
  the pellet youre talkin about is the Oxbow bunny basics 15/23.i have that for my bunnies.it’s alfalfa based which is good for baby buns.my bunnies are not big hay eaters either.they ignored timothy and alfalfa.i have orchard grass now and they kinda like it a lil bit.what i do is i give then pellets for the whole day and take it away at night.leaving them with just hay.you might wanna try cutting back on pellets to see if your bunbun will eat more hay.just ignore their plea of hunger.im pretty sure theyd rather eat hay than starve.
- 07/21/2010 at 6:02 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Altho it says unlimited, you still want to measure what you give him. When you take him in for his first vet visit, he or she will ask you about his diet and you’ll need to tell the vet how much he gets of each type of food. Also, if he ever becomes ill, you can measure the pellets he has left to see exactly how much or how little he has eaten. I would start him at a 1/2cup a day and see how quickly he’s eating those. Much more than that can cause digestive problems. As he gets older (between 7 and 12 months) you will start reducing his pellets down to 1/8cup or 1/4cup a day based on his size.
  
  For the hay, I would try just a basic timothy hay right now. Do you still have access to horse quality hay? That is awesome for bunnies, and much, much cheaper than buying the tiny store bags.
  
  You can also begin introducing veggies to him at this point if you haven’t already.
- 07/21/2010 at 8:03 AM
  Free2Dream
  Participant
  128 posts
  Thanks for your responses, everyone.
  
  I am going to try to find him a different type of hay. I live in the city so there aren’t many farms around here, but there *has* to be a feed store somewhere.
  
  I think he’s getting around 1/2 a cup of pellets. I have noticed that once he’s finished with those, he begins munching on hay. (Probably out of desperation, lol.)
  
  As far as vegetables go, I’ve begun introducing kale (which he LOVES), celery, and carrot tops. He also gets the occasional apple piece or blackberry as a treat.
  
  By the way, is broccoli OK to feed as a snack? I’ve heard that it can cause gas, but this website says that it’s usually OK. I just want to make sure.
- 07/21/2010 at 8:09 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Kale and broccoli can both make rabbits gassy. The bulk of his fresh veggies should be plain greens, like romaine lettuce or red leaf lettuce. Kale you would want to feed only occasionally. No iceberg lettuce. Celery needs to be cut up into pieces less than 1 inch long since the long strings can cause digestive problems.
- 07/21/2010 at 8:14 AM
  Free2Dream
  Participant
  128 posts
  Oh, OK. I read that dark leafy greens are the best, so I went with kale because it was also written in bold on this list: https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=144. I will definitely cut back.
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