I’m Confused!

[Nibbles_NZ]

I’m so confused! I’ve researched and got information from this site about Rabbit Diet and Pellets to give them. I always found that young, growing rabbits are supposed to have an alfalfa based pellet. My Vet gave me a list of things he generally recommends for rabbits (doesn’t say age of rabbit at all). He recommended Oxbow  Bunny Basics/T and Kaytee brand pellets. These are both Timothy based pellets but they say right on the bags that they are for adult rabbits. ALL of the Timothy pellets say they are for adults. I found  Mazuri Rabbit Diet (which is also a good quality for Exotics). It says that it is all natural and for rabbits of all life stages. It’s alfalfa based!!!! GRRR!!!! My Vet said that Alfafa is NOT good for Rabbits. He said that is bad for thier kidneys. Is he just giving me info on adult rabbits? This is soooo confusing! At what age is a rabbit considered to be an adult anyway? Both of Rabbits are young and still growing. Should I go ahead with the alfalfa pellets since it says it is for young growing bunnies? Or give them the adult formula even though they are babies?

[Nibbles_NZ]

Oh, and I give him Timothy Hay. I just switched him to Oxbow Western Timothy.

[Monkeybun]

alfalfa based are good for growing buns and pregnant/nursing adult ladies. feeding timmy pellets and hay is fine too, my girl Monkey HATED her alfalfa stuff, would only eat the timmy stuff. Just give more of the pellets per day and they should be fine. I started limiting my 2’s pellets at around 6-7 months.

[pixiemom]

im glad you asked this question cause I was going to ask the same thing. Pixie who is 7 weeks I put her on Oxbow cause I heard it was great food. But also my bag said adults. Also as I posted in another post that I give her about a 1/4 cup a day and she is eating it so fast. By afternoon it is gone!!!

[Nibbles_NZ]

Okay. Thanks! I am going to keep giving my buns Alfalfa Pellets. I actually just realized that Oxbow makes alfalfa pellets for young bunnies! It’s not at our Petsmart though I will have to order it. Pixie if you want to the info it’s called Oxbow Bunny Basics15/23 and it is for young growing bunnies! I am going to order that! Thanks!

[Nibbles_NZ]

oh, and Pixie. You don’t have to limit the Pellets for your baby bun. If she is eating more than 1/4 cup per day that is okay. Just don’t give her so much of it that she doesn’t want to eat her hay. You don’t limit the pellets until they are a little older. Monkey said 6-7 months. I’m glad she said that because that was my next question! LOL

[Nibbles_NZ]

One more thing! LOL When are Rabbits considered Adults? When do I switch them to the Adult formula?

[jerseygirl]

Glad you come across the Oxbow young rabbit formula. This will be a good option. There was some discussion on this topic recently. The House Rabbit Society (which this site bases diet guidelines on) recommends unlimited pellets for rabbits under 7 months but it does not specify alfafa based pellets only. So I think it was agreed that timmy pellets would be ok also. You could supplement by adding more alfalfa hay to the bunnies hay mix. On an alfalfa based pellet you could encourage more grass hays so transistioning onto it when older would be easier. The earlier they get onto grass hays the better in my opinion.

HRS also recommends transistioning onto adult diet from 7-12 months of age. As to when they are deemed adults?…. I’m not sure – I seem to recall about 9 months of age.

[Nibbles_NZ]

Thanks! My buns are both on grass hays. I actually just switched to Ox Bow Western Timothy and they LOVE it! Does the “adult status” differ from different breeds? You know, like a dwarf rabbit matures much faster than a larger breed bunny. That is what has me puzzled. lol My Male is a larger breed rabbit (will get up to 9-12 lbs some larger) and my female is a dutch. They are about 6 weeks apart. Should I just keep them on the same diet? Of course besides the amount and when to start the veggies (right now, she is too young).

[LoveChaCha]

My bun reached her adult weight at 5 months old. She’ll be 6 months old on the 24th. The vet that spayed her said to switch her over to the adult food, the timothy based pellets.

I accidently bought the wrong oxbow pellets too, so I kept the bag and I am using it now, since I switched my bun over from alfalfa pellets to timothy.

Babies need alfalfa I never fed my bun alfalfa hay, just orchard grass, since I am allergic to hay. Ick

[KatnipCrzy]

Most good rabbit vets seem to follow HRS standards (rabbit.org).  It is usually around 7 months or so that you start to transition to timothy pellets.  Cotton was spayed at 6 months- and I waited until she was well recovered from the spay in order to start slowly introducing the Oxbow T pellets into her Oxbow 15/23 pellets.  I like to have enough to gradually switch to more and more timothy pellets over a months time.   Bunnies usually prefer the alfalfa and might be picky at first and that gives them a chance to get used to it and learn to eat the new pellets that are mixed in.

