How much veg for my buns?

[Moonlightbunny66]

I read that you should give 1 cup for every 2lbs of bunny. One bun is 11lbs and the other is 7lbs. 5 1/2 cups for the bigger bun? Is that too much?? 3 1/2 for the smaller one sounds more normal but what do you guys think? And they’re used to getting a handful of veg in the morning and another at night (they are still in the animal rescue, I get them Sunday now). Should I work up slowly to the right amount and then add new lettuces? They get romaine right now. Thanks.

[prince dorian the bun]

I was confused about this at first, since they are both adjusting start smaller, maybe 2 -3 cups for both of them and see how they eat and if they have any issues, you can then add more as you and the buns feel comfortable. I pretty much free feed veg, well I put a bowl down in the morning (I’d say about 1 to 2 lose cups) and if he finishes it and starts tapping it to let me know it’s empty I give him more, he gets his fullest bowl in the evening so he can snack through the night. Usually he eats a little and then just goes to sleep and has the rest for breakfast. Some days my under 4lb bun will eat about 6+ loosely packed cups of greens, I was worried it was too much at first, the vet just seemed impressed 😀 Keep an eye on hay consumption, is the big trick as long as that remains high, then what I was told it was fine to feed greens freely. You may want to just slowly work up to the measurements you gave, and check in with a rabbit savvy vet on if they can have more. Also some days he isn’t very hungry, he will eat his hay and barely eat 3 cups. I need to weigh him again, but he was around 3lbs. Greens can get pretty pricey if you have a big eater like I do, so don’t feel like you need go above the 1 cups per 2 pounds for them to be healthy! You can feed them less than that too. And bun digestions are tricky, so go slow in both introducing new foods and quantity.

[DanaNM]

@ Prince dorian that is A LOT !

If it’s working for Dorian that’s great, but remember hay should be 80% of the diet! It is possible for buns to get overweight on too many greens as well. Keep in mind the veggies we eat were bred for our stomachs, and bunnies evolved eating MUCH higher fiber plants.

Anyway, I give about 1 large handful twice a day for my gremlins, sometimes a bit more, sometimes less. Sometimes I will skip a veg feeding if I feel they need to pump up their hay intake. I used to give a lot more, but a lot of the more recent discussions at the HRS conferences are suggesting that many owners might be over-feeding greens.

Just remember, hay hay hay hay hay! It might seem like it isn’t nutritious but sun cured hay has lots of vitamins and minerals, and it gets fermented by the bunny gut to be even more nutritious. Think of bunnies as tiny horses. 🙂

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Moonlightbunny66]

@prince Dorian the bun lol greedy bun!!! Thanks for your message. 🙂

@DanaNM LOL not sure how a small bun can eat so much. The hay is very important. Thanks for the info. 🙂

I’ll see how much they eat when I give them those handfuls!

[prince dorian the bun]

He eats at least 3 piles his size of hay on top of that, if not more. I don’t have the problem of hay all over because he is a little vacuum, if I drop some he just runs over and sucks it up. And just to be clear my greens aren’t just lettuce they include grasses, herbs and other forage (wild plants tend to be much more fibrous, but agree with what you are saying @DanaNM ). I am trying to mimic a natural diet as much as possible, and amount varies as I let him set his own amounts, today for example he gulped down breakfast which was about a cup and a half in a matter of seconds, but then other than pick out a couple dandelion leaves has ignored the his lunch, given it’s 7PM now and he is busy playing (he’s exploring my room which has been off limits for a week, so it’s very exciting, so he’s doing laps and climbing all the things), he may end up eating his lunch for dinner and then only having a little over two cups, yesterday he decided the world didn’t have enough food so was on the higher end of his range. It really ebbs and flows, he had one month he was not into greens other than maybe a handful or so, I was worried for a bit at first, but his hay eating never slacked. But yes he can be a voracious little eater, I know his diet is maybe not a good example for every bun or owner! Dorian’s weight is spot on and he’s a young healthy active bun, but of course will adjust if it ever causes weight gain or on vet advice.

Heh, I just realize this might be the bun version of intuitive eating! Which I find also works great for some people, but not so great for others. Also he is done rampaging and chowing hay over finishing the greens, so I feel he is good at making healthy choices for himself 😀

[DanaNM]

Oh that makes much more sense if he is getting wild forage!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Moonlightbunny66]

@prince dorian the bun Aww it’s good that he eats well. Maybe he’s storing it all up so he can evolve like a Pokémon lol.

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