Transitioning from unlimited pellets?

[KytKattin]

I am getting my little Eclipse back soon. Right now she has a diet that is unlimited Oxbow timothy pellets, no hay, and romaine and carrots as treats. Obviously not so great, though physically she is pretty healthy and doesn’t have any problems with poopy butt. She has been well loved and looked after, despite not being what I would personally do.

My plan of attack (please weigh in on this part with suggestions) is below.

Week 1: Keep everything pretty much the same and let her get adjusted to her new home. Offer timothy or orchard hay 24/7 in addition to her current diet.

Week 2: Reduce pellets to twice daily feedings, to like 1/2 cup per feeding. Reduce number of carrots, introduce other leafy green (I have to be careful with what I choose as she has had problems in the past with getting really gassy/stasis with certain greens). Maybe dandelion greens? I need to look at the list, it has been a while.

Week 3: Further reduce pellets to once daily, 1/2 cup. Reduce carrots to one baby carrot per day, introduce a third green.

Do you think that is too quick to reduce the pellets? Should I see how much hay she is eating to make up for that? I will slowly reduce the amount I give in the morning until I eliminate that feeding during the second week. I will keep her at 1/2 cup to make sure she is maintaining weight/not losing too quickly (she is a little chunky) for at least a month after that. I haven’t seen her in a while, but she should weigh about 6 lbs, she probably weighs about a pound too much.

Thanks for any input! 

[Sarita]

How old is she?

[Elrohwen]

How fast you reduce the pellets depends a lot on how much she’s currently eating. If it’s unlimited, it’s hard to say if she’s eating 1/2c per day, 1c per day, etc.

For a small adult rabbit, I would reduce down to max 1/4cup within a couple weeks, especially if she’s chunky. I would increase the greens pretty quickly as well. Start out with something mild, may a leaf on the first day, then a few on the next day, and get up to 1-2c of greens a day within a couple days. Unless her tummy is sensitive, I don’t think she’ll have an issue.

[jerseygirl]

My goodness Kytkattin! Hi !

Lol, haven’t seen you about for some time.

Happy news you’re welcoming Eclipse back. : )
Weight loss is important of course but best done slow and steady. Too fast is risky.
I hope her feet are holding up ok with the extra pound she’s carrying.

[KytKattin]

Hmm… How old is she. She is definitely older now. I want to say at least 5…

Oh, I found it. Her birthday is Mar 14, 2008. So she is 6, which does make her a senior. Since she is keeping on weight, unlimited pellets will obviously not be needed at this time, but at least it is an option as the years go on. It also means that I will probably reduce the pellets slower.She really has had a lot of sensitive stomach issues in the past, at least being prone to gas, so I will be very careful about introducing greens.

Thanks for the welcome back Jerseygirl! She is actually looking really good for her age and little bit of chunkiness, though her nails still look long on her no matter how short you cut them (because she is a rex and her fur is short). Otherwise her feet are great, her coat is still soft.

Let’s see, I don’t have it yet, but I probably will by the time she gets here. I will have a new kitchen scale that I can use to see how many pellets she is eating on a daily basis.

[Andie101]

I’m thinking maybe intolerance for veggies is from not having hay in the diet. I think most bunnies (not all) are pretty okay with any leafy veg as long as they mostly eat hay. Pellets don’t have enough fiber and I’ve seen bunnies get a sticky butt from people buying cheap low fiber pellets (trying to save money) as well. (even if they are only just eating pellets, no treats either. Obviously not recommended but seriously….some PEOPLE!)

Some bunnies just are sensitive though, thank god mine aren’t! Just picky, sigh.

Parsley seems like a safe bet to me, or cilantro. 

[Andie101]

Wait, that’s why my mini rex’s nails look so long? Of course! I thought it was just because the breeder left them too long, but I’ve been whittling back the quick for ages now and they still really stick out!

[KytKattin]

Her sensitivity was back when she was on a better diet with me before I had college and could only take one bunny with me. Bok choy was just the worst for her. My boyfriend and I would stay up until the wee hours of the morning massaging her so she would finally poop! I think the herbs you mentioned, plus the romaine she is already on will be a good place to start.

And yes, her nails are as short as can be without cutting the quick, they just look terrible. I actually took her and my former rabbit, Nova to be bonded at a HRS event, and the ladies there kept commenting on how long her nails were. Eventually one of them picked her up and looked at them in a light and realized that they are just that way, I really do keep her nails as short as I can!

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