Diet Question/Wild Harvest & Kaytee Treats?

[Wonderlandbunny78]

hey guys! OK so on the 2nd (almost here! so excited!) I will be bringing home my 11 week old Holland Lop but keeping in my thoughts my 5 year old teddy RIP  !! I have researched on baby bunny diets and I have decided on what I want to feed her. Her main diet will consist of alfalfa based hay and JR. Kaytee pellets. I will slowly switch her over to timothy hay, adult pellets and veggies very slowly at 6 months. But here’s my 2 questions….

1. Do I leave a bowl of pellets in her cage all day (as well as always having hay) or do I give it 3 times a day? Some people say not to “free feed” pellets throughout the day so I’m not sure, I feel like she should be free fed her pellets.

2. I saw the “Wild Harvest” brand treats & Kaytee at wall mart and am wondering if they are healthy/quality brand to give my bun. I was looking at buying the….

• wild harvest bake shop croissants
• wild harvest bake shop pretzel treats
• kaytee yogurt chips

(keep in mind I will only be giving her these small treats while clicker training and from her Kaytee pellets I will remove the orange treat bits to ensure shes eating the pellets not just the treats haha)

 

what are some other good treats I can buy?

thanks!!!

[unknownphoenix]

I am not sure exactly what is in those croissant and pretzel treats but generally most store bought treats marketed towards small animals are not safe for rabbits. Even if it shows a bunny, it usually has bread based products, added sugar, and other non rabbit safe ingredients. The yogurt treats are awful for rabbits. Don’t be fooled by pet stores marketing these towards rabbits. Yogurt and bread based products can cause gas and stomach upsets in rabbits. I recommend, and I know a lot of other members on here recommend Oxbow products. I get these treats for my bunnies:

http://store.binkybunny.com/simple-rewards-timothy-treat–oxbow-p84.aspx
http://store.binkybunny.com/simple-rewards-veggie-treat–oxbow-p83.aspx
http://store.binkybunny.com/organic-barley-biscuits-oxbow-p82.aspx

Also be careful what and how many veggies you give when just introducing a bunny to veggies. Stick to one thing at a time, romaine lettuce is probably the best choice I believe. I believe at a young age and first time trying greens, your bunny has a chance to get gas or poopy butt from it if not tolerated well. Which is why its best to go slow and in very small amounts.

[BunnyLady1989]

I agree with unknownpheonix. You definitely have to be careful about pet store treats sadly. My bunny doesn’t even like most of them anyways so I stick with raisins or a small piece of organic dried apple. And as far as veggies go romaine is probably the best choice. You can add to it or even change later on when your bunny is older.

[unknownphoenix]

I actually forgot about the fruits. Craisins, raisins, dried banana, apple are great treats as well. As with any treat though, especially when so young, be careful how much you give. The sugars can cause gas so stick to very small pieces.

One thing I do, and if your bunny will be able to tolerate it eventually, is I make Kale chips for treats. Just take a bunch of Kale, wash and dry it completely, rip off just the leaf (not the rib part) into chunks and arrange them on a pan, stick in oven at 275 till crispy. Makes a great treat and my rabbits love them.

[justwildbeat]

Don’t bother with the croissant, pretzel, and yogurt treats. As others have mentioned, even though it’s marketed as being good for rabbits it really isn’t. You’re buying them because they’re cute and look like human food.

There are plenty of alternatives. Mine really enjoys dried fruits and vegetables as treats, but make sure they have no added sugar, oil, or preservatives. Oxbow sells freeze dried strawberries and bananas. Also I use those orange bits in the Kaytee pellets as treats too lol.

[BunnyLady1989]

I’ve never heard of the kale chips! I’m going to try that! How long can they be kept before going bad?

[Wonderlandbunny78]

wow thanks everyone for the help! I will try and stay away from those treats! The ones you guys suggested all sound great and easy to make, as well as easy to buy!

[LongEaredLions]

None of those treats are safe for rabbits, they contain sugar and animal products. Also, Kaytee is a very low quality food, I would never feed it. Just not good for bunnies.

[LBJ10]

I believe Kaytee Timothy Complete is OK, but there are much better foods out there. Whatever you do, be sure it is a plain pellet. No seeds, nuts, colored bits, etc mixed in. That’s junk and shouldn’t be fed to a bunny.

[Megabunny]

ooooo I just bought a bunch of kale and was going to figure out how to dry them, as my bunny has such a sensitive stomach. Thanks, Unknown Phoenix!

[Wonderlandbunny78]

ok whats the best brand I can feed her? she needs a jr pellet not adult, shes only 11 weeks

[LBJ10]

Oxbow makes a great young rabbit formula.

[Wonderlandbunny78]

ok thanks!

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