French Lop - When is it time to switch to "Mature" pellets?

He-Man is a 3 year old French Lop who's diet consists of Science Selective Rabbit pellets, hay (I switch it up so he doesn't get bored, but generally he likes Oxbows Orchard Hay), fresh greens and lots of grass (, free range of the garden from 8/9am until 8/8.30pm at the moment).

My question is when do I put him on Science Selective Mature 4+ Rabbit pellets? Frenchies have a shorter lifespan due to their larger size so do you think I should buy a small bag and gradually introduce it to him as he's 3 or wait until he's 4?


He-Man relaxing.

I do wonder if it is just a marketing ploy. I use 4+ SS for my rabbits, one of which is mature at 11 this year but to be honest we have no idea how old the other one is.

Your rabbit probably gets all he needs from his free ranging (which mine do) and his hay. Pellets are really just a treat so I would not worry about it unduly. I am probably just sucked in by the marketing but they eat so little (handful between them once a day) that I doubt it really matters

No idea but just wanted to say he's gorgeous

Love the name too!

Thank you, he is a handsome boy but he knows it so can be a mischievous and naughty because he knows mummy loves him.

And thank you Cara. You're probably right. I need to be more disciplined and give him less pellet feed like you in the hope he lasts 11 years. That's a great age!

What a gorgeous rabbit, mine has a cheeky streak too , this morning he knocked down his castle right in fromt of me on purpose then nudged it with his nose and nudged me to put it back up lol. He is only a young 4 month old, I hope mine lives 11 + too. That's brill. I agree with above comment about not being the most important part of his diet, atm mine is free fed as he is young then I must cut down, are you finding it hard to cut down because he is so handsome? :lol:

haha. Your bun sounds adorable!!! That naughty streak is so cute.. they're too charming and they know it!


lol. That's partly the reason.

He-Man eats practically anything! The shed floor is covered with linolium, as is his bedroom level. On the shelf (bedroom level) the lino was stapled to the side and underneath, so he couldn't get to the edge of it, but the lil blighter just started eating it from the corner of the shelf. Figured we'd fit a metal edge strip bar on it, and still somehow he managed to get his teeth into it, so the lino has been ripped up from his shelf and he has carpet there now.

Dad fits windows for a living and has these long hard-plastic strips which are a good 12-15 feet in length, so he had some strips laying in the garden for a day for a job he was planning to do... He-Man had chewed those and got us in the dog house.

Wooden table and chairs we get out the conservatory for the summer, he's chewed those. He's gone in the conservatory and chewed the furnature AND mum's books... boy was she upset. He chews the fence. His giant cardboard "wendy house". (Yep, despite having a shed he likes to sleep in a box in the garden, lil tramp. haha) All sorts.

So, he gets fed because he's a giant eating machine, and he has plenty of toys to chew (willow rings, seagrass mats, bristle balls etc.) but he is overweight and I know it's only going to put more a of strain on him. As it is I flip him on his back and clean his "area" because he can't reach and I've been trimming his coat around his back end, under his back legs and even his tail because he got matted, so I'm brushing him underneath too. I know a diet would make him more capable and more comfortable, so I have to cut back, but I do worry because I once made a stupid mistake and bought a rabbit kit which was actually unwell at the time and she died less than 48 hours later of GI Stasis, so maybe subconsciously I'm being too generous with He-Man because I fear losing him to the same awful affliction.

Yes he is thanks, he is very cheeky and he knows how to get my attention but he is mostly very good, thank god he has not destroyed everything like yours lol, he sounds so funny and adorable yours and very mischievous, I think he probably senses he will get away with it and pushing the boundaries with you but they do know how to wrap us humans around their bunny paws lol. A diet would be a good idea, cutting him down should not cause any illness and it should encourage him to eat more hay. I know it is hard , I have not cut mine down yet with only being 4 months old, it will be strange at first and seem like yer stinging on them but it is for their own good.

He sounds very spoilt and obviously has lots of things to play with, love and attention, I don;t know about how to stop them chewing as have not had that problem, well not yet anyways, I don't think bitter sprays work but it sounds like he is just one of those buns that likes to chew anything and no matter what you try he may still do it but I may be wrong as I am not experienced enough yet. I did have a problem with Dougal a month back when he tried stripping the wall paper off the walls lol he likes me to play with him in the morning so because I was lying in and til very late either lol but to him it seemed too long , but because of this he decided he would pull wallpaper off, I heard him and went in and caught him. I then pushed him away gently and said no and he came back and I did the same and put a tile against it so he moved to find the next joining line and started on another bit, so kept repeating this until he finally learnt not to and the tiles stopped him (kinda). He started knocking the tiles over to get to the wall again , he learnt though and has not done this since but he does still knock one over and tries to get behind his bedroom door as he has his own bunny room lol (spoilt). He knows if he does this I will come in to stop him and play chase. His way of attention seeking when he does anything naughty but luckily that is not too often. For his age he is brilliant and he does not pee on the floor or spray his pee on the floor or us or anything so proud of him but he is cheeky and has his moments. He is bossy too but adorable with it. :lol:

I hope you get on okay with He-man and he is so cute btw. Keep me posted on how he does with a his diet and I am sure he will not get ill like the other rabbit which I am very sorry to hear about too. I would just keep an eye on him and you are bound to be more paranoid about him having the same fate, very easy to worry. I have been reading up on rabbit illnesses etc and I keep thinking has he got this, has he got that, is there something wrong? I think I get very paranoid too but it is easy to when they are so complex little animals and our babies. :wave: