New bunny mom..am I feeding her properly?

[KimbersMum]

I’ve had my sweet kimber for about a month now. (She’s 11 week old flemish new Zealand cross) I want to make sure that I’m feeding her an appropriate diet. I feed her Purina Rabbit chow garden recipe, a mix of timothy and alfalfa hay (she has this at all times in her cage and I put some in her litter box. I read somewhere that helps them use their box). I also feed her fresh greens (she loves kale, mustard greens and goes nuts for dandelion greens and celery). How much should I be feeding her pellets and the greens? I have a small bowl that I fill up once and sometimes twice a day (probably about a cup and half). Is this too much … not enough?

[Callie]

With my rabbits I fed them Oxbow Young Rabbit food (pellets) freely until they turned 6 months old. After that I transitioned them over to the Oxbow Adult food and they only get 1/4 cup per day of that, I chose oxbow for three reasons. One it was in my price range, two it doesn’t have any “extra bits” it’s just plain pellets, and three everyone recommends it! Lol
For hay mine get Oxbow Timothy hay and sometimes I like to mix in Oxbow Meadow hay. Hay is provided 24/7, your bun should always have fresh hay and fresh water above all things.
Lastly in the evenings I give mine a bowl of mix veggies, right now they are really into romaine, kale, dill and a little carrot! I also give them a little slice of fruit, usually strawberry or apple. (Usually they get 3-5 leafs of greens depending on how big the leafs are/what kind they are, 1-2 stems of dill, and half a baby carrot)

I would maybe start taking out the alfalfa, I was always told that alfalfa was only for pregnant bunnies and little baby buns until they can switch to timothy hay….. and let her have free feeding on pellets until she hits the 5-7 month range and then start switching to the 1/4 cup per day.

I’m no expert by far (and I could be wrong about the alfalfa) but I hope this helps a little! also congrats on the new little bun!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Check out the rabbit nutrition info from the House Rabbit Society. 

http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/

This is pretty much the Bible of Bunny Nutrition.

Do the Purina pellets have things like seeds, fruits and nuts in them? You want a pellet that is free from extra stuff like this as it is really not good for bunnies. If you change pellets, make sure to do it very gradually over several weeks to avoid tummy upset.

[genie1]

I believe alfalfa is a treat type food. I would say once a week at the most. I love the alfalfa hay type cubes and I give one of those every few weeks to every few months.

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