Pellets or no pellets?

[LopLover]

Hey all! I’m still new to bunny parenthood, and have an 8 week old Holland Lop on my hands. He’s very precious, and I love him to death already – after only four days, he seems to love me too. 

Anyway! The breeder I got him from (couldn’t find any unbonded rabbits to adopt, and I can only handle one right now) said she free feeds pellets to her babies, and restricts them as they mature. I’ve been doing a lot of research, trying to figure out what the best possible diet for Igloo will be as he matures. Currently, he has free access to timothy hay, and just mows through it (I’m talking multiple 5″x5″x1″ pallets a day), which I’m pleased about. However, I noticed yesterday and today that he seems to be showing more and more interest in his pellets (which are Alfalfa based) and a little less interest in his hay. I know that this could just be because he’s getting more comfortable and settled, but I’m also concerned that he may get on the pellets and neglect eating his hay. I’ve more or less decided that I want him off pellets as soon as it’s appropriate, using them only as treats, and feeding him a completely natural, organic diet with lots of hay and fresh veg. 

So, my ultimate question is, when is it appropriate to do this? How old should I let him get? I was told that he needs pellets at this stage because they have a lot of the protein he needs to grow up big and strong. Please correct me if I was misinformed! I also want to know /how/ to get him off pellets when the time comes. My common sense tells me it should be a process, much like weaning, but I just wanted to verify and get a reasonable timeline for transitioning his diet. 

Thanks!!

[Bam]

Young rabbits need more protein than adult rabbits, that is correct. To my understanding, they should get unlimited (baby) pellets until they are about 6 months old. Then you transition them to a smaller amount of adult pellets, served once or twice a day. Oxbow is a recommended brand. For a baby rabbit you can mix grassy hay and alfalfa, because alfaalfa is rich in protein. Alfalfa shouldn’t be fed to adult rabbits because of this.

I haven’t done a pellet-free diet, but my bunnies do get a minimal amount of pellets, esp in the summer when they get a rich variety of leafy greens.

When you do the transition to an adult diet, you do it very slowly. I have no personal experience in this since I’ve never had a baby rabbit, so I hope you’ll get more answers soon =)

[Eepster]

At this point, he should still be getting alfalfa hay, as well as pellets. Around 4 months is a good age to switch to timothy hay and pellets, but it would really depend on how your bunny is growing. When you do start switching, you should do so gradually mixing a little of the new timothy pellets in with the old alfalfa pellets, slowly increasing the amount of the new ones in the mix.

Stopping pellets completely isn’t a question of age. My rabbit is middle aged at least (I’ve had him for 4 years, and got him as an adult of unknown age,) and he gets pellets everyday. Pellets act like a multivitamin in an adult bunny’s diet. They fill in any nutritional gaps missed in what they are fed.

To cut out pellets completely requires a carefully selected diet full of variety. It can be done, but it isn’t at all easy.

There is nothing wrong with pellets. If you get high quality timothy based pellets and feed them in moderation, the diet can be just as healthy as a pellet free one. The only pit fall is over feeding pellets and buying low quality. You will need to read the ingredient list and measure it when giving them.

[LopLover]

Right now he’s on Oxbow Young Rabbit Food, as this is what he was being fed when he was still with the breeder. I’m happy to hear that it’s the best quality food I can give him. I’ll keep him on the pellets until he’s 6 months, and then reevaluate his diet. That seems to be the best option right now. Thank you guys so much for your advice! Whether or not you have experience with babies, any and all input/ideas are helpful! 

[LBJ10]

I agree, keep him on the baby Oxbow pellets for now. At his age, he needs the extra calories and protein to grow. When it comes time to transition him to an adult diet, you can reevaluate the situation. A pellet-free diet can be done, but like others have said, it can hard to do (especially in the winter). They need a ton of variety to make up for what they could easily get through pellets.

You can start introducing veggies one at a time starting at 12 weeks. It will give you an idea of what kind of veggie eater he will be later on down the road. Some bunnies are very picky and there would be no way to get them to eat enough variety.

[Author]

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