Rabbit diet!

[Oliver The Bunny!]

Hello! Does anyone have any advice on rabbit diets? I have my bun on a pellet free diet with a variety of veggies. He is given Kaytee Timothy hay. His poop is almost black in color is a little small and damp. It’s been like this for a while. He eats alright and acts normal (he still zoomies and binkys laps around our room). He eats two large hay racks full of hay everyday. I was thinking of switching him to a hay mix. I want to try mixing botanical hay, western timothy hay, oat hay, and orchard grass hay. Will this give him everything he needs? He is also provided with fresh grown wheat grass. I’m thinking about putting him back on the pellets but I want to give him a more natural diet. We had a rabbit in the past who was really sickly at around 7 years old. We took him off pellets and had him on a natural diet (veggies, oats, timothy hay, dried fruits) and he lived to be 11. I know every bunny is different so a natural diet may not work for my bunny.

Thanks for any advice!

-Oliver (Ollie), the bunny!

[Oliver The Bunny!]

I just had to add a picture!!! He’s too cute!

[Azerane]

I think if you’re removing pellets completely you need to be feeding a wide variety of leafy greens to make up nutritional content. It sounds like he’s a good hay eater, it’s possible that too much fresh wheat grass is causing smaller damp poops. Fresh grass is great, but if you’re feeding it while still young it is very nutrient dense and could be a bit rich for him.

[Oliver The Bunny!]

He’s 1.5 years old he only gets a few blades of grass every few days as a treat (it’s doesn’t grow fast) and his poop was like this before he started getting this. I think he might need more variety in veggies but the portions are good? I give him two leafs or celery sticks.

[Oliver The Bunny!]

I wasn’t sure if maybe that’s just how he is? He’s been like this for a while. I just want to make sure I’m not doing anything wrong?

[Bam]

If a bun eats a lot of fresh veg and grass, the poop will be dark. The same happens to wild rabbit poop when spring comes with new grass.

How old is your bun? Buns under 6 months (longer for big breeds) need more protein and calcium than adult buns, because they’re growing. So for very young buns, pellets are probably the best way to ensure that all nutritional needs are met.

A healthy young adult bun of a small short-haired breed can live on hay only, provided you give a variety of hay. Most of us still feed our buns a small amount of pellets, like a sort of “daily vitamin pill”, just to cover all nutritional bases.

It’s great that he eats so much hay!

PS: He really is extremely cute! Thanks for the pix!

[Oliver The Bunny!]

He’s 1.5 years old Netherland dwarf but he still looks like a baby! He only gets a few blades of grass every few days as a treat (it’s doesn’t grow fast) and his poop was like this before he started getting grass. He was on pellets until he was about one. I think he might need more variety in veggies but the portions are good? I give him either two celery sticks, two leafs, or a handful of (iceberg free) salad mix.

[Bam]

Fresh greens (exept grass which is like un-dried hay) is more of enrichment than an important addition to a rabbit’s diet. You can actually give to much greens so the bun will eat too little hay, but in your case it seems your bun eats lots of hay -which is great. Greens don’t wear the teeth like grass does and it doesnt have the optimum balance between calories and coarse fiber.

He does look like a baby! 🥰 I see now you’d already said how old he is! I think he’ll be fine on the diet you’re giving him, but to make more sure you could weigh him once every 2 weeks or so and keep a weight-diary.

When he becomes an elderbun (small breeds are considered old-ish from around 7 years of age), you might need to add some pellets to his diet.

[Oliver The Bunny!]

I think I might start him back on pellets! I used to use Kaytee Timothy Complete. Do you know if that’s a good brand or do you have any suggestions? I don’t know a lot about choosing which pellets to use.

[DanaNM]

He is SO CUTE. Thank you for posting pics!

If you are doing pellet free, but your suspicion is right in that he would benefit from a much wider variety of leafy greens, and they should be more nutrient dense. The portion sounds OK, but the variety is not really enough for a pellet free diet. Celery is mostly water and doesn’t provide much nutrition at all. I’ve heard it recommended to give at least 3-10 (or even more) different types of greens per day if you are feeding a pellet free diet, and these should be from a varied nutrient profile, so they are getting different vitamins and minerals. Different types of herbs, natural forage (dandelion, plantain, sow thistle), and as many types of greens as you can find (carrot tops, escarole, kale, chard, bok choy, etc). Keep an eye on the oxalate and calcium content and rotate what you feed. This is difficult for most people to do year round, so many opt to give a small amount of pellets.

I only give my buns about a tablespoon of pellets a day, which serves as a “multivitamin” for them, as Bam mentioned. There are many different pellet brands out there now that are high quality and buns seem to do really well on them.

Incorporating oat hay should help his poops. My buns poops always look lovely and golden when they eat oat hay.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Oliver The Bunny!]

I think I’m going to start him on pellets! Do you have any suggestions for brands? I used to use Kaytee Timothy Complete.

[GlennTheLionhead]

Just to back up what others have said I’ve had my boy on a table spoon of pellets a day (8 single pellets in the morning and a pinch of a pellet forage in the evening) for years now and hes been very healthy! I am a fan of the low pellet diet 🙂 I use science selective but its possible this is a mainly uk based brand. I have read from users on here that oxbox is pretty popular in the US. I would aim for a fiber content of 25%.

[hophophop]

We also use science selective because our vet recommends. Our previous brand is Oxbow. Both seems pretty ok. The key is to not to give too much or they eat less hay and get more stomach problems.

[Oliver The Bunny!]

Thanks for the advice!

[DanaNM]

I’ve fed both oxbow essentials and sherwood timothy. My buns did well on both, but I currently feed the sherwood and everyone seems to be doing great.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Oliver The Bunny!]

Thanks! I’ll check it out!

[Oliver The Bunny!]

Thank you everyone for your advice! I lowered the amount of veggies he gets and there is a HUGE difference!

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Great that it made such a difference! It’s funny how we rabbit people can discuss the beauty of a poo like critics deconstruct a dish on Master Chef: “The shape is good, but I’d love a slightly different moisture content…” “Yes, there should be a little more fibre in there!” “So true, we prefer a crumbly consistency here.”

Ah well, a chef’s only as good as his ingredients! 😆

 

We feed our dwarf buns Science Selective grain-free. Our previous bunny Breintje had a very sensitive stomach and often had mushy poop. Switching to grain-free helped for him, and we switched our young dwarfs to grain-free as well as soon as they got off their junior pellets. They’re pooping like a dream!

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