Amount of food..

Iv read on here that most people only give an eggcup full of food a day.

I give much more than that, i give the recommended amount of food on the food bag, which varies for makes, but is a LOT more! For example, excel junior and dwarf recommends 40g for a mini lop (which the two that are on it are), which is about 5 eggcup fulls. Iv always given the recommended amount since having buns, as have my parents, and wev had no problems.

Should i feed the recommended amount, or do people think i should cut down? As iv said, wev never had any problems, no fat buns, all healthy poos, no dental problems other than one bun who wont eat any hay (although my other one of her age didnt either and she was fine). Im just really confused now...

Currently, as my mini lops are young theyre given much more, but they never eat it all anyway, and still eat lots of hay and veg no problem, so its not like providing the food is stopping them eating hay.

Also, i read some people give food at set 'meal times' like in the morning and at night and then take the bowl away.

Iv never done this in 21 years, i feed them in the morning and leave that all day, as mine have always grazed on it rather than eating it on one go, i was always told rabbits are natural grazers and eat consitantly, so i though this was best practice. they do get veg at meal times, as i dont want them eating in all in one go and getting runny poos, or it being left there and going limp (not that it ever gets chance!)

As i said, iv always done this, but since doing research on here i am umming and arrgging, im stuck between what i know has worked for me, and what lots of other people have said! Any advice woul be great thanks!

I hate to be controversal but I'd be inclined to stay as you are - if you've never had any weight probs or dental buns and they are still eating plenty of hay I'm not sure I'd want to risk changing their diet and poss upsetting everything.

Thanks. Well thats why im asking on here rather than just swapping over. Id probably stick with the way it is with my older bun, as she doesnt really touch her hay and she has lost weight before when iv cut down, and shes having other problems at the moment so definately dont want to upset her system!

But the two younger buns are 4 1/2 months and 11 weeks now, so while theyre younger i wanted to get it right for them. Reading the posts on here did make me question a bit the amount of food everyone else is feeding, as it seems so little, and definately not the weight recommended on the food packets, so if i swapped i was worried about them losing weight. The smaller amount mustnt be an issue for everyone else on here who uses that method, otherwise theyd have thin, sick buns, so im really not sure now:roll:

The babies dont eat all the food theyre given, and thats their choice, so obviously less food is suitable than the recommended, but saying that, they probably eat what it recommeneds for their weight if they were classed as adults...Since coming on here iv started to question everything, as everyone seems to be doing it differently, but as iv said iv never had problems other than my oldr bun that i have now, and shes just full of problems!:| Was not expecting the cost of the vets bills for her!lol. Luckily like everyone on here id rather spend the money getting her better, but so many people out there just let them suffer and die, they shouldnt be allowed pets if they cant afford them, thats my opinion anyway! (sorry if i offended anyone)

I feed 10g to two buns twice daily, whereas on the packet, it says 60g each daily, so I'd have to feed 120g a day!! :shock: I like to feed slightly more than an eggcupful (otherwise I'd feel like I'm starving them) but not as much as it says on the packet (remember, they are trying to make you use it up quickly, so you buy more packets more frequently). Rabbits are meant to graze constantly, but on hay and grass not pellets. Mine eat their pellets in about 1 minute, and I've never had to leave it down (except when they were babies and after their spay op). If your buns are healthy, then I'd stick with what you are doing, but I wouldn't do what you do as a rule.

Totally agree with you - I wouldn't generally do it but would be inclined not to change it if its working.

you are probably lucky enough to hve non piggy buns. I know with mine if I left them a large amount of pellets they would scoff the lot. Infact honey gave herself stasis by jumping onto the worktop with the pellets on and eating herself silly, ditto happened to a rescue bunny who ate so much he had difficulty breathing!

If you don't have any weight issues then stay roughly as you are, I would however cut down to the level of food that means when you come to refil there is nothing left. Leaving food out in the open is not a great idea as it encourages vermin. also you do want them to be eating their body size or more in hay each day so if they aren't doing that then perhaps cut them down a little further.

As your buns are young and still growing you may find that once they reach adulthood you will need to cut down on their pellets slightly to maintain their weight levels.

For the older rabbit, she does it all up, every last scrap normally, although she has had problems recently so does leave a few scraps now.

For the babies, im only giving them more than they eat as *apparently* they should have it adlib. They are in a shed, except the younger female whos currently in the house, so luckily we dont get rats or foxes or wild rabbits anywhere near them.

Im definately going to cut down the food for the young ones, i was thinking after they have recovered from being spayed and neutoured, they'll do my female in a few weeks, then the male when hes ready, so i thought as they might need a bit more energy after the op i wouldnt cut down until maybe 2 weeks after, cutting it down a bit slower to avoid upset.

Luckily my two young buns eat soooo much hay, you should see the pile of poo after a day!:lol: I use hay racks too, so its nice and fresh for them, but they also have hay in their bedding area, although thats not excel, its just meadow grass. God if i used the excel hay in their bed aswell its cost me a fortune:lol:

Lionheadluver...i never even thought about them trying to get us to buy more, thats a very good point! I dont know if mine graze just because theyre used to it being there, or because thats the way they want it, but id feel a bit guilty taking it away now as theyre not used to it! I have noticed my younger female picks at little bits throughout the day, only very small amounts, but then eats the majority over about an hour late at night, 10-11pm normally, but all the others iv had eat small bits all the time.

I might do an inbetween thing, and feed them half in the morning and half at night, so its fresher, BUT leave the bowl there throughout the day, so they can graze on the morning half throughout the day, if you get what i mean. That way itd be fresher for them, but i wouldnt feel guilty about taking it away!

I was worried about the tiny amount of food compared to the recommended, but lionheadlurver has helped settle my mind a bit! If i cut down i probably would give more than an eggcup full, the recommened works out at 5 each, so maybe 2 each...or maybe 1 1/2 each...id monitor their weight and behaviour, i guess thast the best indicator if its working!

Thanks for all your quick replies!

Hi there :wave:

I would say stick with what works for you, if your bunnies are healthy and happy.

We now give Biscuit no pellets at all (under vet instruction) she is totally on hay, veg and herbs. This is working for us but won't work for everyone.

I used to feed my two roughly an egg cup of pellets each but they have truly turned into eating monsters and are demolishing what appears to be whole fields of hay in minutes so have increased the amount of pellets they get, while watching to make sure they are eating enough hay.

At one point, they were eating £10 of Timothy Hay in a week :shock: I have now bought a £30 box of the stuff (much better quality) and stuff their hay rack with it twice a day - and it all gets eaten.