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FORUM DIET & CARE Worried about rabbit diet?

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    • Serendipity
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        Hi everyone! I am a first-time rabbit owner and a newbie to these forums. So, I’m looking forward to any guidance that can help me give my rabbit the best care. 


        Recently, my boyfriend and I bought an adorable female lionhead mix from Pet Supermarket on January 10, 2014. We could not resist the cuteness and love her way too much . Although I feel extremely terrible for not adopting a rabbit from the local shelter or another store that did not receive stock from mills . The associate at the pet store suggested that she must have been about 3-5 months old when we bought her. I don’t feel like I can 100% trust them on their opinions, but I digress.

        Here are some pictures to get an idea of her age: Dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/37toigg8sjq9gkh/GEibKfgs_4)

        Disclaimer: I have since built a 2 x 4 NIC condo and do not house her in that small cage anymore.

        Anyway, while we were shopping for her diet, the associates advised us to purchase Kaytee Forti-Diet for Rabbits and supply her with unlimited timothy hay. When we brought her home, she would mostly eat hay and hardly touch the pellets. I was worried about possible malnutrition, so I tried to supplement her adjusting diet with fresh vegetables. I used the following sites: Rabbit.org and Binky Bunny


        But, I regrettably did not take into account her variable age and young rabbit nutritional needs. Her poops have been normal (dark, medium-to-hard, round stools. Aside from the unlimited timothy hay, I seemed to miss that she should have unlimited access to pellets and should probably be introduced to some fresh veggies by now.

        Instead, she has been fed for the past two weeks on this diet:

        Morning (around 6-8AM):

        -Unlimited Timothy Hay

        -Unlimited fresh water

        -1 cup of the following: Cilantro, organic romaine lettuce, and bok choy

        Evening (around 6-8PM):

        -Unlimited Timothy Hay

        -Unlimited fresh water

        -1 cup of the following: Cilantro, organic romaine lettuce, and bok choy

        I would switch out the bok choy for spinach 2x a week.

        For treats, I have been offering her bits of cilantro outside of the usual amount (goes crazy for it). 


        At the moment, she is definitely not overweight. I could still feel a bit of her spine and ribcage (not protruding). 

        Her thick fur is not helping me judge her diet at all.

        She did not develop an extreme liking for the pellets until yesterday. I gave her 1/8 of a cup for the whole day, but she produced few (1-2) cecotropes that she did not eat. Today, when I offered her a couple of pellets, she ran around looking for more. 


        I am worried if I am stunting her optimal growth. 

        Should I continue this regimen with veggie variety? 

        Or, should I decrease her vegetable intake and increase the pellet availability? 

        Any help is greatly appreciated!!!


      • Deleted User
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          Seeing you’ve already got her on a diet plan and she is showing no ill effects – stick with it! My only ‘suggestion’ would be to offer her more pellets – till they are 6 months old the norm is offer pellets freely. And maybe buy/offer her pellets for ‘young rabbits’ (Alfalfa based) or try an Alfalfa hay. This is best for young bun’s. And don’t ever feel bad that you ‘may’ have done the wrong thing – I didn’t know ANY of this till I met BB!
          The veggies sound good (YUM actually!) – I also give my boy whatever we are eating along with what I actually buy for him, like Kale (yuck! – for us), just double check that it isn’t a NO NO, like white potato, etc., and keep in mind some buns don’t love everything – my boy hates zucchini! And only introduce one new veggie at a time and in a small amount, make sure her tummy doesn’t react to it? 1 to 2 cups of veggies a day along with freely available pellets (till 6 months) and hay – when she’s grown up, she’ll never want to leave home (just like my adult son!?!?).


        • Bam
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            She’s adorable! Compeletely irresistible, as you say =)

            Her diet seems fine. You can add some high quality pellets for growing bunnies, f ex Oxbow. The reason you should introduce veggies slowly is that it can be a shock to their little tummies if you don’t. Since this obviously hasn’t happened to your bun, you can keep giving her veggies. Variation is always a good thing. One veggie can be exchanged for another,but not all veggies at once, then back again and so on. You seem very capable and responsible bunny-owners! Cilantro, mint and basil are great treats and a million times better than the yucky crap pet-stores sell, like yogurt-drops and seed-bars that are actually very unhealthy for bunnies.

            If she’s not had any pellets in your care, introduce them slowly, just to be safe. Any sudden changes in a bunny’s diet, especially when adding stuff that has a higher nutritional value, can make the stomach flip out.


          • Sarita
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              She’s adorable. I think stick with it if it works too. I would minimize the spinach though to once a week or cut it out entirely – it’s high in oxalic acid (maybe the highest) – it’s okay on occasion. I think it would be safe to start introducing more greens too for a wider variety.

              Yes definitely get some high quality pellets and introduce those to her as well. I know it’s suggested unlimited but I think I would still measure them out and see how much she actually eats per day – you still want her to eat her timothy hay and not fill up entirely on the pellets.


            • justwildbeat
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                Since your rabbit is still fairly young you can increase her pellet ration by a little. Just don’t go overboard lol, some rabbits will overeat. Avoid buying pellet mixes that have a lot of random add ins like nuts, colorful pellets, and corn. They’re unnecessary and overpriced. I used to feed alfalfa based pellets when mine was young since he was eating timothy hay. Later transitioned to timothy based pellets when he got older.


              • Diamond
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                  Seems like you’re doing okay.  If you want some suggestions on treats and stuff, the Binky Bunny website has a store that has some good stuff (I don’t order it, but my local pet store carries a lot of the Oxbow products, which seems to be a favorite brand on this forum.  I mostly look at the BB store for ideas).

                  And don’t feel too bad, my bunny was a complete impulse buy too.  Looks like neither of us could resist soft fur and a cute face lol

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              FORUM DIET & CARE Worried about rabbit diet?