Am I feeding too much?

[Lagomorpheus]

Hi, I’m concerned about overfeeding my bunnies! I don’t want them to get fat and the vet said Vicky was slightly overweight at her last check-up (last month). Do you chop your vegetables to see how many cups it is? I feel like my bunnies would much prefer the vegetables to be intact while eating (they have so much fun eating the stems or leaves or nibbling around it seems). Also, should I worry about Brambles eating more than his share when feeding them together? Let me know what you think of the following meal plan:

2 rabbits fed together, both 4 lbs:

Morning:

1x whole leaf of Romaine lettuce

2x leaves of Endive

4x Stalks of Parsley

1/4 cup of pellets (hi fiber, lo protein, lo fat)

Night: (same)

1x whole leaf of Romaine lettuce

2x leaves of Endive

4x Stalks of Parsley

1/4 cup of pellets (hi fiber, lo protein, lo fat)

 

[Bunnies4ever]

I only feed my bunnies 1/4 cup Oxbow pellets, unlimited hay and about 2 cups of veggies at night. I have my bunnies down to a routine, I feed them the same thing at the same time every day. They also get one treat per week. Depending on the bunny (each have a preferred veggie list), they get:

Romaine lettuce (both)
Cilantro (both)
Basil (Chloe only)
Dandelion tops (both)
Parsley (both)
Carrot tops only (both)
Kale (very sparingly, only Kahlua likes it)

My bunnies are of good weight (for their size) and are incredingly healthy. They don’t like too much of a variety of veggies and sometimes I wonder if they get bored with the same veggies all the time, but they love them, so I don’t worry so much. Also, Chloe loves popsicle sticks soaked in applie juice. Kahlua could care less about them. They also don’t care of bananas, raisins, or dried strawberries. They just love papaya!

[babybunsmum]

i recently found a great exotics vet who specializes in rabbits.  her recommendations are: unlimited hay (not alfalfa) & fresh water, plus daily one tightly packed cup of washed greens (greens not all veg) for every 4 pounds of body weight.  greens should be 3 or more different kinds for best nutrition. 

she recommends pellets by weight also.  2-4lbs = 1/8 cup daily… 5-7lbs = 1/4 cup daily… 8-10lbs 1/2 cup daily.

the printed info she gave me doesn’t mention veggies aside from greens so i take it that they are for treats only?  she does recommend fruit as treats should total no more than 2 tablespoons per day per 2lbs of body weight, and cautions against bananas & grapes because rabbits can find them ‘addictive’.  dried fruits should be used in half the amount.

good luck with your bun’s weight… i have the same with mine and needed to fine tune our routine to meet these recommendations.  any comments on the above are welcome btw.  i have faith in this new vet AND am always open to ‘tried and true’ suggestions!

 

[Sarita]

Are you giving them unlimited hay?

I think 2 1/4 cups of pellets may be too much. But I’m really interested to know about the hay too – they need that as well and that will help fill them up as well.

[Lagomorpheus]

Of course…hay is always unlimited and I don’t really consider it something that needs to be adjusted with the other parts of the diet 🙂

[Sarita]

Well you didn’t mention it so I just wasn’t sure what all of the diet was for them and I agree unlimited does not need to be adjusted :~)

I think the first thing I would cut down on is the pellets though. I think with the unlimited hay that will help “fill” them up if you cut down on the pellets too.

[Beka27]

i don’t measure Meadow’s veggies… is it really necessary?  i give her a good amount and she eats all of them, so i figure it’s not too much…

[babybunsmum]

measuring only became necessary for me because i wasn’t feeding my bun enough greens… silly human that i am!  i had also been feeding her unlimited pellets.  oops.  from her check-up last week i learned that she’s a tad overweight, so i started to make sure her 2 cup bowl is full of greens (when tightly packed down).  i never measured before but i know this is more than what she used to get.  i give it to her first thing so she can chomp all day & so it distracts her from the fact that she’s only getting 1/4 cup of pellets!  she thumped sternly when she first saw the measured small amount!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi there! Definately cut back on the pellets and try to increase exercise or play/out time from their cage.  Are they in a run and do you have a scale to monitor their progress? It sounds like the veggies are OK but you might want to try and mix it up a bit with the types that you give them.  Here is an excellent list of veggies for bunnies:

https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=144

Let us know how it goes!

[Lagomorpheus]

I’ve been told that changes to a rabbit’s diet can be dangerous, potentially leading to diarrhea and dehydration. I think keeping a consistent diet is important – not ‘mixing it up’!

