Right diet?

[MommaMay]

My rabbits each are about roughly 3 pounds. I made up a diet for them with the info from the house rabbit society. This is their diet each: 7:00 am 1/4 cup pellets. 10:00 am 1/4 cup chopped veggies. 1:00 pm 1/4 cup chopped veggies. 4:00 pm 1/4 cup chopped veggies. 7:00 pm 1/4 cup pellets. 9 or 10:00 pm 1/4 cup chopped veggies. No more then 2 small bites of fruit a day or 1 or 2 baked treats a day.

[Doodler]

Hi there! My main concern with feeding them so frequently is that it can prevent them from eating enough hay. Do they also get unlimited hay and if so how much do they tend to eat in a day?

[MommaMay]

Yes they always eat hay sometimes more sometimes less, to be honest I’ve never had a schedule for them , I’ve just handed them veggies through the day

[MommaMay]

Maybe I’ll change the 9:00 or 10:00 veggies to just a nibble

[MommaMay]

Or I’ll make the 1:00 2:00 and take away the 4:00

[Doodler]

A lot of people recommend feeding them twice a day around 10-12 hours apart. Some will feed pellets in one feeding and greens in another, while others will feed half of the greens and pellets in each feeding. You will see people who feed pellets twice and greens once or vice versa. I find it’s best to find what works for you and your bunnies. You just want to make sure how and what you are feeding doesn’t impact their hay consumption since this is the most important part of their diet.

I personally feed my bunnies pellets around 6:30 AM and PM and their greens at around 10 AM and between 10 and 11 PM. This works for them and they eat enough hay..as long as they have hay they like. I have tried to cut out the 10 AM feeding but I felt too guilty. I decided to try this schedule because I didn’t want them to eat too many greens and pellets at one sitting.

I also wanted to add that the amount of pellets you are feeding is probably too high if they were both born in May. Some recommend that around 7 months or so you start limiting the pellets more. I can tell you that this was true for my buck. I had to cut back around that age from 1/4 cup to 1/8 cup and he is 4.5 lbs.

Is there a reason why you want to break up the feedings throughout the day like this?

[Wick & Fable]

Hay is usually the least preferred food item for rabbits, but it is arguably the most important thing!

Typically, to boost hay consumption, a lot of owners feed once in the morning, and once at night. So veggies in the morning and pellets at night, or half of each. It allows the rabbit to graze on hay for the majority of the day.

It can be really hard not to give into food begs, but hay makes their teeth and tummy feel good

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.

[MommaMay]

Yikes they won’t like it but I will cut the pellets to 1/8th cup. And im just trying to have a perfect diet for them as I’ve had a mini scare with my girl , I’ve been thinking she’s had a little gas problem so I want to assure they are eating the right amount. So how does this sound : 7:00 am 1/8 cup pellets. 10:00 1/2 cup veggies. 3:00 1/4 cup veggies. 7:00 1/8 cup pellets.??? Or could you please correct and help me find a perfect schedule

[Asriel and Bombur]

literally just at 7am pellets and then 7pm greens. That’s it. Feedings should be every 12 hours to encourage hay consumption. Bunnies don’t need to be eating non-hay items around the clock.

[MommaMay]

Omg that’s gonna be a huge change , they’re gonna hate me ? I guess I’ll do pellets in the am … I have to pinch in a veggie snack somewhere at least !!

[Asriel and Bombur]

honestly, just let them eat just hay, like they’re supposed to and get them on an eating schedule that just really emphasizes hay. It will help a lot, especially if any of them ever get gas/stomach problems.

[kurottabun]

As the others have already mentioned, hay is the most important food they need so it’s better for them to eat that instead of other food anyway, especially if they have potential tummy issues

I only feed Kurotta a tablespoon of pellets once in the morning and once in the evening, with a small piece of dried apple treat occasionally (some days he doesn’t get any treats at all). He can’t eat fresh greens as they have too much pesticide where I live (even after washing), so he just munches on hay throughout the day.

Cutting out pellets makes the bunny appreciate them more, so that’s a good thing :p

[sarahthegemini]

Hay is obviously the most important aspect of a bunny’s diet but even more so for a bunny with gas/tummy issues.

I feed a hay and papaya treat every morning at 5:30am and then I feed pellets (FibaFirst sticks) at roughly 5:30pm. They don’t get veggies as they both had loud gurgly tummies regardless of what veggies I tried. Instead they get some dried forage that I put on top of their hay so they get this at 5:30pm too along with a small treat.

[DarthVadar]

I give mine pellets in the morning at 7 and oats in the evening at 7, with hay and water available all day, and they all are happy. Veggies usually get fed in the morning when they are available (clover, dandelion, maple leaves and branches, etc). Mine are outside, so get 1/2 cup pellets and 2 tbsp oats per 6 lb bodyweight to sustain the caloric drain from keeping warm. I wouldn’t recommend this much for inside bunnies, though.

[MommaMay]

These all sound amazing but I’m just so flustered on what to pick! I think I’m gonna do something like a 7 am tbsp pellets, 9 am cup veggies , maybe a treat .. or two … until 7 at night, a tbsp pellets and maybe a pinch of veggies ..

[Asriel and Bombur]

I just don’t understand why you want to feed pellets and then greens two hours later. It just doesn’t really make any sense. Just keep your pellet feeding your pellet feeding and your greens feeding your greens feeding, and separate them by 10-14 hours. there’s really no reason or need to give greens 2 hours later after you’ve given pellets. and then another tbsp at night with a pinch of greens. It really isn’t that complicated and it doesn’t need to be. everyone is basically saying the same thing, just two separate feedings aside from a treat during the day.

[Lord Bonton]

Honestly ive always fed my fuzzers once a day, at night, before we go to bed. Gimly was very food oriented and would destroy his greens right away and nibble his pellets throughout the night. But he was also a very heavy hay smasher and seemed like he ate non stop lol. Bonton is basically the same way. we feed him at night before bed. He also eats a giant hay pile over night too, and i see him eat it right away in the morning and what seems like every 30 minutes after i get home.

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