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free feeding vs limited pellets

liv862

liv862

Warren Scout
my two boy buns are about 13 weeks old, both hav been castrated and up since birth have been fed unlimited hay, forage and pellets as my understanding was that after weaning babies shud be free fed. they LOVE their hay and forage so no problem there, but since the neuter one of them has developed a serious taste for the pellets. if i try to do wot i did before and top up the bowl so its full in the evening, by the morning its nearly all gone and by the evening the bowl is empty!!! thats a good 250ml cupful of pellets a day and it just seems excessive! hes put on a load of weight and i know hes still growing but how much is too much???? i know its rude but his bum just looks so plump!! :oops:
any advice/opinions on feeding little buns?
 
I would top up morning and evening but leave them to eat forage and hay rest of the day ..

yes growing buns need more pellets than mature buns ... but sometimes if they are greedy they will get fat ... so rather than un limited I would go for two good feeds a day and encoutrage filling up on natural stuff in between .Each bun is different ...its about finding a balance . :wave:
 
Hi,

My young bunny Dougal is on unlmited burgess excel junior pelltes and Timothyhay which he loves and he now and again has dandelion mix herbs which I intrroduce recently and slowly. He looks a good weight but am going to weigh him just out of curiosity but he looks great, his coat is shiny and beautfilu and he seems happy and healthy and he gets pkenty of exercise so it is probably why he is not fat but all rabbits are different from what I have read up about them in books and online forums etc. My Dougal is 4 months old now, we got him at 9 weeks. We have been lucky that he has taken to the food change well as he was on chudleys rabbit royale when we got him from the breeded, he changed over gradually and well and took to timothy hay fantastic.
 
Bunnies that are castrated and indoors tend to need less pellets, as they have lower energy requirements. Keep in mind baby wild rabbits grow up just on spring grass. I would say it's fine to limit pellets and just keep an eye on condition, you can always add in more if necessarily. I think it's much more important for babies to get into good hay eating habits :)
 
fab thanks everyone i think Rolo (the pellet muncher) at least is gonna hav to be fed less pellets. going to vets this week for post neuter check up so ill ask for them to be weighed. but how do i know what weight is good and whats too much for his age/breed? i think hes a lionhead/dutch cross but its hard to say as father is unknown. any links to information on rabbit weight too wud be good pls?
his mother is definitely too fat shes already on restricted pellets. i assume that he and his mum will need different amounts, how much is a decent portion?
poor buns hav been living it up eating loads of pellets nd i feel super stingy givin them so little but they need to eat their hays!!! mummy bun seriously doesnt seem to like hay :(
thanks again xxx
 
You are not being stingy, just responsible. I know it may seem stingy but not at all. When I cut mine down when he is 6 months and change him gradually to adult pellets I will feel stingy too but it is for their own good. You are doing the right thing. I have not had mine neutered yet and he has free pellets as I said but he doesn't eat them too fast, well at least I don't think he does anyway but keeping a close eye on him etc to be sure. I don't know the ideal weight either, have you tried looking online? and in books? I find reading up on this forum and others and books help a lot or you could just ask your vet when he goes for the check up. :D
 
Oh and with Hay , have you tried mixing herbs or the excel herbage of forage to try and get her to eat the hay? I have read this can help. Maybe people woth more experience than me have better ideas.
 
unlimited access to pellets = fat bunnies, very fat bunnies. we did this for the first year we had a rabbit and he ate and ate until he was mahhooosive , then we learned and now we keep them lean with unlimited access to hay and only minimal pellets , some small veggie treats
 
Tamsin said:
Bunnies that are castrated and indoors tend to need less pellets, as they have lower energy requirements. Keep in mind baby wild rabbits grow up just on spring grass. I would say it's fine to limit pellets and just keep an eye on condition, you can always add in more if necessarily. I think it's much more important for babies to get into good hay eating habits :)
Click to expand...

:thumb::thumb:
 
Weight varies so much even in pure breed rabbits that you need a weight for your bunny not an average. With bunnies being so little a few hundred grams either way can make a big difference. If you ask the vet when you see them, they'll be able to tell you the current weight and if it's about right. Then you can keep a note. My vets tend to write it on the vaccination card, he's been 1.4kg, 1.4kg, 1.38kg, 1.4kg the last few years.
 
fab sound advice as always thanks bunny fans :D ill ask wen i take him in if hes overweight, talk to them bout amount of pellets etc. i need to get the vets cards for them all cos im moving soon so will be changing vets, am gonna come home with a load of paperwork :thumb:
as for mummy Maisy, i give her a generous pinch of excel mountain meadow forage mixed in with her hay and she loves the forage but kind of sorts thru the hay looking for the nice stuff :oops: she eats some of this brand of hay but not as much as the boys. theyre on excel herbage hay with dandelion bits, were on P@H normal hay then their timothy hay but she didnt go for those at all. any suggestions on tasty brands?
thanks everybody,
liv xxx
 
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