 

I have cut down on the amount of pellets I am feeding. Now they act like thy’re starving when I feed them! lol

[Gravehearted]

well – it is true that major changes to a bunny’s diet can lead to serious problems or shocks to their system, so it’s always best to make them gradual over time. Even when decreasing the pellets, I’d likely do it slowly over a week or so. I’d also suggest mixing it up with the veggies. Keep in mind that darker greens are the most nutrient dense.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Actually keeping the same veggies day in and day out is not recommended for a rabbits diet.  I believe in giving a variety of vegetables and it is recommended to obtain the necessary nutrients. Yes, drastic changes can cause an upset like changing the type or brand of pellets you are giving your rabbit or offering the veggies that rabbits are more sensitive to like broccoli (gassy). Add one veggie at a time  to see if it causes any adverse reactions like diarrhea.  This should not prevent you from offering a different type or kind of vegetable to their diet. I do not know why you would be advised to stick with the same vegetables day in and day out but I’ve attached some links for you to look at regarding offering a variety of vegetables and will leave it up to you to decide if it is something you will try.

http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html

http://www.rabbithaven.org/BunnyBasics/food_diet.htm

http://www.hopperhome.com/vegetables.htm

 

 

[babybunsmum]

Posted By Scarlet_Rose on 11/14/2007 5:31 PM

I’ve attached some links for you to look at regarding offering a variety of vegetables and will leave it up to you to decide if it is something you will try.

 

 

wow… i did not know to use spinach & kale sparingly.  more for me i guess   thanks for the links!

[Lagomorpheus]

Posted By Scarlet_Rose on 11/14/2007 5:31 PM

Actually keeping the same veggies day in and day out is not recommended for a rabbits diet.  I believe in giving a variety of vegetables and it is recommended to obtain the necessary nutrients. Yes, drastic changes can cause an upset like changing the type or brand of pellets you are giving your rabbit or offering the veggies that rabbits are more sensitive to like broccoli (gassy). Add one veggie at a time  to see if it causes any adverse reactions like diarrhea.  This should not prevent you from offering a different type or kind of vegetable to their diet. I do not know why you would be advised to stick with the same vegetables day in and day out but I’ve attached some links for you to look at regarding offering a variety of vegetables and will leave it up to you to decide if it is something you will try.

http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html

http://www.rabbithaven.org/BunnyBasics/food_diet.htm

http://www.hopperhome.com/vegetables.htm

 

 

I do give a variety of vegetables – Three different types, which is more than sufficient according to the research I’ve done. It seems to me like rabbits in the wild wouldn’t naturally be trying a different vegetable every week but would be eating the local vegetation, which would be consistently of a small variety… I’ll ask my vet next time we speak, though.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hey, no worries I totally understand.  I tend to think that our spoiled domesticated house rabbits like the variety though.  

[Sarita]

You might find this article interesting:

http://www.leithpetwerks.com/Bunfun/nonpellet.html

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Thanks Sarita!! That was a really good read!

Lago-You are wise to check with your vet…You can also find tonnes of resources on this site, and rabbit.org; I think I know where you are coming from, with the three different veggies-but I’ve usually read three different veggies a day….
I think as long as one of them is high in Vit A and they aren’t getting veggies too high in starch/calories or calcium, (as your three listed aren’t) then they should be fine…Rabbits with delicate stomachs may only get one type of veggie ever!!

[Lagomorpheus]

Sarita, thank you very much for the article. It was very good and seems to confirm my thoughts that a consistent, but not widely varied selection of veggies is a good choice… "Her greenery is consistent too—she doesn’t have a gas-former like Bok Choy in a large amount one day, and a stack of clover the next. Instead, she gets a pretty consistent mix of the foliage in her specific area; there is variety, but it is regular variety."

[Sarita]

Lagomorpheus, I’m the same way with the veggie variety. Alot of what I feed my rabbits depends upon what is available and affordable and if what is available looks good. Lately the cilantro has not been looking good here so I don’t feed that. Mine is pretty consistent (flat leaf and curly parsley, romaine, organic spring mix – which is not always looking good, kale, cilantro – if it looks good, dandelion greens when I can get this and occassional fresh herbs). I do have alot of rabbits though so I cannot give the variety that I would with just a few rabbits due to cost and storage. I do give pellets as well because of the number of rabbits I have but I do limit that to 1/4 or 1/3 cup per rabbit per day although I would love to eliminate pellets it’s just not an option with 12 rabbits. I do have one rabbit that gets no pellets though because he cannot tolerate them. They pretty much get the mixed organic greens daily (want to change this though) and the romaine. I change up the parsleys, cilantros, dandelion greens, and kale though. I have heard that too many greens keeps them from eating so much hay – I think that depends too on the rabbit. Some of my rabbits just eat and eat and eat and others just eat.

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