HOW MUCH HAY SHOULD HE EAT?

[carrythehare]

Fuzzy used to eat a lot of hay.  Then he had his teeth ground down and wouldn’t eat hay,    I cut way back on veggies because he was holding out for veggies.   Now he is eating more hay, but not a huge amount.   His poo is bigger,  but not as big as when he ate a lot of hay.   I went on a VetRabbit site and the one response said rabbits should eat mostly pellets and only a little hay.  My own vet says,  lots of hay, some veggies, and less pellets.   One vet years ago told me, ideally,  only veggies and hay and no pellets.

My other rabbit, Pepperoni, eats huge amounts of hay, has big poops, and only stops eating hay when he needs his molars ground down. 

As you can see from the top paragraph,  if you ask enough people,  you can get almost any opinion.  

PS.   I give Fuzzy an ocassional CC powder supplement.    I go mostly by what my vet says,  but neither rabbit is getting veggies at this time.  While on anti-biotic, Pepperoni gets diarrhea from veggies.   And right now Fuzzy stops eating hay to hold out for veggies.

[BunnyMuffin]

I think the general consensus here is that rabbits should get unlimited hay, limited pellets (some even have rabbits that are completely pellet free), and some veggies that are introduced gradually one at a time to monitor for any stomach upset. My bunnies get about 4 cups of veggies between them daily, and they’re about 5lbs each – but Wally’s bum is starting to get really big, so he might be heavier now! Then I give them 1/8-1/4 cup of timothy pellets to share, so not much at all.

What type of hay do you use? I find that while my rabbits eat plenty of hay regardless, they eat a lot more when it’s the nice fresh oxbow stuff, and noticeably less when it’s the crappy brown petstore brand if I run out before my mail order arrives – even though they’re both timothy hay.

You could also try mixing in some different types of orchard hay or other flavours (just not alfalfa if they’re both adults) to keep some variety and maybe perk their interest and get them eating more hay.

[Beka27]

my two have a similar (pretty much identical) diet to bunnymuffin’s buns. your vet is right that hay should be unlimited, greens daily, and a very limited quantity of pellets, if any. i could be wrong, but from your description it sounds like that “vetrabbit” site might be geared more towards rabbits as breeding stock or show rabbits. some people believe that pellets are good enough (and they’re cheap!), but you really want to offer your rabbits a good variety of food.

veggies are important because they help to hydrate the digestive system, so i would suggest you try to give at least some veggies everyday for both buns. if anything you’d want to limit pellets to encourage more hay eating, not veggies. have you mentioned the diarrhea to your vet, there may be a different anitbiotic that will work but not cause these side effects.

[Scarlet_Rose]

The reason that Fuzzy was holding out for veggies is because when a rabbit has their teeth ground down, they are sore and the veggies are easier to eat as opposed to hay which needs some grinding from the teeth.  So, I would not “punish” Fuzzy by holding or cutting them back on the basis that he was holding out for them.  Now them causing the diarrhea, it’s probably a good thing you held back on them.

Rabbits should get unlimited hay, they are constant grazers because they have to keep their GI tract moving.  My two go through about a 1/2 a flake of hay every day.  Sometimes if the quality isn’t as good like it has a lot of dust, is brown, has weeds in it, rabbits will not eat it, so be sure to have a good-quality hay on hand.  Veggies are also important because they also help supply the rabbit with much-needed nutrients like vitamin A.  Pellets are a food developed for stock or breeding rabbits and are not really a necessary part of the diet. They are fattening and should be fed in limited quantities.  My two 9-pounders only get 1 tablespoon in the morning, that is it.  I think that they do help supplement the diet with needed minerals and play some role in good rabbit nutrition, especially those pellets formulated specifically for companion house rabbits.  Some vets have their own opinions on pellets – fewer or none but the reference that you found that says mostly pellets and a little hay is way off so I would steer clear of it.

Check out the Binky Bunny section on diet here: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Diet/tabid/60/Default.aspx

The problem with the internet is yes, you can find broad-based opinions on anything and they can and will contradict each other.  You need to be very careful when trying to research information on the internet and stick to safe, knowledgeable sites. 

Here are a few that I use:

http://www.rabbit.org

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html

Dana Krempels’ answers:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/indexExp_35789.htm

Here are some reliable articles on nutrition for you to read up on:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/indexExp_35789.htm

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-4/pellets.html

 

[carrythehare]

Both rabbits get fresh oxbow hay.   Pepperoni eats a huge amount unless he needs his teeth ground down.   I just can’t get Fuzzy to eat enough hay.   He chews pellets just fine.   The vet thought it might be dental discomfort, even weeks after the tooth-grinding because Fuzzy shows small dental pockets on x-ray.   We were going to try anti-biotic for tooth infection, but Fuzzy could not tolerate the medicine.   That was weeks ago.   The vet said I could mix in some alfalfa hay just to encourage him to eat, and that all the advice against alfalfa hay is being questioned by some vets from recent studies (about the effect on calcium levels).   I think I’ll try it.

IF Fuzzy has a real dental problem with his tooth pockets,  there’s not much that can be done about it,  like root canal in humans.   Fuzzy has always been kind of finicky about foods.  

[BunMumTiff]

Oreo my older bun is about 5 and he gets 1/8th cup of pellets, usally 2 to 4 cups of veggies and either one of two handfuls of hay a day. Right now veggies are crappy at the super market and I wont buy them, hoping to go to the fresh market on thursday or friday, so I up his hay amounts and when I buy baged salad I take some out for her.

Harley my baby bun get unlmited pellets and alfalfa. Oreo gets a handful of Alfala once a week as a treat and also some other treat liek raisan of bit of carrot or apple or something 3 or 4 times a week.

I was told a rabbit could go on a pellet less diet but never a no hay or veggies diet so I would assume you are are doing everything right, but maybe try and mix the alfala like U said u might do and radually decrease it.

[KatnipCrzy]

If your rabbit has chronic pockets of infection under his teeth- there are things that can be done.  There are different anitbiotics and there are also surgical procedures to remove problem teeth- but if one molar is removed- the opposite must also be removed even if it is healthy, because the teeth are constantly growing and they need to contact an opposing tooth.  Diet would change a lot depending on what teeth need to come out, but I would be worried about pockets of infection remaining untreated in my bunnies mouth expecially when they are prone to such huge blow out abcess.

Maybe someone else has ideas of what might be able to be done medically.  But getting the teeth floated every 6-8 weeks and having the bunny be in pain and reluctant to eat vs further medical treatment- it would not be a bad idea to discuss this with your vet or a specialist.  Do they give your bunny any pain meds after the dental procedures?

[Scarlet_Rose]

If your bun won’t eat hay you can also in lieu or in additon to CC, try some canned plain pumpkin for the fiber and nutrients. You may also want to look onto the removal of the teeth if this is really a chronic problem and you’ve exhasuted all other options – not that I am saying your shoudl run out and have it done but know your options too.

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