feeding adult buns?

[meow1]

I still have a while to go, as Sunny will be only 9 weeks old on monday, but I’d like to completely understand before the time comes.

First, I plan on getting him neutered at the end of December/Beginning of January, when he’s 16-17 weeks old.  After the neuter, is this when I start with the diet changes, or do I still wait until he’s 6 months old?

Second, we still free feed hay, correct? But restrict pellets to maybe 1/4 c/day?

Third, I thought timothy hay was the hay of choice for adult rabbits, but I have also seen some mention oat hay and orchard hay.  Does it matter which of these hays we free feed as adults? Is it just a matter of preference, or is one healthier than the other?  I know he likes oat hay because of the free gift that came with my binkybunny order.

 

**I also notice that with his regular alfalfa hay, he prefers the soft, fluffy bits of hay over the long hard “straw-like” pieces.  Is this normal?

[mocha200]

You should wait to switch until he is 1 year old. After that you can start making changes.

once they are one year they should have unlimited Timothy hay ( or oat hay/ orchard hay. doesn’t matter just depends on what your bun likes)
and you should switch from alfalfa pellets to timothy pellets and start measuring his pellets ( 1/4- 1/2 cup for 6 pounds of body weight).

The hay preference is normal, it just depends on the bunny.

[FluffyBunny]

Wait until he’s about 8-10 months old before switching his diet.

Yes, he should still get unlimited grass hay. Reduce his pellets to about 1/4-1/3 cup per 5 pounds of rabbit.

Any grass hay is fine. Some bunny owners are allergic to timothy, and some bunnies prefer the taste of hay other than timothy, so a lot of people use orchard hay, oat hay, or bermuda grass instead of timothy. Both of my rabbits love orchard hay.

[jerseygirl]

Free feeding hay is life long. If he likes oat then that’s fine. If he’s on an alfalfa pellet now, he could have that plus the oat hay. Have you started introducing any greens for him?

[meow1]

Thanks everyone for the helpful info!

jerseygirl, no I haven’t introduced any greens yet. I thought I was supposed to wait until ~6 mos. old? (just based on some things I’ve read online), what is an appropriate age to to this? Do you think he’s old enough now?

[RabbitPam]

Probably they meant to write 6 weeks instead of 6 months for greens. You should wait longer than 6 weeks, but it’s not a problem to start now, since he’s 9+ weeks old. Just start with one green at a time, for about a week, to get him used to it, and begin with mild ones. I love green leaf and red leaf because they are both soft and mild. Many bunnies handle Romaine very well at a young age. For a gentle treat, a sprig of mint or dill can be tried. Just not too much mixed at once so he gets used to them and picks his favorite. Also, his taste will change and later on he will like the stronger greens like cilantro or Kale. The broccoli families, like kale, can give the bunny gas, so in a few weeks after he’s fine with easier greens you can try them in small amounts. Some bunnies are fine, some have upset tummies. It’s individual.

Timothy hay is the best staple, but if he eats more of the oat or orchard, that’s better than not much timmy. Orchard and second cut timothy are softer hays. Mature oat is the toughest. My Sammy is weird, and likes the really dry, tough hays (like her seagrass mattes). So she’s on a staple of oat with occasional samples of other kinds to change it up.
You’ll know if something is not agreeing with your bunny by his behavior and lack of normal poos.

[meow1]

Thank you for the info! I’m excited to try him out on something green and leafy!!lol

[meow1]

I gave him a very small piece of romaine and he did fine with it, so the next evening I gave him a piece that was about 3 times bigger than the piece the previous day. Probably the same of my palm, or about 1/3-1/4 size of a full romaine leaf. The next day There was a little bit of diarrhea in his litter box. Not much, but still…. So I haven’t given him any ever since. That was the only new thing I’ve given him so it had to have been from the romaine. Should I just wait a little longer, or should I try some different kind next time?

Also, I know I started this post about feeding adults, but I do have a Q regarding feeding at this age. I ordered some of that oat hay that he likes (he’ll be ten weeks old tomorrow). Do I still need to feed alfalfa hay? If so, does the alfalfa need to be the dominant hay? He does eat alfalfa pellets-as much as he wants.

[Otti]

Going from a small piece to 3 times as much after just one day is probably too fast. It’s a size increase you’d have to work out over more like a week. So a small piece one day, slightly bigger the next day and so on, more gradually. You can try with parsley next time but I wouldn’t take the first experience you’ve had with romaine to mean he doesn’t tolerate it. It probably just was that you increased the amount too fast.

Regarding the change from baby pellets and alfa alfa hay to an adult diet, it really doesn’t matter if you make that switch at 7 months, 8 months, 10 or a year. Just do it when you want to. My rabbit (6 months) has been on Timothy hay and pellets pretty much all his life because he reacts badly (sludgy urine) to the higher calcium in alfa alfa based products, and he’s growing fine.

[meow1]

ah-ha! I thought the diarrhea may have been from my own error! Thanks for the info. I will try again sometime today, this time a small piece!

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