I hve been feeding Buttons (13 weeks) a small amount of dried food, which is a mixture of nuggets and muesli, in the mornings and then topping up hay everyday. He gets so excited to have his dried food that I'm wondering if he is hungry and should I be feeding him more. As yet he has had no fresh veg or greens. He does eat alot of hay throughout the day and night but is practically fighting me for the food before I can open the hutch. Do you think I should increase the times I feed him the food?
-
Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
am i feeding enough?
- Thread starter dcs
- Start date
MichG
Mama Doe
I can't really help too much as I am in a similar position with my 8 week old, when I go for the nuggets she acts like I have never fed her before and gets so excited! I tried feeding her more but she stopped eating her caecels so I reduced to an eggcup size and just left her on hay.
I think it is best to stick to a small amount, if they are hungry they will eat the hay which is the best thing for them anyway
I think it is best to stick to a small amount, if they are hungry they will eat the hay which is the best thing for them anyway
fruitandnutcake
Mama Doe
I think most bunnies just love nuggets and go mad for them - making you think that they are starving! But as long as they have plenty of hay, they will not be hungry! I've reduced my buns down to 17g of nuggets each a day - split into two meals - and scatter them amongst the hay. I also give the odd cabbage leaf and dandelions/chickweed from the garden. But they have plenty of hay.
I measured my egg cup - and it held about 13g of nuggets
I measured my egg cup - and it held about 13g of nuggets
I'm in the process of introducing nuggets, so I am slowly mixing it with the museli given to me when I had the rabbit. I give him about an egg cup full a day.
Great advice so far about nuggets and amounts but it's hay which is the important part. She really needs unlimited amounts all through her life as it is great for teeth and the digestive system. I give mine tonnes of hay (2 hanging baskets full, plus a few underbed storage boxes as litter trays containg hay in their kennel) so I only top up once a day but if you are only giving a small basket of it it needs to be topped up at least twice daily as it must never be empty :wave:.
Great thread :thumb:
I was wondering the same thing, my 3 bunnies (9 weeks) almost knock me over with their excitement about getting their nuggets (mixed with muesli as I am having to gradually swap to the nuggets from the muesli) and the hay doesnt seem to be going down that much.
I noticed a few soft poos this morning in the hutch and I think a caecel (looks like a small set of poos in a bunch?). There were thousands of normal ones though :lol:
They have about a handful of muesli and a handful of nuggets between the 3 of them and they are gone in about ten minutes bar a few.
The hay I was given runs out today so I will be giving them the Pets@home hay after ... lets see if they eat more of that.
I was wondering the same thing, my 3 bunnies (9 weeks) almost knock me over with their excitement about getting their nuggets (mixed with muesli as I am having to gradually swap to the nuggets from the muesli) and the hay doesnt seem to be going down that much.
I noticed a few soft poos this morning in the hutch and I think a caecel (looks like a small set of poos in a bunch?). There were thousands of normal ones though :lol:
They have about a handful of muesli and a handful of nuggets between the 3 of them and they are gone in about ten minutes bar a few.
The hay I was given runs out today so I will be giving them the Pets@home hay after ... lets see if they eat more of that.
Do you mean P@H brand of hay? If so I doubt they will be too fond of it as it's not very nice. I buy my hay in lovely fresh bales from a farm and my lot love it. It's only £6 a bale too which is bargain.
As far as the unlimited pellets thing goes there are 2 schools of thought on it. Some people say that baby rabbits need unlimited pellets as they are growing but others think that you should start as you mean to go on by feeding a small amount of pellets and unlimited hay with a few veggies thrown in.
tiger_lily
Mama Doe
fruitandnutcake did you mean 17g each bunny?
I read somewhere that bunnies need unlimited nuggets until they get to a certain age ... can anyone comment on that please ... and most definately thank you
Personally I think start as you mean to go on with a small amount of pellets. I started with just over an eggcup of pellets for Oscar (he's a Netherland Dwarf) but when we took him to the vets at 6 months we were told to cut down because he was getting a bit chunky :? He has a tablespoon a day now.
He always acts as if he is starving though!
some bunnies do need more and i owuld think a young or growing rabbit would need more food, in saying this if lots of hay is being eaten and poops are correct size and bun not underweight its probebly fine, my buns are all on the top of the wieght scale but i find that coco needs more pellets than the others to remain healthy if i cut down his pellets he goes into stasis and or his snuffles returns as long as the rabbits are healthy and not overwieght or producing unhealthy poos then i think you are alright. x
Just wanted to tell you before you waste your money that the P@H hay is not great quality. I think it makes a good bedding hay though as it is quite soft. P@H do however sell Alfalfa King (the brand) Timothy Hay which I think is good, and the Excel hays which are okay. Their Woodlands range is okay, but very expensive for what it is.
For good quality hay I use Hay for Pets for the main hay, and then treat hays bought from The Hay Experts, which stocks loads of different brands.
ooooh thank you for that, put the pets@home hay in this afternoon and I they didnt look too excited.
hmm ... need to look around then. We live in the country with plenty of farms about but I wasnt aware of any of them actually selling hay. I will have a look at hay experts then.
Thanks for that, as a complete and utter novice ... I kinda thought hay was hay :shock:
I have decided an egg cup full each is what they are getting, I noticed a few more squidgy pooos this afternoon, and also, as has already been said, start as you mean to go on.
Thanks ever so much :wave:
hmm ... need to look around then. We live in the country with plenty of farms about but I wasnt aware of any of them actually selling hay. I will have a look at hay experts then.
Thanks for that, as a complete and utter novice ... I kinda thought hay was hay :shock:
I have decided an egg cup full each is what they are getting, I noticed a few more squidgy pooos this afternoon, and also, as has already been said, start as you mean to go on.
Thanks ever so much :wave:
I'm sure one of them must sell hay. Try asking google for hay in your area :wave:
What brand of pellets are you using? Excel is known for making buns produce excess caecotrophs.
fruitandnutcake did you mean 17g each bunny?
I read somewhere that bunnies need unlimited nuggets until they get to a certain age ... can anyone comment on that please ... and most definately thank you
this thread will help you understand why it is important NOT to give unlimited pellets to your young rabbit. http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=88586&highlight=unlimited the only people / animals that benefit from giving unlimited is the vets due to increased gut and dental problems, pet shops and the makers of pellets.
Look for places where they sell horse supplies, you will be able to buy a bale from there very cheaply. You can always add some nice hays from places like the hay experts to use as a treat, they have a sample pack which is a good way to start to give you an idea of your buns preferences.
Nice one Janice. Logic has always told me not to feed unlimited pellets but I have been told a few times by other forum members not to tell people to restrict pellets for baby rabbits. As I have always had adult buns (but worked with baby buns on the odd occasion) then I have been diplomatic and just mentioned both ideas when people have been looking for advice.
fruitandnutcake
Mama Doe
fruitandnutcake did you mean 17g each bunny?
I read somewhere that bunnies need unlimited nuggets until they get to a certain age ... can anyone comment on that please ... and most definately thank you
yep - 17g of nuggets each per day. But mine are definitely not babies! And Bugsy is a little "on the heavy side". I'm not sure if they really need unlimited nuggets when young - but certainly need unlimited hay!
fruitandnutcake
Mama Doe
This is unlimited hay
I brought two bales - intending to use them as seats - one bale fell apart oops - so I now have hay up my drive and down my garden path!
I brought two bales - intending to use them as seats - one bale fell apart oops - so I now have hay up my drive and down my garden path!
