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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum DIET & CARE Pellet amount

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    • Carolyn
      Participant
      28 posts Send Private Message

        Hi, back again with some more questions.

        I recently went out of the country and had my friend watch my bun Syrup. I gave instructions, but when she sent me videos on the amount of pellets she gave, it was a bit more than I usually gave and increased with the days. It wasn’t a HUGE amount, and the hay was still disappearing, so I figured it wasn’t that bad.

        (A bit of back context, one time Syrup got a cold/Pasterella or whatever, and I was freaked out about him/her not getting enough vitamins because he/she was transitioning from alfalfa to timothy, and I had given too many pellets and there were cecos everywhere. Because of this I limited the pellets and the cecos disappeared, and he/she started eating hay like crazy. I continued this until now, which is where my questions stem from)

        So before I let my friend watch Syrup, I noticed Syrup felt really skinny, like i could feel Syrup’s butt-bones…a lot. He/She was still active and eating and drinking and pooping and EVERYTHING, but he/she just felt skinny. I upped his/her pellets just a bit while monitoring the hay intake and everything, and it seemed he/she was happier. After I let my friend watch syrup, he/she was totally fine, got bigger (not only fatter but bigger, and he/she’s only about 4-5 months old so I was thinking growth-spurt. HeShe’s about 1.5kg~1.8kg), and since I was worried about the amount of pellets, I did more research as to how much I should be giving him/her.

        I used to give about 10-20g of pellets a day. Now, I give about 20-40g of pellets a day (15 in the morning, 15-25 at night). Before when I would give him/her less, he/she would come to me searching for more and be relentless about it. Now, when he/she finishes the pellets, he’ll flop down for a quick nap (like 10-20 min) and then wake up, drink, eat some hay, and beg to be let out.

        I was wondering if the amount of pellets I gave him before was too little, or if the amount I’m giving now is too much.

        He/she seems fine, but flops more when I give more pellets.

        Hay disappears at the same/maybe a little less rate, but he/she doesn’t feel boney.

        Water disappears like always, about 500ml a day, and it’s winter with the heater on all the time so it’s pretty dry, so sometimes maybe a bit more. It’s a bottle-to-dish dispenser.

        He is completely off alfalfa, his pellets are “Natural Fiber Pellets” by “Orimitsu” (I’m in Japan so no oxbow or anything)

        (Note : Translations may sound weird/be slightly wrong…)

        Ingredients : Timothy Hay, Apple Fiber, and Papaya

        (Crude) Protein : 8.2%

        (Crude) Fat : 2.1%

        (Crude) Fiber : 31.4%

        Phosphorus : 0.2%

        Calcium : 0.4%

        If this is not a good type of pellet, please tell me!! It takes Syrup a long time to chew each pellet, and the color is very green, so they seem better than what the pet store had initially given me (that caused the over-cecos) and this other Australian brand I had purchased.I still have that brand and he/she seems to like it a lot more than the fiber ones, but they seem less healthy/more treat-like, so I try not to give it as much. The Fiber pellets are kind of pricey, but I started buying them because they seemed the most natural out of all my options. (About $15 for 500g, sometimes on sale for $10 which I buy about 3-4 bags at a time. They’re good for about a year, don’t have any additive or added sugars, and are mainly for bunnies with allergies to hay dust, so they can get fiber if they don’t like eating hay. Syrup still eats … A LOT … of hay.)

        Sorry for the length….

        TLDR; What is the correct amount of pellets to give a 5month old bunny? If he/she still eats hay (About 1kg~1.5kg per week) and poops like crazy, but falls asleep right after eating the more excessive pellet amount, is that okay? Or am I over-feeding pellets?

        Thank you!!


      • Azerane
        Moderator
        4688 posts Send Private Message

          Hi there for a 5 month old about that size I think up to 1/4 cup daily would be plenty. I’m not sure how that compares in grams, but if bun was too skinny on a small amount and a little chubby on the larger amount, pick somewhere in between. Young bunnies can be tricky as they go through growth spurts so just monitor the body condition and make sure Syrup continues to eat plenty of hay and you’re on the right track. It’s not an exact science as every bun is different

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      Forum DIET & CARE Pellet amount