First time bun owner looking for diet advice

[Seawitch]

Hi! I’m a first time rabbit owner and I got my little girl about 5 months ago. She is a female American rabbit breed (so I’ve been told but she’s a rescue) and she is an adult, about 2 years old. She is quite a large rabbit. So she lives in a big x-pen indoors which is 30″ high. Lately I’ve realized that every once in a while when she sees me get the food out she gets so excited that she jumps over it and get out of her pen! Thankfully she has only done this a few times and only in moments of extreme excitedness. But she also eats very fast and her eagerness with food makes me worry that I am not feeding her enough. I would really really appreciate some reassurance or advice on her diet so I can be confident in my bun care for my sweet girl!

I used to feed her a 1/4 cup of oxbow adult rabbit pellets 2× a day but after reading a few things about pellet feeding I’ve since cut it down to 1 quarter cup of pellets a day. Is this enough for a rabbit her size? Once again I apologize that I can’t provide her weight but she is a large breed, adult rabbit if that helps.
She also gets unlimited hay, and a few large handfuls of various greens a day when possible. (Today she got some parsley, kale, and dandelion leaves!)

Any advice or comments would be so appreciated! If there’s anything I can do better please let me know, I just want her to be happy and healthy.

Thanks in advance,
Julia
Mum of “Lua”

[Zoe]

There is a whole thing on rabbit diets under the “Bunny Info” tab of this website, which is very helpful. It contains all the information you need. Good luck!

[Sirius&Luna]

It really is hard to know how many pellets she needs without a weight or breed.

But, rabbits ALWAYS act starving, so don’t worry if that’s all that’s making you think she’s nor getting enough.

Unlimited hay, some greens and some pellets sounds like a perfect diet, but if you get us a rough estimate of her weight (or even a photo) then we could tell you in more detail.

If you google bunny healthy weight you’ll be able to see some images. You should be able to feel bones, but not prominently.

[joea64]

Right, you want them to be nice and plump but not obese, with a good layer of fur, muscle and body fat over their bones. I think my two have picked up a couple of ounces since adoption, they were both just over 3 pounds each at their weigh-in last month; they’re small rabbits, likely Polish breed. I give them: big handfuls of hay in their litterbox twice daily, supplemented by once-daily refreshments of the hay rack; a large bowl of greens, approximately 2 cups per bun, in the evening; and 1/4 cup total of pellets per bun, 1/8 cup each more or less, in the morning. Fresh water refreshed twice daily, and a couple of treats over the course of the day.

[Luna]

Sirius&Luna is spot on with buns always acting starving. Luna jumps out of her cage sometimes when I refill her hay feeder with fresh hay. Sometimes I’m quick enough to catch her in midair! For a quick general weight evaluation, if you look at your bun from a top view she should appear pear-shaped, and you should be able to just slightly feel her spine and ribs but the spine and ribs should not feel pokey. As an adult, as long as she is getting a good supply of hay and has no health issues, a 1/2 cup of pellets should be ok. If her weight permits adding more pellets and she continues to eat enough hay, then you could add more pellets too .

[Author]

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