How much food and hay does one bun go through in a month?

[Elrohwen]

As I prepare for my new baby bun, I’m trying to figure out how much food to get. Oxbow is not easy to find around here, so I’m going to order off the internet and get some hay while I’m at it. My question is: How much would one bun (a holland lop baby, specifically) eat in a month? I know buns don’t like stale food so I don’t want to buy too much and end up throwing some out, but I don’t want to totally underestimate and have to order more in a few weeks and pay for shipping again.

I’m not sure what his current owner is feeding him but she said she’d give me a supply to get him started (while I wean him to Oxbow); for this reason I’m not worried about pellet quantity so much as hay. Is one 14oz hay package enough? Should I get two? Or one of the 5lb bags? I’d prefer to order enough to last him 2 months or so.

Thanks for your help! Here’s a picture of my bun (didn’t end up getting my first choice brown and white guy, but this one is still adorable!). I love his little face.

[Beka27]

Stored properly, hay will last you at least a few months… up to about 6 months I think. I get Oxbow locally so it’s not a big deal if I have to go and get more every couple weeks. My two buns go thru between 2-3 bags (40 oz) of Timothy or Orchard hay every month or so. This varies since sometimes they eat more, sometimes they eat less. They eat 1/4cup of timothy pellets a day per bun. I get a 10 pound bag about every 2 months.

Hey everyone: do my conversions sound right? Do my buns eat between 5 and 7.5 pounds of hay per month? Does that sound right?

What site are you planning on ordering from? I think some members have had good luck with the Drs. Foster and Smith site. From what I understand you can increase your order substantially and it only increases shipping a small amount. It would make more sense to order every few months and just stock up.

[Elrohwen]

Thanks for the info Beka. That’s a lot of hay! More than I would have expected. At least I can find some hay locally if I run out, but I’ll definitely up my order. I hadn’t really picked a site to order from yet … I placed my first order with Rabbit Stop because I was buying a few others things from there and they had Oxbow, but I’ll have to do a price and shipping comparison soon so I’m not spending extra money unnecessarily. I’ll see how much Drs Foster & Smith charges. My hope is that PetCo starts carrying Oxbow because I have a lot of access to PetCos, but not really PetSmarts.

[Beka27]

Some vets offices carry Oxbow products too, so maybe check the Oxbow website and search for vets as well.

[Elrohwen]

Ooo, good idea.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

He’s so cute!!

[kralspace]

ack, that’s one cute little guy.

I’ve wondered if input equals output when it comes to bunnies, it’s just recycled into different packaging!

[Elrohwen]

Haha, Kralspace. I imagine that for indigestibles like hay, input is probably pretty close to output. That’s a lot of output if a bun eats 5lbs of hay per month!

[KatnipCrzy]

Baby bunnies are allowed to eat a lot more pellets than adults rabbits typically- so you could order a couple of bags.  When I got Cotton as a youngun I ordered 3 10lb bags of Oxbow 15/23.  They did not go stale since it was not just one big bag.  I can’t remember how long it lasted- but it was quite a while.  But she was 2 1/2 months when I got her and I did not start to ration her pellets until she was about 6-7 months old I think.

But now that I have adult bunnies I order about 3 10lb bags of the Oxbow Basics T- and even though I have 3 bunnies now- they get much less- about 1 Tablespoon of pellets morning and night.  But I have a “rule” of- when I open the last bag I order more to make sure I do not run out.  But a 10lb bag lasts a long while.  So it depends on how often you think you might order from whatever pet supply place you choose.

Julie 

[Elrohwen]

Katnip, thanks for the advice! I’m glad that I can stock up a little as long as I don’t break the seal on the bags; I wasn’t sure how long they could be kept sealed. How much did your bun eat as a baby? Was it 1/3 cup per day? 1/2? More? Mine will be 8 weeks when I get him, so I’ll be buying a lot of pellets for quite a few months I think.

[jerseygirl]

As Katnip said, go with the Oxbow for young bunnies to start and offer free choice. You’ll get to know how much it eats and just put out that amount each day. When they’re so young, you don’t need to ration the pellets in the beginning. You can also freeze pellets in well sealed bag to maintain the freshness.
That fella is adorable alright! I don’t know how you’ve been able to wait for so long. I guess you must as he’s only 8 weeks.

[KatnipCrzy]

Cotton probably ate 1/2 to 3/4 cup of pellets daily- I had to slowly introduce her to veggies as she had not had them yet.  And they grow so, so fast- make sure to take tons of pics! 

i usually just topped off or filled the bowl as necessary so it is hard to say how much she ate- but it was a lot of pellets and hay before I was able to get her onto her daily “salads” also.  She refused just about every veggie at first- but I just had to keep offering and by the 3rd day she is usually willing to try some new green./veggie now.

Julie

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi I just wanted to pop in and add that you might want to check out the Binky Bunny store for comparative pricing.

Beka, my two 9-pounder bunnies go through 2-3 96-ounce bags of hay (that’s approximately 6 pounds per bag, so 12-18 pounds of hay a month) As for pellets, my two only get one tablespoon per day in the morning for breakfast and so one bag lasts me 4-5 months.

[Sage Cat]

I get hay by the 1/2 bale at my shelter for $20. Bales are huge and a half last me 3 to 4 months. I keep in in huge rubber-made totes with holes poked in the totes for air – so the hay does not get moldy. You can always check and see if there is a “Feed” store any place near you that sells hay.
I keep my pellets in a Tupperware container – helps to keep it fresh. A 10 pound bag seems to last me abut 1 1/2 months – 1/2 cup a day.

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