[Sarita]

When you read the guidelines on House Rabbit Society it does not specify either alfalfa or timothy pellets just pellets. They recommend nibbles of alfalfa. I think any high quality pellet that follows the House Rabbit Society guidelines would be fine. I think people just assume that they are reading alfalfa pellets but it doesn’t state that anywhere on the website. I also think that people assume that because that’s what Oxbow and American Pet Diner sell for young rabbits. I think you are better to give the nibbles of fresh alfalfa and any pellets that meet the House Rabbit Society guidelines.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I emailed one of our local Exotic Pet food stores last night and they are going to order the Oxbow 15/23 for me. I think I am going to give them that. It is just confusing to me because a lot of people switch thier buns over at about 7 months because that’s when thier buns are at thier adult wieght. Bella will be too. Baxter won’t be at his adult wieght until he is atleast 12 months. I have read that it takes 12-18 months for his breed I will just give him the 15/23 and ask the Vet when to switch him He does get Timothy Hay and eats it very well so I don’t think he is getting too much alfalfa.
*Do I have to slowly transition him from his present pellets to his new 15/23 pellets even though they are both alfalfa based?

[Elrohwen]

I don’t think it matters so much when you switch Baxter to timmy pellets – I think it’s more important that he continue to get unlimited pellets until he’s at least 12 months old, since he is a larger breed and needs the extra calories to grow.

[Nibbles_NZ]

But can I just switch them from one brand of alfalfa pellets to another or would I have to do it slowly?

[Elrohwen]

Do it slowly. All switches need to be done slowly, ideally over a month.

For example, Hannah was able to switch from Kaytee to Oxbow with no problems (she had to switch over faster than I would’ve liked, but her last owner said she was ok on any timmy pellets). Otto got a few mouthfuls of her pellets (mixed with half oxbow) one day and had poopy butt for two days. Argh! So yeah, I recommend going slowly unless you really like butt baths 😉

[usagi]

Would you say the same for rexes, Elrohwen? I’m not sure what breed was being discussed, but I have been worried about the same thing myself. Lemony is just under 6 months and we have been transitioning to timothy pellets, as well as other hays, and have been reducing the amount of pellets as well. Should we wait longer to reduce pellets? And should we keep giving him alfalfa hay? *we were worried that he’s overweight. he’s just really big – he gets plenty of excesize and has a healthy appetite*

[usagi]

(by the same for rexes, i was referring to keeping larger breeds on unlimited pellets for 12 months…)

[Nibbles_NZ]

The breed my bun is New Zealand (9-12 lbs). How big do Rex bunnies get?

[Elrohwen]

My personal feeling is that they should have unlimited, or at least a large amount of pellets until they are fully grown. For small breeds, that’s around 6 months, but for large and giant breeds it can be much later. As long as your bunny isn’t becoming overweight because of the higher amount of pellets, or not eating any hay, I don’t see a problem with it. Joint health in such large breeds is so important that I wouldn’t want to skimp too much before 12 months of age.

The HRS is kind of vague about when to reduce pellets and I think its for this reason – the larger breeds need more pellets for longer.

eta: I agree with Sarita that it probably doesn’t matter if the pellets are timmy or alfalfa at that point. It’s more the extra calories and calcium that they need.

[Nibbles_NZ]

And no…I do not like butt baths. Thankfully the only thing I have had to bathe on him so far was his feet! They were dirty when I got him! I couldn’t imagaine having to give him a butt bath! That would take 3 people!!! lol

[Nibbles_NZ]

Thanks. Baxter won’t be full grown until atleast 12 months so that makes sence to me.

[Elrohwen]

The butt bath was easier than I expected. Once Otto realize that struggling would land him in an inch of water, he was very still while I held him against my chest and dangled his feet just above the water line. Lol But yeah, I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m just lucky that Hannah was able to transition over quickly once I realized Otto couldn’t have any of the Kaytee pellets at all.

[Elrohwen]

Also, Lemony is a velveteen lop, right? So he would get up to E lop size? How much does he weigh now? He looks like a pretty big boy.

[usagi]

We think he weighs in at around 8 lbs, but that’s the old school method, with my fiance getting on a scale with and without him and taking the difference. Yes, he is a velveteen lop – so I guess somewhere on either end or in the middle of the E lop and Rex spectrum?

