Flemish Giant and Dwarf Nutrition

[Karynne]

  Hey there everyone, maybe you can help me. We have two bunnies, Escobar and Bettie. They are as different as night and day, but madly in love with each other (naturally, both are fixed). Escobar is a 9 month old Flemish Giant (about 16 or 18 pounds), and Bettie is a 8 month old Dwarf mix (3 pounds). We feed them Oxbow Bunny Basics, lots of fresh Timothy Hay, and their daily salads. As far as rations go, they kind of sort that out themselves. Both eat less pellets than is the recommended maximum, as they seem to prefer their hay and veggies. We recently adopted two guinea pigs, and while I was researching their specific dietary needs, it got me thinking about the bunnies. Anything special (nutritionally) that I should be paying attention to in regards to a Flemish Giant diet? Protein? Calcium? Calories? Anything like that?

As far as activity levels go, Escobar has two speeds, slow and slower. Most of his exercise consists of moving from one nap spot to another. Although, we usually are able to get one good binky out of him by the end of playtime. On the other hand, Bettie is little miss busy, always exploring something or dashing around the living room. Both of them share our bunny proofed dining room during the day, and get about 4-6 hours of runtime in the evening, so there are plenty of opportunities for them to exercise. We have started experimenting with interactive games to try and encourage Escobar to move around a bit more, but no luck as of yet. So we have one bunny that’s borderline catatonic, and another bunny that is a textbook Schizophrenic. How do you find nutritional common ground with such different bunnies? Does Bettie need more calories since she’s more active? Does Escobar need more since he’s so big? Or would he need less since he’s so lazy? We’ve been sticking to the basics of a good house rabbit diet so far, but I’d like to learn more about their specific needs.

 

[Sarita]

Oh dear, they are absolutely adorable couple! That is about the cutest picture I have ever seen.

Honestly, they look at a very healthy weight to me just based on the photo. I think if you are sticking to the basics they will be fine. It sounds as if they eat alot of hay which is great and don’t gorge on the pellets which is also good so they must be getting what they need to satisfy themselves nutritionally.

[Sarita]

I read your profile and all the wonderful information you provided on Flemish Giants and thought that you might be interested in this litterbox for Escobar:

http://www.bunnyluv.com/exlarlit.html

I loved all the differences you mentioned about Escobar and Bettie. 

[AbbyGirl]

I’ll agree with Sarita. She and the others have helped me a LOT lately. I just love the picture. Such beautiful buns! I just got my Flemish Hugo 2 weeks ago and he sounds a lot like your Escobar. Hugo is pretty much free range now but only hops around for a minute before he takes another nap. Not too much running or binkies.

[Otti]

O.M.G.

I just died of cuteness… That’s ridiculously adorable! I have no suggestions about diet since I’m definitely not an expert and there are so many experts here, but wow… you have such a cute couple. Love knows no boundaries! LOL

[Chassit]

What an awesome pic!!!

[jerseygirl]

Love it! Love the Big/Little combos!

Welcome here. I agree with Sarita, it sounds like they’re on a good diet as is. They both would be close to done growing I would say. Pellets aren’t even a necessity provided they get a variety of greens and grass hay.

[Karynne]

@ Sarita: Thanks for your comments! And yes, I definitely will be looking into buying that litterbox! The one we have now is about the same size but it has higher sides which make it VERY difficult to dump out into the trash bag without getting some spillage on the floor (Yuck!). Thanks for the tip!
@ Amy&Hugo: Congratulations on your new addition! It’s always nice to meet a fellow Flemish lover!
@ jerseygirl: We’re working on going pellet free, but the pellets are acting as a multivitamin essentially, so we are still researching how to get the same effect from all natural sources. I personally am not a fan of pellets, as all the brands I’ve researched contain one thing or another that has been linked to certain health problems. I am collecting as much nutritional data as possible, and talking with our various local bunny experts, and hopefully from there I can find a way to make pellet free work. Wish me luck! With how much Escobar eats it will be a costly endeavor, but well worth it in my mind!

Thank you everyone for your kind comments! I unfortunately can’t let the bunnies hear what you said, their egos are already taking over our apartment!

[jerseygirl]

This is the only info I have read on pellet free diets. I wish there was more current article available.
http://www.leithpetwerks.com/Bunfun/nonpellet.html

[Balefulregards]

Oh My – those two are mighty sweet!

Mine go back and forth on pellet free. All summer they have been pellet free and are at perfect weight as of their last vet check (mid august).

I tend to give them some pellets mid winter – especially if I am concerned about the quality of greens I am finding. Summer here is great, but there are stretches in Winter where things look a little sad.

Coco is a Dutch and Jackson is a Large Chinchilla – not nearly as big as your fellow, but a hearty eater compared to my petite girl!

[bunnymum16]

they look so adorable together.their size difference makes them cuter too. maybe your bunnies can teach mine that hay is good and tasty.my bunny’s so picky!

[RabbitPam]

That is the most adorable pix!

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