Willows Diet

[Deleted User]

I was just wondering if this was okay. Willow gets around 1/4-1/2 a cup of pellets a day, with Unlimited Timothy hay, and a carrot I heard that your not supposed to give rabbits a whole carrot like every day to every other day. (ever once and a while she gets treats.)

[Beka27]

the hay is great, the pellets can probably be reduced to 1/8-1/4 cup depending on how big she is. the carrot should be eliminated with the exception of a couple *matchstick* carrots (not baby carrots!), the itty bitty sliver ones 3x a week.

she needs fresh veggies as well, these are very important to her diet. 2-4 cups a day, at least 3 different kinds. but each one should be introduced gradually over the course of a week.

i am pretty sure i’ve already posted links to various diet articles. if you need them again, let me know and i will post them…

[Deleted User]

average sized rabbit not huge but she is no dwarf, well I can arange veggies what kinds are best though? yea can you post them again?

[Beka27]

yes, of course…

this is the BinkyBunny veggie list… it’s the most thorough one i’ve seen that has the good and bad veggies and fruit.  i have a printed out copy that i keep in my purse so when i go to the store, i can look at what veggies are good.

binkybunny.com/Default.aspx

this is the BinkyBunny diet info page… this has a good description of what a proper diet consists of, how to find a good pellet, and how to gradually introduce veggies.  this page is also located on the green bar at the top of the page: BUNNY INFO

binkybunny.com/Default.aspx

this is a very in-depth article that talks not only about what you need to feed, but WHY you have to feed it.  there is a section on what cannot be fed as well.  pay special attention to the veggies section b/c it gives really great info about why they are so important to the bunny’s diet.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

[JK]

You’re so good Beka…so good!

[Deleted User]

Thanks Beka

[Ana]

Yes she is! So i’m going to mooch off this thread and hopefully she can answer my question: I introduced veggies fast, I guess, on accident.  I gave about a day inbetween, ’cause I thought that was enough.  She’s been on veggies a week, and seems perfectly fine.  She loooooves them, and gets excited when I open the frige.  Is she going to be okay transitioning to veggies so quickly?

[MarkBun]

The doctors recommend a quarter cup of pellets per 4 pounds of bun.

[Beka27]

Posted By furbaby on 07/29/2008 1:10 PM

Yes she is! So i’m going to mooch off this thread and hopefully she can answer my question: I introduced veggies fast, I guess, on accident.  I gave about a day inbetween, ’cause I thought that was enough.  She’s been on veggies a week, and seems perfectly fine.  She loooooves them, and gets excited when I open the frige.  Is she going to be okay transitioning to veggies so quickly?

what veggies are you feeding her?  and how much of each?  if her poop seems normal, and she is enjoying them, i would keep with what you’re doing.  in the future, introduce only one new item per week, so if she does have a bad reaction, you can figure out what s causing it. 

on my printed out copy of the veggie list, i make a small notation next to each veggie i give them if they like it.  that way i can give different veggies each week.  i always give an herb (either parsley or cilantro) a green (dandelion, mustard or collard) and a 2 kinds of dark green lettuce (romaine, escarole, green leaf, red leaf, endive).  sometimes i’ll give something random like carrot tops, or watercress.  they get each of the veggies every day. 

as she gets used to the veggies, start cycling old ones out and adding new ones until you have about 10 or 12 that you know she likes.  this will give her variety and keep her interested.  also, if something is on sale one week, you can get that and save yourself a couple bucks.

[Ana]

I feed her a few leaves of whatever veggie (i.e. 2-3 kale branches) or good handful of radish/carrot tops.

Once a veggie is introduced and received well, it’s okay to give even if not regularly (like once a week)?

How much veggie should you give per pound of bunny? (She’s like 3 pounds and 7 months old.)  Thank you so much for all the guidance!

[Beka27]

2-4 cups per five pounds of bunny. you can’t really go wrong with more veggies as long as she eats hay as well. i give my two buns betw/6 and 8 cups per day, but they still eat a lot of hay. i spend approx. 20-25 dollars a week on veggies for two.

[Ana]

One last silly question. What is a “cup” exactly?  How do I measure that? Am I supposed to be chopping it up so I can measure?  Otherwise, how do you tell what is a cup in terms of tops and leaves?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I think about a handful is a cup…I don’t measure but it’s what would fit into a cup

[Beka27]

you can measure in a bowl. get a bowl for feeding the greens, note how much it holds and then pack it full.

[MooBunnay]

I probably feed my buns the minimum recommended veggies (since I have 7, I can’t afford the maximum ) but what I do is chop up the lettuce and then grab a big handful and that is how much they get. Just make them a nice big pile to munch on. You can tell if you have given too much, and they are not eating their hay, if they start getting any soft poops instead of the nice dry hard ones.

[Deleted User]

okay that would work for me.

[Beka27]

how is everything going? have you been able to introduce any veggeis yet?

[Deleted User]

Lol I just got them this morning I havent brought her in the house yet today but when I do I will give A little , I got romaine lettuce, Spinach , and Radish.

[Author]

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