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Rabbit/Guinea Pig hay/veg only diet. Opions, advice and help please!

youthnovels

Wise Old Thumper
Yesterday I took my bunny/piggy crew to a vets which is highly recommended on here. The vet, although pleased with their condition and no health issues*, suggested that I should ween the rabbits/pigs onto a hay/leafy green only diet and seemed to be very anti pellets.

*Maisie (piggy) has slightly overgown back teeth but apparently no cause for concern ... yet. With a hay only diet the vet is confident the problem should rectify itself.

I explained that they only get half a cup between two of them every day but he wasn't impressed really.

Now it's making me feel like I should give it a go but I'm terrified that I won't give them enough minerals and vitamins. So how much veg is needed per rabbit/piggy. All the rabbits are around 2kg.

Also, has anyone tried this and if so what are your experiences?
 
I am pro rabbits having a high hay/grass diet and a small amount of veg, a cup of kale, greens and some carrot and herbs once a day. I do still give my rabbits pellets first thing in the morning but only a small handful between them both. It really isn't necessary but it reassures me that they are both healthy as they binky like mad until they get them, a sign that they are fit and well.

The guinea pigs are a different matter. I did experiment a few months back and cut back on their pellets slowly. Up till this, I was topping up their food bowls twice a day! Most of my pigs lost some weight and one of my pigs was losing weight because of dental problems anyway and he didnt need to lose more. Also, I was concerned about them getting enough vitamin D as, unlike rabbits, guineas cannot go outside in the cold, rain etc so their time outdoors is more limited. Although hay dried outside in the sunshine contains vitamin D, the levels are just not measurable and those that buy pre packaged hay cannot know if the hay is factory dried or air dried.

For these reasons, I decided to continue with feeding pellets for both rabbits and guineas but the guineas get a bowl a day between 2 whereas the rabbits get a fraction of that amount. I also feed SS pellets to the rabbits as I feel it is the best pellet food.

Proportionally, the rabbits and guineas get 95% really good quality varied hays, with veg and then pellets making up the rest. Guineas need a more varied vegetable diet than rabbits as guineas do not 'make' their own vitamin C.
 
My three have been on a hay and veggie diet for the past four years. The vets always tell me that they have wonderful teeth and it's due to their diet.

Instead of pellets I give them a handful of dried herbs each morning and night (dandelion, ribwort or parsley stalks from Zooplus) - they love these almost as much as pellets.

There's not really much variety in pellets. Sure, they get the basic nutrients, but you dont know what other nutrients they might be missing. So I think a range of veggies/herbs/garden plants is better. But then my rabbits get out in the garden a lot aswell.

I only use pellets as a last resort when I cant get the rabbits to get back in their hutch, or when it's really cold in winter.
 
Thankyou guys! I'm just a bit nervous about it all really! I'll start weening them off the pellets slowly ...
 
Sorry to bring up an older thread but just was wondering a similar thing although different situation....
My rabbits are only 5 months and 4 months old so I understand they should be having unlimited pellets. One of mine has always had excess cecotropes so I decided to change them onto mainly hay. At the moment (well for the last few days) they are getting all hay and a small handful of pellets between them in the morning.
I'm not too sure I'm doing the right thing? They had started on some herbs...mainly parsley and basil but I cut them out whilst trying too discover the root of the problem. I will obviously re introduce soon but don't want to cause any tummy upsets with constant changing. The problem is its almost impossible to tell whos the one with the problem so there both on the same diet!!
 
mine have very few pellets morning and evening. last summer they didn't have any, and if the weather warms up again they won't have any this summer either. i don't heat the house, so even though they are indoors i like them to have some 'easy energy' in cold weather to help them keep warm

the vet is always admiring of their 'excellent condition'...
 
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