Feeding Time

[Binkles]

Okay I may have a bit of a problem that I’m not really sure how to adress. I’m getting closer to being able to put Peter and Little-Bit in the same normal living space together, but regarding feeding time….Little-Bit gets 1/4 cup of pellets and inhales them as fast as she possibly can while Peter gets 3/4 cup of pellets and grazes on them all day.

How on earth am I going to get Little-Bit not to eat Peter’s share?

[Sarita]

Well, that seems like WAY too much pellets for Peter in my opinion. And obviously he thinks so too since he just grazes on them.

I would just put out that 1/4 cup and see how much you truly need to start with and then go from there to see how it goes.

[Beka27]

That does sound like too many if he eats them all day. It would be much better for him to eat them within a very short time (20 minutes maybe) and graze on hay and veggies all day. If you wanted to still feed him more pellets (he’s a large breed, right?) maybe give him a lesser amount twice a day and remove what’s left over.

[Binkles]

Really? Okay it’s more like 2.5/4 of a cup. He’s an 8 lb meat rabbit and he’s already lost a ton of weight on this diet. Still cut back?

[Sarita]

My 8 pound female gets no pellets and she’s not starving – I imagine she does not have a high metabolism and she doesn’t burn much calories – she’s not very active which I imagine is the same for Pete.

[Beka27]

I wonder if anyone feeds their rabbits within a timeframe? Not necessarily measure pellets, but they get as many as they’ll eat within 10 minutes or so and then the pellets get put away for the day… Some days my buns will sit and eat every last pellet… other days they seem like they’re back and forth betw/ the food dish over the course of an hour or two…

[Sarita]

Also don’t you mean to say that Pete is your 8 pound pet rabbit, not a meat rabbit…

[Elrohwen]

I agree that he should be eating less. My vet recommends 1/4c for 6lb bunnies, and has even suggested I cut back for Hannah, who is 5.5lbs, so that she eats more hay and keeps her teeth healthy (she’s not even overweight). I think Peter would be fine with 1/4c or maybe 1/4 in the morning and 1/8 at night if you want.

As far as how fast he’s eating, he’ll probably eat faster when he moves in with Little Bit. Hannah would spread her pellets out over the whole day as well, but once she realized Otto would eat them all, she picked up the pace. Now they share pellets first thing before moving on to veggies, while at first, Hannah would go for veggies first while Otto ate all of the pellets.

[Binkles]

Rofl Sarita! I meant he has the body type of a meat rabbit, not that I actually keep him as a meat rabbit. xD

Sounds good then, I’ll lower his quantities then.

[KatnipCrzy]

I also agree about lowering the amount of pellets- Griffin only gets 1/4 cup and he is a 9lb bunny and 11 months old.

I feel better about feeding a lower quantity of pellets and spending the money I save on pellets (since Oxbow is not super cheap) for fresh greens for them.  I think it is a better balance.

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