Pellets for 6 mos old bun??

[Alicia Conklin]

We went out last night and bought Tucker new pellets since the bag that he came with was the kind that had seeds and puffy things in it.  I grabbed the only bag of pellets that they had at the store.  Well..I got home and found that these are alfalfa pellets, and not timothy pellets.  I know this is lower in fiber and higher in calories for him.  Since he is only 6 mos old will these be ok until the bag is gone?  It’s a fairly big bag and  I think it will last I dunno a month or so?  I am not good at estimating how long things will last lol. 

I’d like to be able to use these but I don’t want it to hurt my Tucker!  He gets right now 1/4 cup of pellets a day, a cup or so of veggies and unlimited hay.  Am I feeding him right?

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi Tucker!  For the age of your rabbit, under 1 year, alfalfa pellets are what is normally given to them, although you still need to keep an eye on their weight and it  is much better than the type with all the “junk food” in it.  Keep in mind tha the food should be switched over slowly, mix 1/4 new with 3/4 old for one week, 1/2 new with 1/2 old the next week, and 3/4 new with 1/4 old the week after and then switch completely over to the new.  Although you may want to pick out all the junk stuff and try to just provide the pellets from the other food that you had.  A rabbit can be upset by any sudden changes and can cause a bout of GI stasis.  By the way, how much does Tucker weigh?

Please check out the HRS web article on feeding rabbits under one year of age here:

http://rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#babies

I hope this helps!

[Alicia Conklin]

Hmm ok I will add some of his old pellets back in with these new ones.  Now I am worried I’ve already messed up his system He has had just the new pellets since last night.  I don’t think he’s eaten very many yet, but I don’t know if that makes any difference.

Tucker is pretty small, I have not officially weighed him but I would say he’s about 2lbs tops?  He’s pretty small, I need to really weigh him though, I will try to do that tomorrow. 

I’m trying to get the hang of his diet but there seems like there is just so much to it!  And I am still having trouble figuring out the difference between regular  poops and cecotrophs..I have no clue if he’s eating the cecotrophs.

[bunnytowne]

if you don’t see cecals then he is eating them.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Don’t worry too much, you’re just learning and well, that’s what we’re here for, to help you! Cecotropes looks like a teeny bunch of grapes stuck together, they are much smaller than regular poo and they usually produce them early in the am or later at night and I usually don’t see my two eating them very often. However, I do not see remenants of them so I know that they are.

The diet I agree can be a bit complicated to a newcomer, but just take your time, ask questions and read the great info available at your fingertips here. What I did when I first got started was write it all down on a sheet of paper and posted it on the fridge, then I made labels and stuck on the pellet jar, papaya tablets and treats of how much to give or how much I could give my rabbit. Pretty soon you will have it all down pat and be advising people here. Just give it time and wait and see! Oh yes, and don’t be hard on yourself either.

[Alicia Conklin]

Hmm ok, yea he might be just eating them without me knowing then.  He is definitely pooping though! So I guess that is a good sign.  I’m so worried about doing something wrong because a year or so ago we got a baby rabbit from a farm and horse show and she only lived about a month and then suddenly died.  I had no idea what happened and my daughter was heart broken.  She’s already asked me if Tucker is going to die too   So I am so paranoid that I did something wrong with Tinkerbell and that I am going to make the same mistake with Tucker unknowingly.  But I have been reading ALOT and I am around all the time since I work from home and my desk is less then a foot away from his cage/pen. 

 

[Scarlet_Rose]

Oh that is so sad, I see why you are so so worried now. It sounds like the baby rabbit you got last time may have been weaned too early or could even have had another medical problem as well. In places such as where you got the baby from, the persons are not always very concerned about what is best for the rabbit and so an unknowing person/child etc. takes in a sweet little furry soul and they pass without warning. It unfortunately is not an uncommon story. Every time I hear a story such as yours, it still makes me very sad.

[Alicia Conklin]

That’s what we ended up thinking that the problem was with that baby bunny, I think she was just weaned way too early.  It was a woman and her daughter at a 4H club tent that was selling them and I always thought that 4H was good about things like that and knew what was ok and not ok and would try to do the right thing! Was I ever wrong!  After that I decided to always get a rescue bun and not from any type of breeder.  Tucker was not from an actual rescue but he was in need of a home and was going to go to anyone who was willing to take him..and especially with that little cage he had I was afraid of where he might end up!  Later in the year, probably about fall I am thinking of getting Tucker a friend and I’m going to be sure to get from an actual rescue this time because I never dreamed neuters for a rabbit would be this much lol, it’s going to cost me about 200 to have him done!

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