Best pellet food!

[Maranello]

Hi all, just thought I would share my rabbit diet with you to see if you guys had any comments. I have two indoor bunnies age 4yrs and they have a daily portion of hay and fresh veg. The pellets I choose to feed them are Science Selective for adult buns as that had the best nutritional values in a comparison table. My bunnies absolutely love these pellets soaked and as they are not great water drinkers I find it’s a great way of keeping them hydrated! I also add on top a couple of blueberries and on occasion I will sprinkle over some cranberry powder (Cranimals) as one of them had a urinery issue last year. I have also now started to add a few drops of olive oil once a week as they are not the best hay eaters (no matter what brand I try) so sometimes one of the buns poo is quite hard/small. Anyway, overall they really love the soaked pellets and wondered if anyone else has tried this?

[Wick & Fable]

I could be overly cautious, but typically rabbits take water soaked pellets when their teeth are bothering them and it’s uncomfortable to eat actual pellets. I think about this because you mention they only get a daily portion of hay and they don’t eat much hay. How much pellets do you give them and how often do they get hay?

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.

[sarahthegemini]

Hay needs to be the bulk of their diet so you must encourage hay consumption as much as possible. Have you tried different types of hay?

[Maranello]

I’ve tried so many hay types and brands. I give them a generous handful and they do eat it but I would say only a third if that. I have even tried spraying it with a bit of apple juice. I don’t think their teeth are a problem as they have check ups and they eat through wood treats, cardboard etc.. they have access to a small bowl of dry pellets but they only munch them if they are really hungry. Basically they favour the wet pellets over dry. I have tried different waterbottles and bowls for water but they really don’t take much of it at all so that’s why I have chosen hydration through the pellets.

[Wick & Fable]

Since they are 4 years old, you should not let them have constant access to pellets.

For many rabbits, food items are prioritized as such:
1) Treats
2) Veggies
3) Pellets
…
…
…
…
4) Hay

— I don’t know many rabbits that go crazy over hay, and a typical rabbit doesn’t scarf it down. The appropriate behavior to expect is grazing on the hay throughout the day. You need to limit the presentation and access of non-hay items so your rabbits are forced to eat hay. If they are hungry, they’ll eat it. Currently, I think they feel secure in getting full on pellets, so there’s no point in eating hay; however, rabbits do not know that hay is essential for their health. Like a parent restricting a child’s candy consumption and presenting healthy foods, a rabbit owner must do the same.

What’s your food dispensing schedule like, day to day? Maybe this can be tweaked so most of the day, there’s no food available except hay.

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.

[Sirius&Luna]

If between them they’re eating less than half a handful of hay a day, they’re getting nowhere near enough. Ideally they should eat a pile of hay about the size of themselves each day.

My bunnies genuinely do get excited when I top up their hay with fresh hay.

Like Wick says, for the majority of the day they should have nothing but hay.

But there’s lots of ways to make it more appealing to them. Firstly, the hay needs to be very good quality, green hay. This can be timothy, meadow, or oat, or a mixture of all three. Then you can make it a bit more exciting by mixing in hay toppers – I give mine a sprinkle of ‘readigrass’, which is pure dried grass that they love. It’s bright bright green. I also sprinkle in dried herbs, dried leaves, and petals occasionally, mixing it up so its a bit different every day. When I give them their pellets ( one tablespoon each a day), I mix them in with their pile of hay, so they have to rummage through the hay for them.

All of these things can help them to be more interested in hay.

[Deleted User]

My boys are so excited to have their hay topped up, and they pick every little piece they see from the ground. I also have hay available for their roaming time, and I can usually find them with their face stuffed in it.
I give them an unlimited supply of orchard grass and Timothy, 1/8 cup of pellets in the morning, and 2 cups of greens at night. It’s usually 10-12 hours in between feedings, so they’re really enticed by the hay.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Sirius&Luna on 1/03/2018 10:17 AM

If between them they’re eating less than half a handful of hay a day, they’re getting nowhere near enough. Ideally they should eat a pile of hay about the size of themselves each day.

My bunnies genuinely do get excited when I top up their hay with fresh hay.

Like Wick says, for the majority of the day they should have nothing but hay.

But there’s lots of ways to make it more appealing to them. Firstly, the hay needs to be very good quality, green hay. This can be timothy, meadow, or oat, or a mixture of all three. Then you can make it a bit more exciting by mixing in hay toppers – I give mine a sprinkle of ‘readigrass’, which is pure dried grass that they love. It’s bright bright green. I also sprinkle in dried herbs, dried leaves, and petals occasionally, mixing it up so its a bit different every day. When I give them their pellets ( one tablespoon each a day), I mix them in with their pile of hay, so they have to rummage through the hay for them.

All of these things can help them to be more interested in hay.

Sorry to sidetrack but any particular leaves or petals you reccomend? I ordered from that haymazing website, I got echinacea, nettle, marigold and mallow. Also got dandelion as I’m interested to see if it’s better quality than the stuff I usually buy. I was tempted to buy everything! 

[Sirius&Luna]

They love blackcurrant leaves and plantain (although I hate the smell of plantain leaves myself, so I might have to selfishly remove that one from the rotation). I tend to be lazy and buy the mixed bags and just sprinkle a pinch over though. I must be more adventurous!

There’s also a hay-like herb called viola-tricolor that they love, and it must be basically like eating hay since its pretty coarse. All of their dried flowers are really nice and vibrant too, I’ve got the sunflower and rose.

I’m going to try dandelion root next time.

