Starving him?!

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 8sd replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 9 months ago by DalekBunny.

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- 07/14/2013 at 1:58 PM
  DalekBunny
  Participant
  38 posts
  Hello!
  
  My bun Dusty is a Lionhead mix who weighs 3 lbs and is 6 months old. We are getting him neutered soon and he is already completely litter trained but here is my question:
  
  His diet consists of all the proper amounts and ingredients but whenever I go to give him pellets he frantically bounces around and seems desperate for them…
  
  He currently eats:
  
  Unlimited hay
  
  Unlimited water
  
  1/16 cup of pellets in the morning, 1/16 cup of pellets at night (1/8 cups of pellets daily)
  
  1/2 cup of cilantro, basil, mint, parsley, and a little bit of dark romaine lettuce in the morning and the same at night (1 cup of mixed veggies daily)
  
  1 small Oxbow Barley treat per day
  
  A very small piece of carrot oe banana daily
  
  From what I have read this seems to be a good diet but like I said, he seems hungry throughout the day for pellets even though he has unlimited hay in a bin the whole day (which he also eats A LOT of)
  
  So basically Dusty seems to have the right amounts of food but still seems hungry! Any suggestions? Thanks!
- 07/14/2013 at 2:26 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  I think you could up the pellets to a 1/4 cup for him….that’s what I would do. Or you could increase the veggies – one or the other. He is young too so he needs more energy and can handle more calories.
- 07/14/2013 at 3:17 PM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  I ditto, Sarita.
  
  However just want to add, my buns ALWAYS act like they are starving. They eat a diet guidelined by House Rabbit Society and always have hay available but at meal times they freak out. I think a lot of bunnies are like dogs in that they really, really love food.
- 07/14/2013 at 4:09 PM
  Julezypie
  Participant
  122 posts
  Fiona doesn’t even get veggies yet but any time I open the fridge to make JAcks salad, Fiona is under my feet waiting for me to drop something, just like the pugs!
- 07/14/2013 at 6:39 PM
  Stickerbunny
  Participant
  4128 posts
  Posted By LittlePuffyTail on 07/14/2013 03:17 PM
  I ditto, Sarita.
  
  However just want to add, my buns ALWAYS act like they are starving. They eat a diet guidelined by House Rabbit Society and always have hay available but at meal times they freak out. I think a lot of bunnies are like dogs in that they really, really love food.
  
  Mine are pretty much the same. If they aren’t eating pellets or salad, they are starving. I could feed them half a bag of pellets a day and they’d still act hungry.
- 07/14/2013 at 6:59 PM
  BubblesJo
  Participant
  458 posts
  Chester is the same way. He would eat a bag if I let him… besides he begs every time I walk to the fridge, even if I just gave him is lunch.
  
  We’ve been training some tricks and I’ve been using pellets as rewards. Whenever I shake the training container he comes running, even if he just ate!
- 07/14/2013 at 7:12 PM
  mia
  Participant
  617 posts
  If you are concerned if you are feeding him the correct amount, feel him over and make sure his not too skinny and/or ask your vet / have him checked out. Every bun is different and has different needs. Some buns will need more than the standard and some will need less.
  
  I tried to cut back on pellets for my buns a little bit, and though I made it up in veges and of course they still had unlimited hay, one bun experienced dramatic weight loss while there were no effects on the other bun. The bun who’s health deteriorated is a bum and barely exercises too.
- 07/15/2013 at 7:46 AM
  BabyD
  Participant
  50 posts
  A hungry rabbit is a healthy rabbit 🙂
- 07/15/2013 at 6:32 PM
  DalekBunny
  Participant
  38 posts
  Since he is still growing (he is 6 months) I think I am going to up the pellets to 1/4 cup per day and slowly go down to 1/8 again by the time he is six months. And I am almost positive you guys are right… buns just like food!
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