Should I be feeding less?

[Amys Animals]

I feel like Rascal and Valentine have put on some weight.  They feel so much heavier and fuller.  I am feeding them in the morning 1/4 cup pellets and at night 1/4 cup.  They eat out of the same dish. I feed them 2 – 2 1/2 cups of veggies each and unlimited hay.  I am feeling I need to cut back on pellets.  They probably weigh now 6 pounds. Maybe a little more….=/  Before they weighed 5 pounds each.  Marley weighs 3.3 pounds and gets 1/8 cup pellets a day but I am feeling I need to cut back on his pellets too so he doesn’t get fat.  How much pellets should I be feeding?  Rascal and Valentine are pellet monsters!  They hear the bag and go nuts.  Marley not so much.  He doesn’t go crazy for pellets but for his veggies he does.  I feed him about a cup of veggies and unlimited hay.  

I thought I was feeding correctly but they are gaining weight so I guess not.  

[tobyluv]

For 5 – 7 pound rabbits, it’s usually recommended that they get a total of 1/4 cup pellets a day. Are you feeding a total of 1/4 cup pellets twice a day to be shared between your two rabbits, or is it 1/4 cup per rabbit twice a day? If each rabbit is getting 1/4 cup of pellets a day, that shouldn’t cause a lot of weight gain, unless your rabbits are getting less exercise than they used to. If they only get 1/4 cup of pellets a day and get plenty of exercise, but they are gaining too much weight, then you probably do need to cut back a little. Sometimes rabbits can put on heavier coats in the winter which might make them appear larger, but you say that they feel heavier too. The only way to know their weight for sure would be to take them in to the vet to be weighed, but you probably don’t want to make a vet trip just for that.

Unlimited hay is always the right way to go, and the amount of veggies that you are giving them sounds fine.

[CamandBun1101]

They also say 1cup veggies for every 5lbs. Have the started getting many treats or fruits?

[Sarita]

This is the guidelines from House Rabbit Society:

What quantities of food should I feed mature adults? (1 to 5 years)

• Unlimited timothy, grass hay, oat hay, straw
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup pellets per 6 lbs. body weight (depending on metabolism and/or proportionate to veggies)
• Minimum 2 cups chopped vegetables per 6 lbs. body weight
• fruit daily ration no more than 2 oz. (4 TBL) per 6 lbs. body weight.

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html 

 

[Amys Animals]

Thanks! Yeah they get 1/4 cup twice a day to be shared. I rarely give them fruits and occasionally give them treats such as oxbow veggie cookies.

Maybe they just need more exercise.

[Stickerbunny]

I found my buns were not very good at sharing food. Stickers would eat way more than her share of pellets and Powder would hog the salads. So I started spreading the feedings out a bit more, so they each got a better share and they don’t gain weight from hogging parts of their diet and not getting a complete one.

Exercise would probably help too. Buns can get lazy sometimes.

[Author]

Messages