I basically want pretty jars full of everything

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Sirius&Luna on 1/03/2018 11:02 AM

They love blackcurrant leaves and plantain (although I hate the smell of plantain leaves myself, so I might have to selfishly remove that one from the rotation). I tend to be lazy and buy the mixed bags and just sprinkle a pinch over though. I must be more adventurous!

There’s also a hay-like herb called viola-tricolor that they love, and it must be basically like eating hay since its pretty coarse. All of their dried flowers are really nice and vibrant too, I’ve got the sunflower and rose.

I’m going to try dandelion root next time.

I basically want pretty jars full of everything

Haha I can just imagine having a huge selection and every day saying “oooh a dash of this, a dash of that….” I’m genuinely excited  I think I’ll try the sunflower petals next time and some more leaves. There’s so much choice! 

[Deleted User]

You guys make me feel like I don’t spoil my boys enough! That’s such a good idea! I never thought of sprinkling flowers and herbs in their hay. Especially because they go crazy for parsley. Thanks for the idea S&L and Sarah!

[joea64]

I’ll have to try that myself, both sprinkling their morning pellets in their hay and adding some green herbs (e.g. parsley, but not too much of it of course). Between breakfast and supper, it’s generally 12 to 14 hours depending on what day of the week it is (longer during the workweek, shorter on weekends), so generally between 4/5 am and 5/6 pm Monday-Friday they’re left to themselves with their hay while I’m away at work. Supper-to-breakfast in the evenings is usually 10-12 hours apart, but that being said, early evening is one of their favorite times to attack their hay pile and forage.

[Deleted User]

Posted By Wick on 1/03/2018 9:10 AM

Since they are 4 years old, you should not let them have constant access to pellets.

For many rabbits, food items are prioritized as such:
1) Treats
2) Veggies
3) Pellets
…
…
…
…
4) Hay

— I don’t know many rabbits that go crazy over hay, and a typical rabbit doesn’t scarf it down. The appropriate behavior to expect is grazing on the hay throughout the day. You need to limit the presentation and access of non-hay items so your rabbits are forced to eat hay. If they are hungry, they’ll eat it. Currently, I think they feel secure in getting full on pellets, so there’s no point in eating hay; however, rabbits do not know that hay is essential for their health. Like a parent restricting a child’s candy consumption and presenting healthy foods, a rabbit owner must do the same.

What’s your food dispensing schedule like, day to day? Maybe this can be tweaked so most of the day, there’s no food available except hay.

Lol you got it just right, they would have their diet completely backwards if they were allowed to choose! But regarding never seeing a bunny get too excited about hay, I buy Small Pet Select hay and Ophelia will run around me and binky whenever I’m bringing her a refill! She immediately jumps in and eats some even if she’s sleeping across the room somewhere. Maybe that’s just her, but I feel like the hay is just really yummy to her, since she lacks excitement and refuses to eat Oxbow or other brands on the off occasion that I haven’t received my Small Pet Select order. Or maybe she’s just a weirdo

[Maranello]

Wow, that’s all really interesting advice – thanks guys. You’re right I think they are getting what they want rather than what they need but it will be a long conversion process. I tried pretty much every hay brand including two types of friendly readigrass and I end up just wasting it. It’s going to be more about forcing them through lack of choice I think. What websites can you recommend for buying sprinkles – herbs, petals, etc…?

[Sirius&Luna]

I think sadly in these cases you have to be strict to be kind! It’s great that you’re willing to put in the effort though, I know how disheartening it can be.

If you’re in the UK (sounds like you are from the readigrass) then there’s lots of good options. Personally, I now buy a 9kg bag of Timothy hay from timothyhay.co.uk (which lasts my 3 about a month, for an idea of how much they should be eating) for £22. It’s really good quality, fresh hay and my buns love it. They don’t sell smaller bags, so you probably don’t want to commit to that yet, but I think they do send free samples.

Mine never liked the readigrass Timothy, but readigrass do one (in a green bag) that’s called pure dried grass. I don’t know if you’ve tried that one, but lots of fussy buns will eat it even if they don’t eat proper hay because it’s more like grass. It might be a good way to transition them onto ‘proper’ hay. I now just give them a handful every other day or so as a treat.

To be honest, any time I’ve bought an ‘energency’ bag from a pet shop, I’ve never been very impressed by the quality as I think they sit around for a while before being bought and my buns tend to turn their noses up at it. I think it is worth trying some independent suppliers, as it’s often fresher.

For fun hay toppers and treats, I buy the Burgess ‘meadow mix’ and also use the website forhaymazingpets, which does loads of really nice quality dried leaves, forage, petals and treats like dried carrot.

My vet recommended Galen’s garden for nice forage bits as well, but I haven’t actually ordered from them yet so can’t tell you about quality!

[NVKitty]

Hi again Wick,
I was reading through this thread about pellets and saw your response to the OP, original poster. The bunny I captured in my yard New Years Eve really scarfs down the pellets! I just keep topping the big bowl off. Should I start limiting how much of them I’m giving daily?

Sorry to hijack this thread.
Kathi

[Wick & Fable]

Hi NV. Feel free to privately message me in the future, but it’s a good educational piece.

Since you’re a bit unsure about your rabbit’s age, I’d say 1/4 cup per 2lbs your rabbit is. If you continue to see white/cloudy pee consistently, back it off. If you cannot find a scale to weigh your rabbit, compare your rabbits weight with cans of soup or something you can convert!

Also, when you check gender, just curl the butt towards you, do not flip your rabbit over. It will trance the rabbit, which is one of the worst stressful states, although it looks relaxing (it paralyzes them). Typically if you lift the tail a bit, you’ll see two sacks on an unfixed male. If you don’t see them, your vet and look at it more thorough to see if there are skin flaps from a neuter or signs of female.

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.

[Author]

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