Best of the best!

[Archiethebunny]

Hey everyone,
I’m a first time bunny owner and I love my bunny more than anything! I’ve done tons of research on how to best care for him but I’m still terrified I’m going to somehow mess up! I was wondering if everyone reading this could “fill in the blank” to the following categories so I can have some recommendations on the best of the best to give my bunny to prevent health issues and ensure his happiness. Thank you!
1. Pellet composition/ brand

2. Combination of leafy greens per meal

3. Bedding type/ brand

4. Treats, portions and frequency of treats

5. Litter type/ brand (for a litter box with a grate)

6. Frequency of Vet wellness checkups

7. Supplements/ vitamins?

8. Brand of hay

[jerseybunnies]

Hi! I would love to help 🙂

1. In terms of pellet composition and brands, it depends on the age. I would suggest, for babies, the following: either Oxbow Essentials Young Rabbit Food (pretty much everywhere) or Sherwood Healthier & Hoppier Baby Rabbit Food (hard to get hands-on right now, though.) Look out for muesli-type ingredients and trashy kinds of “junk” in the pellets — you should stick to stuff with naturals, including vitamins, as well as the hay. Baby rabbit pellets will have alfalfa hay in them. Check to make sure that there is a lot of fiber in the pellets. For adults, I’d recommend the following: either Oxbow Essentials Adult Rabbit Food (pretty much everywhere), Oxbow Garden Select Adult Rabbit Food (pretty much everywhere), Small Pet Select Rabbit Food (online), or Sherwood Adult Rabbit Food (also hard to get now, but when available, is online.) By pretty much everywhere, I mean that you can get it online. In the US where I am, the Oxbow foods listen above are in pretty much every pet store.
2. You should feed greens to a 12+ week-old rabbit. You want a variety! Stay away from gassy vegetables such as cauliflower and bring in the dark, leafy greens! Just don’t feed any iceberg lettuce! Stay away from iceberg lettuce, since it includes lactucarium which can be harmful. I would suggest things such as romaine lettuce, wheatgrass, mixed greens (you can buy bags of mixed greens in the grocery store), herbs, dandelions, the list goes on. You can search up different lists for what bunnies can and can not eat. Remember, only 1-2 tbsp of fruit a day. Nothing with too much sugar!
3. For bedding type — I’m not quite sure what you mean with this, since I’m not sure what housing you have for your rabbit. Rabbits need a lot of space, such as an x-pen, but should not be kept in little cages. If you’re talking about bedding for a litter box, I would recommend compressed paper pellets, aspen shavings, shredded paper, and the paper bedding commercially sold in pet stores. Stay away from the clay, pine, cedar, and scented litters. NO clumping cat litters, as this can clump if the rabbit ingests it. Try not to use materials with a lot of dust.
4. In terms of treats, it depends on the size of your rabbit, and what is in the treat. Most will have a feeding guide on the back. Use your judgment! Trust your gut. Don’t give a ton of treats very often for no reason — FOOD DOES NOT EQUAL LOVE! Remember that… their little faces can be very convincing. Instead, you can give treats when they do something positive or hold them so that they associate those things with good things — aka treats. I would suggest natural treats, such as Oxbow dried banana bite treats. Great treats can be natural pieces of fruit. Don’t give salt licks or the sugary stuff from pet stores.
5. So bunnies should have a lot of room — instead of being in a little cage — but if you have questions about that you can ask. However, as I see above, if you are looking for BEDDING for a cage, then the commercial paper bedding (ex. Kaytee Clean & Cozy). For LITTER, I would recommend what I said above: compressed paper pellets, aspen shavings, shredded paper, and the paper bedding commercially sold in pet stores.
6. I would say that for a wellness checkup, you should visit the vet once a year. If anything seems off or for emergencies, then take them to the vet. Compile a list of places that treat rabbits and have experience. Ex., I have a list of 3 vets near me, one an emergency vet that is open 24/7. This is important so that in case of emergency you will be ready.
7. If your rabbit is still growing (depends on rabbit breed — you can search up the age your breed stops growing), then do not give supplements. If they are done growing and think they need a supplement, you can give natural supplements. Oxbow Natural Science supplements look good. If you are doing a good job with feeding and the bunny is healthy overall with a varied, complete diet, there is no need for supplements.
8. Again, it depends on the age of your rabbit! If your rabbit is a baby, they will be needing alfalfa hay and grass hay (I like timothy hay for grass hay). For smaller bags of hay, (depends on size of bunny / stores near you), you can feed the small Oxbow bags. Kaytee sells timothy hay, but my favorite when I was feeding small bags of hay were the Western Timothy Hay by Oxbow (red bag). They also sell Alfalfa Hay (blue bag). Once your rabbit is of age and has transitioned to all grass hay, then you can feed just timothy hay. I get it real cheap at a Tractor Supply Co. (25 pounds for $25). This saves a lot of money and I never have to run out to get hay since I just keep the bale in a bucket in my garage. If you have a TSC near you, I would really recommend this!

