Bunny food

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Ok when i had bunnies in the past i fed them greens hay and bunny food, but now i have bunnies again if i feed them vegetables they seem to get slightly runny poo. I have read over and over again and people seem to have different ideas on what is ok to feed  all the time and what is not.

Some places say only a little parsley others say all the time. dandelions i always fed flower and leaf but now i can only find leaf mentioned and dont know if i can give as much as they want or just a bit. I really dont want too many wet poops.

I also read if they have too much protein this could cause lots of uneaten cecals, which has been a prob on and off for us. How often does everyone give dry pellets and how much? do you leave bowl empty if they finish them all or refill? These are all so basic but as these buns have been more prone to wet bums i want to be carefull. I dont mean full diarrhea just a bit loose lol xxx

So opinions plesae so i can make a decision on what and when to feed them, they are aprox 5 months xx

[Beka27]

I agree!  Diet is very confusing.  There are so many websites that say different things, it’s hard to know what is right and what is not… We recommend the guidelines thru House Rabbit Society. 

You’re familiar with rabbits of course, so you know the most important part of their diet is hay, hay, and MORE HAY!  Under 7 months old, they can get alfalfa hay, but since they are already 5 months, I would keep them on timothy hay (rather than switch and have to switch them back right away!)  Unlimited, so as much as they eat in a day and then some…  You can put some in their litterbox to help them use the box, and encourage them to munch while they do their business.  Also, you can make a hay into a game… get a grass ball and stuff it with hay, fill a paper bag with hay, or sprinkle a few pellets underneath their hay so they have to dig for them.  Any grass hay can be offered.  Most people do timothy primarily, but Brome, Meadow, Orachard are all fine too.  My buns get the Oxbow Orchard and Timothy hays mixed together and they love it!

After that, veggies are the next important part.  They provide some fiber and help to hydrate their GI tract, and it’s closest to what their natural diet is.  It’s recommended that each bun gets 2 cups of veggies per day, per 5 pounds of bunny.  The best veggies tend to be the basic ones… dark green lettuces: romaine, endive, escarole, red-leaf, green-leaf.  You can offer herbs:  parsley, cilantro.  Greens are a favorite of my bunnies and they are pretty inexepensive: mine especially love collard greens and dandelion greens.  I only buy greens at the store, you ahve to be careful picking stuff from the yard as it may have pesticides or fertilizer on it.  You should introduce each new veggie separately and offer it for a few days to see if they have a negative reaction to it. 

Wet poops tend to be caused by too many pellets (or carbohydrates, sugars) rather than too many veggies.  Like with the hay, timothy-based pellets are recommended after 7 months.  If they are on alfalfa now, you can begin to slowly switch them over within the next couple months.  At this point the pellets can be free-fed, but sometime between 7 months and a year, you want to get them down to no more than 1/4 cup a day.  My buns share a 1/2 cup of pellets, they get them once a day, when those are gone, their pellet bowl is empty and they don’t get anymore until the next evening.  As long as they have planty of hay, they won’t go hungry. 

If they have always had an issue with runny poops, that can be a sign of a health problem too.  When you take them in on Thursday, have the vet check their poops.

 

These are some great diet links:

Diet Info - BB

What Should I Feed My Bunny? - Dana Krempels, Ph.D.

FAQ: Diet - HRS

And an article about bunny poop, since it is something we are always concerned about…

The Mystery of Rabbit Poop - Dana Krempels, Ph.D.

 

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Thanks that is great just what i wanted to know, very helpfull. I think i was perhaps giving too much pellets and not enough grass and greens, hay has always been given but i will adjust the rest. Thanks again. xx

[KatnipCrzy]

Beka gave some great advice about diet- and I would definitely recommend having the vet check a stool sample on them at their vet visit- there are some intestinal parasites that can cause loose stool and can be very serious if not caught early especially in young bunnies.

You will want to take in some fresh poo to the vet with you- so I would recommend cleaning the cage the night before of a couple of hours before.  If they are housed together and have not always been- try to either get separate poo samples OR at least a sample from each bunny in the poo you take in. 

My bunnies don’t poo in their carrier when I take them to the vet since they seem to want to keep their immediate area clean- and it is such a short period of time they will wait to potty unitl they are home.

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