Pellet Free Diet?

This should probably be in the diet section but I know it will get more response here

I am seriously considering putting our buns on a hay only diet and cutting out pellets completely. Their diet will then consist of LOADS of hay (different varieties), dried and fresh herbs and grass/dandilions and a selection of fresh veg.
What do you think?

Has anyone tried it?

I think it would be really nice for them to have as natural a diet as possible and the money we save on pellets will go on varieties of hay.

Thank you

A hay ONLY diet is not recommended because they can't get all the nutrients they need, however, a pellet free diet can be done.

They obviously need unlimited hays, but they also need a wide selection of fresh foods to ensure that they get the right vitamins and minerals and don't get deficient. It definitely can be done with non picky bunnies though

Sky-O said:

A hay ONLY diet is not recommended because they can't get all the nutrients they need, however, a pellet free diet can be done.

They obviously need unlimited hays, but they also need a wide selection of fresh foods to ensure that they get the right vitamins and minerals and don't get deficient. It definitely can be done with non picky bunnies though

Click to expand...

Have changed the name of the thread

Billy and Bonnie are on hay and veg ...the vet recommended it because Billys teeth aren't good ,they seem to be doing fine on it but did act as though they were ravenous at first :lol:....don't know about just hay though.

I have edited it as I really didn't mean Hay ONLY. They will, of course, still be getting herbs (dried and fresh) and fresh veg.

I would like to mimic a wild rabbit's diet as much as possible whilst keeping them healthy and a good weight.

They all LOVE their hay and get excited over it but they also love their pellets so I don't think it would go down too well to start with! :lol:

I think as long as the bunnies are healthy then cutting pellets out would be fine, as long as they're getting their nutrients and dietry requirements from their hay/fresh food.

I sometimes don't give one of my bunnies pellets, because when he is moulting heavily he seems to turn his back on hay and has had stasis a few times with this. So I take his pellets to try and make him eat his hay instead, and it sometimes works! But I only give mine six pellets each anyway. :lol: They think I'm meeeean.

It's not something I would advocate for very old or very young rabbits, or for specialist breeds such as giants...but might be worth a try if your rabbits are fit and healthy adults.

I used to feed mine similar (mainly hay and grass/weeds) and their coats were lovely.

Dusty lived for 6 months on a hay only diet (hay plus dried herbs only), because that was all her gut could handle. I firmly believe it lengthened her life.

Is there any reason to cut out pellets? (i.e. health probs?)

i have been thinking about this myself, but my buns love the pellets so much plus i think it helps maintain their weight as their are not out at grass very often. but sortof would like to give it a go.

Oddly enough, Dusty didn't lose a single gram in weight by moving to hay only - she was regularly being weighed at the vets.

If "Hay only" includes greens, then I'd say yes, go for it! Vera

Well, Sooty has a virtually pellet free diet, 6 per day due to her previously being a bit rotund

She grazes grass all day, has 2 bowls of leaves/herbs per day, 2 grapes and 2 Blueberries, and is doing fine.

Best anyone could do really is only feed natural stuff hay/grass/greens.
The pellets and commercial food all lead to health problems if only used or too much used. Best diet any bun can have is grinding teeth action stuff rather than crunching stuff as this stops most health problems. Teeth tend to be better, leading to know problems cleaning grooming dirty botts. If bots clean not so much problem with flies. Guts are healthier and so on.
It just seems cruel to us if buns have been fed this all time. You wouldnt like not having something forever so perahaps you could give them a little now and then.
My boy was recommeneded by vet to stop pellets completely as he doesnt need them and eats loads of hay if hes hungry. I do give him 5 morn and night though as I feel shocking as Angel has to have loads as she cant eat hay/grass.
But on sundays I give mine both fruity rabbit brunch (coloured **** that you shouldnt feed buns) they only get spoon each but its a change for them and they love/look forward to it.
Although you shouldnt do this either as it can lead to stomach problems changing diets. Mine are both fine and our vet knows about it and said it was ok!

YES! I do it for both my rescue buns and they thrive on it :wave:
Neither have lost any weight, in fact my male has gained it recently purely on veggies and hay!! But he's a greedy little man :lol:

Seriously, yes it is entirely possible but it requires a bit more money in terms of buying/growing veggies and expensive hays in order to provide variety. You have to also pay attention to the type and amount of veg/herbs you feed daily.
Buns who are not eating pellets require a Vitamin A rich vegetable daily:
Vit A rich veggies are cabbage, brocoli, carrot tops, watercress, parsley or beetroot greens (remembering that beetroot greens are high in Oxalates so feed sparingly) - you must feed one of these daily.
Buns on no pellets can have more of the veg which is high in calcium - these are watercress, kale, dandelions, parsley, spinach and chinese cabbage. Buns on some pellets should really only have moderate calcium sources or high calcium sources as a treat.

I would recommend finding a good base hay that you feed daily that gives a good variety of grasses. I use the timothy rich West Wales Willows Hay from the Willow Warren, and then add to this a variety of other hays such as Oat, meadow, and pure timothy. I also feed daily a handful of dried herbs and flowers and my buns have access to fresh herbs and apple leaves and other bunny safe plants around the garden.

Both my buns have molar spurs. Nino is prone to stasis/bloat episodes from stress, and Poppy can't tolerate pellets at all as has a very sensitive gut. These are the reasons I follow this diet and I can say without a shadow of a doubt it works a treat. But it is time consuming and expensive. Good luck in whatever you decide to do

Yes, just to add, when I used hay and dried herbs only, I used a wide variety of hays, not just one.

I cut out pellets for my three kiddy buns as I kept seeing sticky poos even though they were only on half an egg cup full each. I made sure I gave them Oat Wheat and Barley hay at breakfast time so they still felt like they cwere getting something to look forward to - they did really well without the pellets but become greedy begging creatures for the Oat Wheat & Barley :roll::lol: