Alternate rabbit diet

[Maureen]

My almost 5 year old lionhead mix bunny refused to eat commercial bunny food about 3-3 1/2 years ago….was starving himself (hay and greens wasn’t enough).

I started with a little jif natural peanut butter, added cranberry powder for urinary health, and a little olive oil: mixed that up good and added dry rolled oats. This has been his food diet since then. He also gets spring greens, organic, and alfalfa hay. He ignores the hay during spring and summer, will only eat the greens in season. Very finicky bunny. Does anyone know of an alternate food that I can substitute for the peanut butter/rolled oats mix?

Also, I’m allergic to Timothy hay.

[Azerane]

Hi there Maureen. I’m sorry to hear of your troubles getting your bunny to eat food well.

At this point, I would suggest that any quality pellet food is a suitable alternative to the peanut butter and oats mix. Peanut butter is definitely not recommended for buns at all and oats can be quite fattening.

When he stopped eating 3 years ago did you have his health and teeth checked? Though if there had been a problem then it likely would have shown itself by now. So you’re probably just dealing with a fussy bun..

Hay really is a must, I don’t care if he ignores it, he must be eating it for dental health and gut health. By chance is he kept outside with access to free feed on fresh grass? If so that may explain that. Otherwise you need to get him reliably eating hay. Try different brands and different types of grass hay. As for a food, I would recommend to stop the DIY food straight away, it’s simply not suitable for rabbits. Any quality pellet that is grass hay based is suitable. As you know bunnies can be fussy so it may be a matter of trying different brands or flavours within those brands (some companies may send out samples) until you hit on something that he will eat.

I hope that helps.

[Bam]

I agree you should try to find a pellet that he will like, then transition him slowly into that. It should be done slowly, because his gut microbiota is not used to breaking down complex carbs, so if the transition goes too quickly, he could actually starve, because he has trouble absorbing the nutrients in the new food. (This is a common problem when a bun is transitioned to healthier food, according to British rabbit vet Molly Varga).

Peanuts are common in animal feed as they are a good source of protein and high in calories due to the content of fat, but, as I’m sure you realize, the fat content is too high to be good for rabbits. Soy is a close relative to peanuts (peanuts aren’t actually nuts technically, they are beans). Many types of rabbit pellets contain soy in some form. Many people nowadays try to avoid giving bunnies soy-based pellets, but it’s still a very common ingredient even in high quality pellet brands. Since your bun thrives on peanut butter and oats, he could perhaps accept pellets containing soy. Once he’s accepte a healthier diet and his tummy is used to it, you can transition him to a soy-free diet if that’s what you want.

As Az says, hay is the mainstay of a bun’s diet, 80-90% of its daily caloric need should ideally come from hay. 

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