Switching Diet after Adoption

[GeorgieTheBunny]

It’s been a week and a half since I brought home a new adopted bunny.

She is just over a year old and scored perfectly on the vet check during intake at the humane society (healthy weight as well).

I’m concerned about diet changes from what she was used to at the shelter versus what we intend at home.

At the shelter bunnies got greens every 3 days
We are giving her just less than the 1/2 cup twice daily suggested serving for a 1.66kg dwarf so she can adjust.

Because of household allergies we serve oxbow orchard grass exclusively; there is a full hopper at all times above her litter box.

The shelter had a full bowl of pellets for her AT ALL TIMES which freaks me out. The bowl had rainbow coloured pieces in it :/ apparently they were going from that rainbow crap to oxbow a adult rabbit pellets. We are transitioning for oxbow the martins little friends because the oxbow 5th ingredient is cane molasses.
For her weight she should have 1/8cup pellets daily. We have been using a 1/4 measuring cup and filling the cup 2/3 (just more then the 1/8cup) the way and giving pellets intermittently during the day… Some when we get up, some at bedtime and randomly for he rest.

My concern is how desperate Hazel seems for the pellets whenever we give her some. No pellet is left unconsumed. I know that she has hay 24/7 but I feel like she’s constantly hungry based on how excited she gets about the pellets.

Thoughts?

[BanditCamp]

I would sprinkle pellets into hay to promote hay consumption. As a baby rabbit my bunny only gets greens now and then. Since your bunny is am adult 1 year old. What I’ve been recommended by my vet is unlimited hay, 1/4 cup pellets and a mix of veggies and greens at feeding time with a few treats for weight.

[sarahthegemini]

Most bunnies will act like they are starving when offered pellets. I wouldn’t be concerned about that.

[ThorBunny]

Wow I’m happy she is getting on such a better diet! I wouldn’t worry about her seeming starving for pellets. At pellet time, I get circled, honks and binky/thumps in anticipation – you would think we never fed her Thor gets 1/4 cup pellets every day, and they are consumed right away with not a pellet to spare.

Does she eat hay well?

[GeorgieTheBunny]

She isn’t eating her hay well by our standards.

Our Rainbow Bridge bun Georgie ate more but I don’t have “metrics” on consumption as the feeder is large and we keep it full enough for days.

Pellets in the hay wouldn’t work because of the feeder style :/

[Starla]

Try different types of hay, some rabbits prefer some types over another. You could also sprinkle some Alfalfa Hay on top of a hay holder/bin/rack and your bun may be more motivated to eat, I sometimes use the Alfalfa Hay in my O & A blend of hay as a hay topper to motivate more hay eating! This works because a bun can’t see what they are eating, only smell. So if they like Alfalfa and smell it they will normally eat the hay surrounding it as well. Also, try having hay around the cage. I actually put hay right by the door of both of my buns cage, I’m not sure why but they do eat it. Also if your bun makes a hay mess all over the cage, don’t clean it up right away. I’ve seen my buns walk and eat around their cage. Try to have hay everywhere your bun hangs, this is what I do. It may look messy but if it works it’s worth it. Hay bins/holds/hangers are great of course but I’ve found my buns eating more off the floor of their cage then from their actual bin/holder. I wouldn’t put any hay toppers on the floor tho, just in the buns hay holder/bin/rack. 

[Starla]

Also, my bun who eats a lot of hay (especially compared to the other) goes crazy over pellets. She will run up to me while I have it in the scoop and eat it out of my scoop. She does this, but eats lots and lots of hay. I do what I said above for both rabbits. This bun I’m talking about it Severus and she is 9 pounds (large rabbit, not obese). My other bun who doesn’t eat as much hay as I would like (he is doing better now with the things I said above) doesn’t act crazy over pellets but clearly prefers it over hay. He is Houdini, 3 pound jersey wooly. Houdini is also shy and bearly eats in front of me. He ate his treats in front of me at first and he has just started eating his veggies in front of me. I usually feed him veggies at night, he wouldn’t eat them until I turned the lights off. He rarely eats his hay or pellets in front of me but is starting to more & more. I’m guessing since he is a newer bun maybe that is why, I’m not sure. This bun also won’t touch anything even treats if he’s outside his cage. Thinking about how Houdini is, your bun may just warm up to it after time.

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