[Elrohwen]

If he’s that big, I would count him in the large/giant breed category and would feed him more for longer as long as he’s not getting chubby.

[Nibbles_NZ]

Velveteen lop is large but it isn’t giant is it? The giant breeds get up to 20 lbs or more.

[Elrohwen]

E lops should be over 9 or 10lbs full grown though – so they’re definitely a large rabbit.

eta: The minimum show weight for flemmies is somewhere around 13-14lbs, so only the very large ones get over 20lbs.

[usagi]

We are just having a really difficult time figuring out what is and is not “chubby” for an velveteen lop. He is built so strangely, with a huge rump, huge back legs, arched back, very tiny face, big chest, big ears… He is a lot of bunny. Is there any rule of thumb for determining this? He runs around and jumps super high with ease, which I don’t think he would be able to do if he was overweight… But we are having a really hard time with this. Any suggestions? We are going to go to the vet in the next month or so, just for a checkup, but in the meantime?

[Elrohwen]

When you look at him from above, can you see any waist definition? An overweight bunny will just be a log, while a bunny at the correct weight will have curves, if that makes sense.

Your vet will definitely be able to tell you. I would guessed that Hannah was chubby, but the vet says she’s the perfect weight, so it’s sometimes hard to tell.

Also, I would look around online for pictures of velveteen and E lop. If you find show bunnies, they’re probably a proper weight and maybe you can compare them (especially in top down views) with Lemony.

[Nibbles_NZ]

Posted By Elrohwen on 05/20/2010 07:48 AM

E lops should be over 9 or 10lbs full grown though – so they’re definitely a large rabbit.

eta: The minimum show weight for flemmies is somewhere around 13-14lbs, so only the very large ones get over 20lbs.

 

Wow, I must have only seen the really large Flemish Giants because I have never seen one under 18 lbs.

[KatnipCrzy]

I think it would be very difficult to compare Lemony to another Velveteen Lop picture to determine if he is overweight.  Velveteen Lops are not technically a recognized show breed yet- and depending on how many generations Lemony is into the “new breed” he might have characteristics of a Rex more than an English Lop or vice versa.

Griffin at 10 months old is 8.8lbs and the breeder expected him to get to around 9lbs- so she is right on guess wise.   When he was at the exotics vet the vet was pleased that she could easily feel his backbone and ribs when she petted him and that he is long and lean.  She does not see any other English Lops- but she knew it was a correct body type and weight for his frame.

Compared to Griffin my Mini Lops look short, compact and if you were directly comparing they would look overweight- but they are not overweight- it is just their body type.

[Nibbles_NZ]

Griffin is an English Lop? I thought English Lops had very long ears (some around 24 inches)? Am I getting it confused with another breed? Sorry, I am still learning. LOL

btw, Griffin is such a CUTE name!!!

[Elrohwen]

Posted By Nibbles_NZ on 05/20/2010 09:48 AM

Posted By Elrohwen on 05/20/2010 07:48 AM

E lops should be over 9 or 10lbs full grown though – so they’re definitely a large rabbit.

eta: The minimum show weight for flemmies is somewhere around 13-14lbs, so only the very large ones get over 20lbs.

 

Wow, I must have only seen the really large Flemish Giants because I have never seen one under 18 lbs.

Bigger is better, but they’re not all that huge, but there are a lot of 18-20lbers too. I would consider any bunny over 15lbs to be a giant. But that’s just my own personal label

[Sarita]

Nibbles, Katnip’s avatar is her other bunny Cotton :~) Katnip has another rabbit that is an English Lop.

[Elrohwen]

Katnip, I just suggested it as a way to get a read on what other bunnies similar to Lemony look like when they’re in a good weight. The vet is definitely the final answer, but she’s taking him soon anyway.

[Lintini]

We are def lacking photos of Griffin around here….

[usagi]

 Thanks for the help, everyone. It seems that the general standard for velveteen lop is no more than 6 and a half pounds – ish. Perhaps Lemony is not that far down the velveteen chain… I think the smaller, the more “desirable” (for showing). We love him the way he is. We just want him to be healthy.

His body does have a shape to it, and when he stretches out he is really long and pretty lean.  I think the best bet is going to be the vet, I’ll probably try and get him in sooner than expected.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I called an Exotics Pet food store and I think I have them sold on carrying Oxbow!!! The only place here that has it is Petsmart but they only carry Hay (which is GREAT!!!) and the Adult Rabbit food. The store I called is ordering the Bunny Basics 15/23 for me. I get to pick it up on Wednesday. I made sure I ordered a 10 lb bag! I’m so happy!

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