Feeding routine.

[OnyxMoon]

So i know that rabbits are supposed to have limited access to pellets, such as only 1/2 or 3/4 cup a day. I am wondering if i should only give my bun pellets during the day, and then take them away at night.

Like get him on a routine basically. At 8am he gets more pellets and some veggies. At 8pm pellets are taken away and he gets more veggies. I only give him 3/4 cups of pellets every day, or every other day if he hasn’t eaten a lot of it.

He has been eating a lot more pellets lately, and i don’t think he has been eating his hay. Any recommendations on hay? He gets allergies a lot.

Also any recommendations on pellet brands? Right now he is eating timothy hay ones, brand is Kaytee i believe. (my dad buys it for all the bunnies).

[Sirius&Luna]

1/2 or 3/4 a cup sounds a lot! How big is he? They should get 1/4 to 1/2 per 6lb (2.7kilos) of bunny.

If he’s not eating enough hay, then you definitely need to reduce his pellets. Hay should be 90% of a bunny’s diet, and if they’re not eating enough hay, reducing pellets should be the first step.

Lots of people are allergic to Timothy hay, but less allergic to orchard or oat grass, so you could try those.

Pellets, most people use Oxbow in the US or Burgess in the UK.

[Wick & Fable]

If he haseft over pellets from the morning until the night, you can cut down on the pellets because that may be lessening his hay consumption. Wick is 2lbs and gets an 1/8c to 1/4c if I’m feeling guilty about something haha.

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.

[Deleted User]

I agree with the others. Smaller breeds should only be getting 1/8-1/4c and bigger once up to a 1/2c. If he’s still under 6 months, then you can feed “unlimited” but usually that’s only like 1/2-3/4c depending on the bunny. I agree with Wick about lessening his pellets, especially because you don’t want him becoming overweight. Your 12 hour feeding schedule is good because it gives him 12 hours between non-hay feedings. But do only veggies in one feeding and only pellets in the other. Doing both allows him to be choosy and let things sit for later. For hay, I suggest orchard or meadow if your bun has an allergy. Oat hay is also a good option.

[caillou]

3/4 pellets is a lot!! My bun gets 1/4 daily. I give him veggies when I wake up in morning usually around 9 am and refill his hay. At night around 8 pm I’ll fill his treat ball with pellets and let him eat them that way.
I get really bad allergies from timothy hay because it tends to be dusty, but I have no issues with orchard grass hay!

[OnyxMoon]

Ah, i see! I must have gotten bad info when i first got him, or did the math wrong ahaha. He is close to 3 pounds right now, maybe the vet suggested more pellets to fatten him up because he was very very underweight for a 4 year old bun, he was between 1.5 pounds and 2 pounds when i got him. (could feel his bones very obviously through his fur)

As of right now, i just took his pellets away so hopefully he’ll attack his hay more if he’s hungry. Already ate his lettuce too! 

[OnyxMoon]

Any suggestions of veggies to try with him and have an opinion on switching him from a water bottle to a water dish? 

He has tried red bell pepper (wasnt a fan), asparagus (wasnt a fan), romaine lettuce (loves), collard greens (“meh”), kale (love loves), and canned pumpkin (he had an issue with fiber, didnt care for it but ate it anyway). Thanks again!! 

[Deleted User]

My boys absolutely love parsley, so you could give that a try. If you’re here in the US you can try the boxed Olivia’s Organics salad mixes. My boys love the baby romaine and the sweet baby lettuce. My boys have a water dish, and they like it much better than a bowl, but when they’re going through a particularly bad molt I switch to a bottle because hair can accumulate in the bowl if you don’t wash it every 3 hours.

[Wick & Fable]

Be aware that parsley is a diuretic which some rabbits are more sensitive to than others. Wick cannot have parsley because his pees become frequent, massive, and vet pressurized (you can hear it hit the litter box like a hose), so that’s a no go for him.

Wick gets green lettuce which he enjoys. He enjoys basil and mint in small quantities, as well as cilantro.

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.

[Rain]

Some great veggies that I know of are leaf lettuce (green or red are both fine), fennel’s a really good one, carrot tops, watercress,kale, spinach (low amounts because it is high in oxalic acids) and basically any dark colored leafy greens.

[tobyluv]

A 3 pound bunny should only get about 1/8 cup of pellets a day, so you can gradually reduce the quantity.

