food issues

[Deleted User]

My food that im buying my bunny is perfectly healthy.It has all kinds of healthy stuff for him and yet he’s still gaining wait like crazy! I give him enough excersize but he’s still gaining. What’s the problem?

[Beka27]

we need more info…

how old is he?

how much are you feeding?

what kind of food is it, and more importantly, what are the nutritional facts?

is it timothy or alfalfa based pellets?

is he getting unlimited timothy hay and about 2 cups of fresh veggies per day?

[Deleted User]

Well,  he’s about 9 months old and I try to keep his bowl full so he’s not going hungry all of the time. The food is Bunny Banquet, it contains the folowing:

• Alfalfa Mela
• Rolled Corn and Barley
• Gray Stripe Sunflower
• Dehydrated Carrots, Bannana, and Papaya
• Ground Milo, Barley, Corn, and Oats
• Whole Corn
• Oat Groats
• Safflower
• Peantuts
• Squash
• Wheat Mill Run
• Condensed Meal
• Cane Mollasis
• Soybean Meal
• Bentonite (pellet Binder 1% added)
• Limestone Flour
• Cracked Whet
• Sucrose
• Whaet Germ Mela
• Vegetable Oil
• Salt
• Diacalcium Phosphate
• Iron Sulfate
• Zinc Oxide
• Manganese Sulfate
• DL Alphtocopheryl Acetate(sorry if you can’t read this stuff, I had a little trouble as well)
• Vitamin A Acetate
• Copper Sulfate

And lot’s of other stuff. Please tell me so far if there is anything wrong with this mixture.

[rabbitsmba]

Egads. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that food is NOT good. It is chock full of stuff that will make your bunny fat. At least we have discovered what the problem is!

Try Oxbow pellets. And limit the pellets to about 1/8 – 1/4 of a cup PER DAY. Let your bunny fill up on hay and gresh greens otherwise. Once you do this, I am sure you will notice a slimmer bunn in no time!

[Deleted User]

Thanks! What does the bag of pellets look like and how much will it cost? If it’s a small bag then is there a bigger bag and how much does that cost. The reason that we bought that one is because it’s not expensive like only 5$ per x-large bag

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi lemon,

Unfortunately what you think is very good food for your rabbit actually is not.  Corn, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and veggies are not good for your rabbit.  First off they do make a rabbit gain weight rapidly, things that are high in starch like corn, seeds and nuts (peanuts are actually a legume) can cause an impaction in your rabbit (GI stasis) and and sugar (molasses) is very unhelathy and unbalances the the friendly flora in the gut and also makes them gain weight.  A rabbit who is on this food it is often hard to give regular pellets as I liken the stuff that you are giving your rabbit to fast food and junk food.

It is important to remember that even though something is sold in a pet store for rabbits, does not necessarily mean that it is good for them.  Major pet store brands often cater to what the owner of that animal will like and not what is actually best for the animal.

I first recommend you switch slowly over to a “plain” good quality rabbit pellet that does not have alfalfa or any other junk in it.  Mix 1/4 new with 3/4 old for one week, then 1/2 new with 1/2 old for one week, then switch completely over to the new pellet.  You will want to try and pick the colorful bits and whatnot out of the old food when you do this as the rabbit tends to go for the not-so-good junk food like nuts, seeds, sweet stuff.  Here are some guidlines for feeding your rabbit: https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=60

Are you feeding him any hay at all?  The majority of the rabbit diet should be timothy hay.  Also, is your rabbit altered at all and how long have you had your rabbit?  Are you sure the rabbit is male and maybe not female who is about to have babies?

Some good web sites to look at (of course here too!):

http://www.rabbithaven.org/index.htm

http://www.rabbit.org

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/

http://www.saveabunny.com/

There are many other rabbit rescue organizations depending on where you live that will provide information as well.

 

[Scarlet_Rose]

Oxbow’s web site is here: http://www.oxbowhay.com/link.sp?page=products

American Pet Diner is good too: http://www.americanpetdiner.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=americanpetdiner&Category_Code=Rabbits

Often times it is hard to find these brands in pet stores but you can have your parent order them from the manufacturer.  Check out BUNNY INFO and DIET, it will give you a break-down of what to look for when buying food for your rabbit if you are unable to buy one of the above mentioned products.

[Sage Cat]

Hi Lemon,

This might help you a bit:

I have 2 bunny’s: one is 2 years – 4 lb. & the other is 4 years – 4.5 lb.

I got a 10 pound bag of Oxbow Bunny Basics T for $10. They share 1/2 Cup of pellets a day. The bag will last me 4 months.
I got a bale of Timothy Hay for $30. They eat it all the time. The bale is also lasting me 4 months.

I think $10 a month for pellets & hay is a bargain!

[Jo]

I’m not sure about prices of things over in the States, but you can get pellets for not much at all. Look online to buy it… and look for pellets that are recommended by veterinarians. I would suggest not buying from the vet themselves as they tend to charge more, but if you find out what they recommend then you can shop around to find some you can afford.

The others have given you really good advice Definitely make hay the main part of his diet. That is important for his health.

Also, you say you always keep his bowl full so he won’t go hungry. The thing is, if he has a continuous supply of hay, he has no reason to be hungry, and rabbits really only need a very small amount of commercial food. He won’t go hungry. Also, you need to know exactly how much you are giving him each day so you know how much he has eaten… because a rabbit that isn’t eating like normal is one of the first signs of it gettign sick.

[Author]

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