Naturally feeding rabbits?

[bigsis7]

Ok, so as some of you know I naturally feed my ferrets (a raw diet) and I mostly fed my rats a natural diet. I’m working on getting my dog to a more natural diet also. I was wondering if there is any natural way to feed rabbits? I know about 95% of their diet should be hay, then pellets, and then fruits and veggies. Is there anyway to cut the pellets out or is does it have to stay in the diet? Thanks!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Lots of bunnies don’t eat pellets You’d have to do a lot more veggies-and switch over slowly. Probably best to keep a food diary when making a big change just so you can keep track. But they certainly can go without

I’m hoping to feed our dog a natural diet as well! Not raw food but food-food as in rice/chicken/beef/veggies with small amounts of dog food mixed in.

[bigsis7]

Oh really!? Hmm guess I didn’t look hard enough, lol!! Would I have to include grains?
Yeah my parents won’t go for a raw diet, but I’m trying to get them to buy a better dog food (basically feeding him crap right now) with some meat, wheat/rice, and maybe a few veggies mixed in daily! It’s so much healthier!

[bigsis7]

Ok, so I was just looking for cheap hay to get on craigslist…My gosh!! You can’t find any hay under 50 pounds! There was like 4 posts selling 500 pounds of hay for $20!? So I asked if they sell in smaller sizes, lol!!

[Sarita]

Actually if I were you I would not cut out pellets unless you can really give them a large variety of vegetables (at least 8 per day) – you are better to at least give a few pellets daily.

Rabbits in the wild eat dirt and other flowers and graze on a variety of things plus they have sunlight. These provide minerals and vitamins that may not be present in a simple hay and veggie diet.

If your rabbit has bladder issues or is sensitive to pellets and your vet recommends cutting out the pellets then I think it would be okay.

[bigsis7]

Hmmm…What good quality pellets are there (just so you guys know, there’s no answer yet)? I’m trying to figure out how to feed an 11 pound rabbit, lol!!

[Sarita]

Yes, Oxbow and American Pet Diner are both good quality pellets – you will want to get the timothy based pellets.

[Beka27]

I agree with continuing to feed pellets. There’s nothing wrong with pellets, and they are actually beneficial, as long as they are timothy, high quality (there are nutritional guidelines in the Bunny Info section, you want very high fiber, very low protein, etc…) and they are fed in a limited amount. I feel silly even telling you this, you know that hay is the most important thing, veggies are also very important and need to be fed daily. They help to provide fiber and hydrate the GI tract. Oxbow and American Pet are more expensive, I know Oxbow is available at PetSmart, so you can save on shipping that way. But even with them being more expensive, as long as you are feeding a limited amount, they should last for awhile.

[bigsis7]

Thanks Beka :-)! And yep I know hay and veggies are important, too. I was just wondering if it’s possible to feed rabbits naturally and if it’s less expensive.

[KatnipCrzy]

I would have to say that feeding any pet as naturally as possible is actually going to be more expensive rather then less.  The way to feed a rabbit more naturally would be to feed organic hay, organic veggies and then if pellets are fed- organic pellets. 

Even for dogs and cats to feed a more natural diet- more homemade with added meats and veggies can be more expensive.  There a few products out there designed to be mixed with meats, veggies, etc that is prepared at home- but then provides everything else that the dogs needs- different vitamins and minerals (I believe The Honest Kitchen makes a product like that and also Innova).  I was looking into switching my dogs food to “The Honest Kitchen”- it is dehydrated meat and other natural ingredients- you add water, let hydrate and serve.  It is pricey but their philosophy makes sense to me.  I saw their products on show on Food TV called “Will work for Food” and the host visits different food related jobs in the industry- fishing, farming etc- and he was at the test kitchens for “The Honest Kitchen” and made some food mix for the dogs there.

Anyway- since I had to switch my cats to a ultra low carb, high protein food- I am holding off on switching the dogs.  My diabetic cat needs extremely restricted carbs- and it is believed that this is the more natural diet for them- and it is not cheaper that is for sure. Since the main ingredient is meat and there is absolutely no grain it is expensive.

For both dogs and cats you really need to provide good ingredients to start- lower fat meat, veggies, etc- but it is important to research to make sure they are getting the nutrients they need.  For example cats need taurine and will eventually go blind if they do not get a diet with taurine (a cat eating dog food only is at high risk).  If you use cheaper, fattier meats you risk your pet getting overweight or ill with pancreatitis or diarrhea.  And the volume of fresh food that you feed will be more than the amount of kibble. 

There are A LOT of different theories out there about what is the proper diet for a dog, cat or rabbit-  and many are contradictory to the other theories-but  as long as you do the reading involved there plenty of healthy choices.

[bigsis7]

Thank you!! That helped a lot :-)! With ferrets feeding them a raw diet is a lot cheaper than feeding them kibble. $20 a month cheaper!! Dogs, though, I know can get expensive. Not sure about cats, cause I’ve never helped switch a cat to a raw diet. Anyways thanks!

[TARM]

I get my hay from Bunny Lu. They sell it for $1 a pound.

I also get 50 lb bags of Purina Rabbit Chow from Booth Feeds for $16.  It last four rabbits 3 months!  I just started getting my veggies from Lotte across from Kmart in Chantilly.  I can feed four rabbits for a week on $10.

[bigsis7]

50 pounds for $16!? I’ll have to check that out! Do you know how much your bunnies weigh all together?

[TARM]

I have no idea. They’re all midgets.

[bigsis7]

LOL, thanks anyways!!

[Deleted User]

There is a way to do it. Though I have never tried I have heard that if you do cut them out then you need to do it slowly and you need to add much more nutrients to the rabbits diet along with extra fruits and vegetables.

[MooBunnay]

The only thing to watch out for in those big 50 lb. bags of rabbit pellets, is that those pellets are often alfalfa based instead of timothy based because they are used to feed rabbits on farms that they are trying to put weight onto. So just read the label carefully to see what the pellets are made of.

I buy my hay in bales from feed stores, and store it in large rubbermaid bins. I think this is one of the biggest ways to save money when you have rabbits because purchasing it locally from a feed and seed store is much cheaper than buying it in a petstore, or buying it online and having it shipped.

[TARM]

The pellets are alfalfa based but they don’t get many. 1/4 cup per day. They have unlimited timmy hay and they get probably a little more than 2 cups of greens a day.

The rescue feeds purina lab diet and that’s also alfalfa based so I figure if it’s good for the rescue bunnies it’s good for my guys. :0) None of my bunnies are roly poly so I think we’ve got a good balance going.

[MooBunnay]

With all that timmy hay they are probably balancing out their alfalfa calories Its good that they can tolerate it well. I have one bunny that almost goes immediately into stasis when she gets alfalfa in her diet, we found that out because we were purchasing a hay mix that had about 5% alfalfa in it, and she got sick. I wish they would make those Purina ones in a timothy based form too…

[TARM]

I know Mary Ellen has talked to the purina people about making a timmy lab diet. she keeps pestering them about it but so far no luck. maybe if enough people request it?

[Author]

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