These 2 links will show you some good greens, veggies and herbs to try.

https://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx

Most rabbit do prefer a bowl to a bottle. It’s easier for them to access the water from a bowl. Make sure you get a heavy crockery bowl that can’t be tipped over.

[OnyxMoon]

Wonderful update: I took away his pellets last night, and when i woke up this morning his hay rack was completely empty and he was searching for more!

However, when i went to bed i ended up giving his water bottle back to him as he wasn’t drinking from the bowl, i think he was confused about what it was. So when i woke up, the whole right side of his cage where the bottle is had about an inch of water (luckily i only filled his big bottle half way because it has been leaking)! He gets these compressed alphalpha cubes and they were mushy and everywhere! What a mess!!

So i ended up switching him back to the water dish. And as i am writing this i just heard a couple licks of his water dish!

[Deleted User]

Is that the type of hay he’s eating? Alfalfa is supposed to be for buns under 6 months. Have you tried timothy, orchard, oat, or meadow?

[Sirius&Luna]

Maybe you could put a bowl underneath the bottle to catch any drips, and to help him make the connection Then he can start choosing which one suits him best.

[OnyxMoon]

@Asriel and Bombur

He is on timothy hay right now, not sure if ill switch it, although im thinking about it. But im very open to hearing any differences between the hays! 

He had a compressed cube in there because he was having a lot of cecaltropes (sorry if i misspelled it!) that he wasn’t eating and his regular poops were really small, and he also wasn’t eating his hay like at all. 

So i read that alphalpha could help, and turns out he loves it but i don’t give it to him very often at all. He had half of a cube by the bottle when it drained and so it got soaked and went everywhere.  I’ve taken them away because his droppings have gotten better, and look way more healthy. 

I also think that he wasn’t eating his hay because he had so many pellets! So now it all makes sense haha!

[OnyxMoon]

@Sirius&Luna

Thats what i thought it did at first, but turns out the bottle was turned just slightly enough that it missed the bowl!   Whoops.

However, he has taken to just the dish quite nicely! This morning he was drinking from it like a champ! Very proud. 

[OnyxMoon]

Wonderful update 2: I have reduced his pellets to an 1/8 cup, as advised! He got the bowl taken away last night and then started attacking his hay rack! I had to refill it once more last night because he just wanted more hay, what a hungry boy!

He has switched completely over to his water dish really nicely, as he is running about on my bed i have it out for him to access and he just got finished drinking some! Today i had to refill his hay feeder twice, once when i woke up and again around noon before i left my house. Thank you all for the advice and corrections, ill continue to update if anything happens!

[Deleted User]

Hooray! That excellent!

Yeah, with a thin bun that type of hay can help them bulk up when needed. I’d recommend orchard hay my buns go absolutely mental for it.

[Rain]

Yes, I think Orchard is great. My bun Rain wouldn’t even touch alfalfa, stomped when I gave her Botanical, only ate the seedheads in Timothy, but LOVES Orchard. Be careful though, because it is a “richer” hay, and sometimes causes buns to have wetter, darker poos. Other than that, it’s a great hay
Now I give a mix of Timothy and Orchard, just to give a little more variety in tastes and textures. She eats all of it. Sometimes she actually eats her hay and then goes for the pellets. Orchard it also great for people who are allergic to Timothy, or if your bun sneezes a lot with Timothy, you could switch it for Orchard too.
Botanical hay is like Timothy but it’s tougher and has a floral scent that some buns like.
Oat hay is something I don’t really recommend because a lot of buns just eat the seedheads and then after a couple weeks don’t eat hay at all, and get really picky. You could always use it as a treat or topper though, and mix it with the normal hay to give it a sweeter taste.
I think there’s one more type of hay that I know of called Meadow hay, which I think is most similar to Orchard grass and Timothy.
It’s great that he’s eating his hay again though! You want to be careful to see if he has frequent boughts of left over cecals and no eating. If he stops eating or pooping for more than a day, then it is best to go see a vet.

[OnyxMoon]

Thank you so much! I’ve been trying to read up on hay but really couldn’t decide if i’d just leave him with only timothy hay or do a mixture, i think ill try mixing a little bit of a different one in his rack. Just to give him some variety, like you suggested! 

I also heard from my friend, who recently got a baby mini lop (Soooo cute!!), that putting a little bit of fresh apple in his hay could entice him to eat it. Like put it through a garlic press, and only put a little bit because apple is so sugary. Do you guys think that’s a good idea in general? Just curious!  Dont think ill do it, just because he’s eating his hay again.

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