I hope this helped. Let me know if you have any more questions!

These are just my suggestions. Please seek an experienced veterinarian if you have medical needs / questions. Thank you! 

[BZOO]

Also, if you have access to clean, organic dandelions, those are good too!

[BZOO]

For pellets, Oxbow garden select.  Avoid foods with corn, wheat, soy, sugar ( molasses), fillers (if you don’t know what it is, your bunny doesn’t need it).

You can get a good variety of greens in the pre packaged salad section.

I found the crumbled paper works well, doesn’t track, kick out, or stick to the fur like typical paper litter and softer than pelleted paper.  I also offer him a fleece blanket in his hide.

Treats can be other veggies, small amounts of fruit.  As for store bought treats, use sparingly and avoid those with sugar.  Loops are good.

For the litter box, pine pellets work awesome.  Feline pine is good but pricey.  If you have a farm supply store near, get the one marketed for horses.  Doesn’t take a lot, so a bag will last awhile.

Probably only need yearly visits, unless an issue pops up.

Shouldn’t really need supplements, but there are some general ones by Oxbow that can be used as treats, my hamster loves them.

As for hay, most are fine, but Oxbow tends to have the best quality.  Not sure if Standlee brand is available in your area, but if so, it has an exceptional Orchard grass hay that is the only stuff my G.Pigs eat.

[DanaNM]

Welcome to Binky Bunny 🙂

I also recommend checking out the “Rabbit Info” tab at the top of the page. There is lots of great info that has been vetted by the experts on this site that should help answer all of your questions.

More so than specific brands, there is some info there that will help you learn to read ingredient labels to know what to look for in good quality feed and supplies. There is also great info there on health checks, veggies to feed, etc.

For hay, I would look for a source that is fresh and that your bun loves. Any grass hay (timothy, orchard, rye, oat, bermuda, etc) will be good for your bunny, it’s just important that he eats lots of it. I buy hay by the bale from feed shops, because it is usually freshest, cheapest, and I have four bunnies, so we really go through it!

For litter, I use pine pellets. You can get them sold as horse stall pellets, wood stove pellets, or feline pine (but they mark up the price when sold this way). You should be able to find a 40lb bag for 8-10 dollars at feed shops.

I would get the largest litter box you can for the space you are providing your bunny. Basic large cat pans work great for a single bun.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[pinkiemarie]

I’m not going to touch on everything because you’re already getting a lot of good advice.

 

On treats, you can give things like carrot and banana but only occasionally and in very small quantities. Any pet store should have prepackaged treats as well. Read the label and if the first or second ingredient is hay then personally I’m comfortable giving those treats more often. There are also really delicious treats that a human wouldn’t normally think of. One of my rabbits is absolutely bonkers for apple sticks. I would avoid the random ones on Amazon because they sound like they’re Chinese brands and I wouldn’t feel comfortable with the possible pesticide contamination. There are also some dried leafy/flowery treats that my rabbits really enjoy. The store here sells them but it looks like most are sold out right now. If you have room for a garden you can also grow mint, sage, rosemary, pansies and other rabbit safe flowers and herbs.

[BZOO]

Oh,yes.  Rosewoods Nature’s Salad is an awesome treat, dried flowers and herbs. Around here it is referred to as Pig crack, my girls do not accept other brands.  Walter the bunny really likes it too.

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