Giving a Bunny Oats???

[Bunnies4ever]

Hello Everybunny,

I just rescued the cutest mini-lop (I named him Jackson) from a hoarding situation.  I now have 6 bunnies, but who’s counting?  He’s about 12 weeks old.  Right now, he’s ripping up paper in his pen.  He’s so cute!  Anyway, I overheard someone talking about mixing 1 tsp of oats in with their bunny’s pellets.  I always thought you didn’t give oats to rabbits.  What was she talking about? I also overheard her saying that you don’t necessarily have to give bunnies greens.  Just pellets and one sliver of a vegetable a day.  Is this also true?  I give about a tsp of pellets a day to my bunnies and greens in the evening with unlimited timothy or orchard hay.

Can the experts chime in on this?

I’ll upload pics of Jackson soon!

Thanks.

[Pandorachik]

I heard you shouldn’t give bunnies oats. Unless they are 100% unprocessed as a treat. And about vegetables. That is NOT true…. You should give a certain amount, due to their weight. How much does Jackson weigh?

[Bunnies4ever]

I think Jackson weights about 4 lbs? I’m not sure (maybe a little less). I thought you didn’t give bunnies oats either. I’ve never heard that before. Right now he’s on alfalfa hay and a little bit of pellets. He was on Purina rabbit chow and I”m mixing it with Oxbow which is what I feed my bunnies.

[Pandorachik]

Aw! Jackson sounds cute! I demand pics! And if he weighs 4 pounds (Or around that weight anyway) He should get about 2 cups of veggies daily. The healthy amount is 1 cup of veggies for every 2 pounds

[bunnyfriend]

Every rabbit should be given at least 2 cups of vegetables everyday, no matter what the weight. But you need to introduce vegetables very slowly and only one vegetable at a time. Rabbits can in fact eat oats however should not be given unless in a situation where you have to, it’s recommended to give your rabbit oats as a last resort if for some reason rabbit pellets are unavailable but is not suitable in any long or medium term diet.

[Beka27]

It sounds like you’re giving a well balanced diet. But since he’s still a baby, he can be free feed pellets until about 6-7 months.

[Pandorachik]

Posted By bunnyfriend on 02/11/2012 08:02 PM

Every rabbit should be given at least 2 cups of vegetables everyday, no matter what the weight. But you need to introduce vegetables very slowly and only one vegetable at a time. Rabbits can in fact eat oats however should not be given unless in a situation where you have to, it’s recommended to give your rabbit oats as a last resort if for some reason rabbit pellets are unavailable but is not suitable in any long or medium term diet.

 

I guess I have been misinformed. I have heard so may things about veggies in a bunnies diet it seems my brain is jumbled up with weights, cups, ect. Haha. I gave Panda normally 2 cups and every week a little  slice of apple~ but sometimes I skipped. He definatly had a sweet tooth!

[bunnyfriend]

Nono you were right, it’s one more cup for every two pounds but you start with a minimum of 2 cups no matter what weight your bunny is (like if you’re bunny is 2 pounds you would still give 2 cups)

[Pandorachik]

Oh! I never knew that! Haha… see? you learn something new everyday!!! My learn-something-new-about-bunny-fact

[BinkyBunny]

That is true about the greens, but because he is a baby you do not want to give him that much right now.  I do not recommend giving the 1 or 2 cups of greens at this stage.   I follow the House Rabbit Society Guidelines which says you can slowly introduce greens at 12 weeks, one at time, with the quantity being under 1/2 oz,  Babies are still developing the proper balance of digestive bacteria so you want to go slow.   

For more information about what to feed your bunny at different stages of his life, this is a really good resource http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#basics    You’ll have to scroll down a bit to get to the different diet requirements for different ages. 

 

 

[Elrohwen]

I have heard of people giving oats to rabbits for extra calories, but I think this is mostly for breeding mothers who need those extra calories. I don’t think one or two pieces here or there is a problem (just make sure they’re not the quick cooking kind) but they’re not necessary.

I agree with BB on introducing greens slowly and working your way up to 2 cups eventually.

[Bunnies4ever]

Thanks everyone on weighing in on this issue. I have no intentions on giving Jackson (or any of my other bunnies), oats. I haven’t introduced him to veggies just yet. He’s still getting adjusted to the mix of 50/50 pellets (which he is eating with no problems). It’s picture day today, so stay tuned! Also, potty training is real fun! He was living in a wire bottom cage so he was peeing and pooping anywhere. We’re working on getting him adjusted to a litter box.

[Baileyboy]

Hi,

I was wondering about giving my bun some oats. he has had “poopybutt” for the last two days, and was wondering whether this would help firm him up a bit? I’m a rabbit newbie so i’m open to suggestions!

thanx

[Beka27]

Poopy butt is a symptom of something else, either too rich of a diet (too many pellets) or possibly coccidia. Has he been to a vet and had a fecal exam recently? What is his daily diet like?

[Rei]

Don’t the bunny cookies recipes on House Rabbits Society’s website call for quick oats tho?

[Tru]

I am not sure about giving oats either, but I have been told that they have too much sugar for you to feed them to rabbits.

Also, on the sub topic of veggies, hopefully my vet can give me insight on my new bun. He won’t eat any veggies period, no matter what size you try and feed him.

[jerseygirl]

Hi Tru

Click HERE if you would like to start to a new thread about your rabbits diet. 

This thread is 4 years old now. We ask members not to reply in threads that are older then a few months as it gets confusing having old topics up with all the new ones. 

I’ll lock this one now. 

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