Does a Bunny’s Tummy Ever Get Full?

[Bunnies4ever]

Okay…I’ve always wondered if a bunny’s stomach ever gets full.  I tried an experiment to see if it can happen.  I did the normal routine…I fed pellets in the AM and extra greens in the PM.  My bunnies only get pellets in the morning, and hay all day, so I figured I would give them slightly more than the usual greens in the PM. Well guess what, they ate all the extra greens I gave them and was munching on hay when they finished!  Do they ever get full?  Is it just my buns, or do they ever get full and just stop eating for a moment?  Am I not giving them enough pellets?  What’s the deal?  I’m afraid of giving them too many pellets, so I give them the amount they should get.  Should I change my rountine and give them pellets in the PM and greens in the AM?

Does anyone have any thoughts?

[PeppersMama]

my bun is ALWAYS hungry and ALWAYS demanding more food. i feed him the amount i am told to per house rabbit society rules. he actually gets a bit more than that and now hes starting to get a big fat, so he may have to slow down. lol! So according to my bun, no a buns stomach never gets full! lol! but thats just what pepper tells me

[KatnipCrzy]

Bunnies are always munching to keep their gut moving- I would feed based on House Rabbit recommendations and factor their body weight into that- if they are heavy or skinny adjust pellet amount, but always have free fed hay and I prefer to feed veggies at a different time as salad- so that way there are 3 times a day they are excited about food and sure to chow down.  AM- pellets, day- greens, PM/bedtime- more pellets.  I fed 2 smaller meals of pellets are opposed to 1 meal- they are always begging in the am- and hubby is usually first one up and he will give pellets (but would not put together their salads) and at nighttime I like to give them some pellets and a treat before bedtime.

So it is normal that they are always eating- and even though rabbits are master manipulators with cute innocent faces (or the stink eye)- it is up to us to regulate amount of veggies and pellets to make sure they are eating enough hay for the fiber that they need.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

They’re also grazers and like to eat continually through the day-which is how their systems are designed (And why my dad thought there was no way you could litter train them, he said they eat constantly and poop constantly! )

Some dogs and cats will eat until they’re sick; I’ve never seen a rabbit do this, and for rabbits, they can’t throw up so it would be pretty dangerous if they did really overeat….I’ve luckily enough been able to get mine to free feed, which means I bascially keep everything full all the time. I am often throwing out greens they’ve not finished, hay thats been out a while and once a week the bowls of pellets (I dump to sanitze once a week). They definitely do get full and stop eating. Mine are so used to it you can put a huge plate of greens in front of them, they’ll have some and wander away. Treats too, a couple and they bugger off!

[BunnyMuffin]

That’s amazing K&K! I wish mine would do that! I’m starting to transition the buns from 2 salads a day (1 in the morning and 1 at bedtime) to one big midday salad because I’m going home to Calgary for 3 weeks over winter break and didn’t want the bunnysitters to have to come twice a day in the winter just to feed them. And I’d rather disrupt their precious routine when I’m around to convince them they’ll live than when they think the bunnysitters are just neglecting them and they’re about to starve. 😛 So today I put out this huge salad mid morning and it was gone so fast! And now they’re looking around for their supper and I’m like – you already ate it! They don’t seem to listen to me though. Did you just keep refilling and they eventually got over it and figured it out? How long did it take? Might be something for me to work on in the new year!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Well it started out me being a bad bunny mom, when I first got Kokanee…I used to purchase her the goumet food(with all that junk in there) and free feed her. By the time I got Kahlua, I was more educated about diet and feed properly! I still free fed and I just always kept the food bowls full. Salad I just put down in the evening and threw out the leftovers from the day before…

Rupert I had to transition because at the HS they feed in the morning and thats it. I don’t like animals hungry (or overweight though!). Rupert only had to have his bowl filled a few times before he realized it would always be full. His veggies he used to down very fast, so I purchased a huge cat ball (like the little ones that have a bell in them, but very large) and filled it with veggies for him, to slow him down. He loved it and played with it and learned to eat slower.

Chuck just quickly adapted to the full bowl as well. It really wasn’t much work at all. I did measure food waaaay back when I read that they should only have 1/8-1/4 cup per day, and found they were eating a little less then that anyways.

I may have totally lucked out? I just find with animals if you measure their food, they eat it all. If you don’t they eat when they need to (kind of like dieting, can’t have chips-you want chips).

BUT it may just not work for all rabbits and some are just piggies and need to be rationed or have trouble-tummies and can’t be free fed. It works very well for me because I have three and they are free range…it would be very hard to measure out food, as I’m sure Rupert would eat everyone else’s food if that were the case!!!

Too bad you won’t be in Calgary sooner, we’re going to be there (just for a few hours) very soon to get some bunnies from the humane society there!

[Beka27]

i feed salad and pellets seprately. i feed two big bowls of salad in the morning, it comes out to about 4-6 cups betw/ the two buns. they will graze on the veggies and hay all day long in between naps, by evening time the veggies are gone and i feed a 1/4 cup for the two for dinner at about 8pm. mine are not *that* crazy about their food, when i first put out pellets, they’ll go and eat some, about half and they eat the rest later. by morning it’s all gone and then it’s veggie time again.

i’m not sure if they can be full the way people can feel full (great question for Thanksgiving Day… lol!) since their food is always moving thru the GI track i bet if they DO feel full, it’s only for a very short time and then they’re ready to graze some more…

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