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How many pellets/muesli do you feed your bunnies?

sally1974

Wise Old Thumper
I know there are some people who literally only give theirs 3 or 4 pellets a day. I think I feed mine too much, but I'm nervous about cutting them down. They are all a good size, none are overweight and their poos are nice. But I still think I give them too much. I feed them in the morning then in the evening. They have constant hay(they are huge hay eaters) as well as veg. Do you think I need to cut down their pellets. Large handful in the morning and same in the evening?
 
Mine get an eggcupful each at night which I scatter. They have plenty of greens and eat a huge amount of hay.
 
I dont have a set amount but feed according to the individual Rabbit's needs. My oldies require a lot more hard feed than the younger ones.

I think if they all eat loads of hay, have healthy sized poo and are not overweight/gaining weight then what you are feeding must be correct for your Rabbits.

I know guidelines are useful, but I have never been one to stick to the rule book if the rules dont suit a specific Rabbit :D
 
ive managed to reduce my bunnies down to 7 ss pellets, smallish ones, they used to have 11 then 10, try to cut any further and mabel counts them :lol:
unless one of them becomes very underweight then I increase them again, they both have their pellets separate to make sure the other doesn't eat each others :lol:, there main diet is hay which they love
 
I also feed way too much - but do try to keep within 20grams per kg of bun. Try being the operative word - but when you've got a Bobo charging and grunting at his wife because he is hungry you have to give him a bit extra.

I have decided on some factors that dictate how much I feed:

Are they eating their cecals - if no, then definetly feeding too many pellets and cut back (only bun I've had this with is Harley)
Are their poops good?
Are their teeth okay?
Do they feel okay - ie. can I just feel their ribs, and hip bones
Are they active? An overfed bunny just flops around (well mine do anyway)
Do they eat the recommended amount of hay everyday?
And if in doubt - what does the vet and his scales say? So far all our buns are within their ideal weight range apart from Bobo and as we don't really know what he is, who knows what his weight range should be:roll:

If all the answers are yes - then I'm happy with the amounts - as soon as any answer is no, then it's time to cut back on pellets - slowly!
 
I feel like I over-feed my girly pellets but she's not overweight so I know not to be worried.

She gets an egg-cup full in the morning and then the same amount sprinkled in her hay digging box in the evening (she loves digging about looking for them)
Then she gets veg in the evening and has loads of hay.

She's healthy and 10 years old so her diet must be ok :D
 
Each of mine get 10g morning and night. The vet says they are lean but not underweight, so I feel they're getting the right amount.
 
5 rabbits in the shed (mini rex and dutch).....6 handfuls into one bowl
BFG (giant)....3 handfuls
Jack (giant cross).....2 handfuls
Gwen (giant cross)....2 handfuls

This is with Pets@home pellets.
 
Thanks everyone, it's nice to see how everyone varies with the amounts they feed. Jane I think you might be right, maybe mine are happy on the amount I give them.
 
To buck the trend here - my gang of French Lops and Giants are free-fed with a body-sized pile of long fresh hay and a 7" bowl of high-protein pellets daily. They're not overweight but exercise freely throughout the day, all day, every day. They eat well and poo well producing large (15mm) fibrous nuggets to be proud of.
 
My two pairs have different amounts.
The boys have 20gms between them due to tummy issues in one.
My m/f pair have 50gms between them.
 
As long as your rabbits are maintaining a healthy weight with whatever pellets you give them, and it's not causing them to be eating too little hay/grass for roughage, then feed as much as you like imo! I've noticed Nena needs more pellets after her period of being poorly, and if I cut down to what I used to give her before she drops a bit of weight. Mine personally have about 3 egg cup fulls between them per day.
 
I don't give my rabbits pellets anymore :wave: Their poops haven't changed since I stopped, they are still active, and haven't lost weight. Like Jane said it's important to do what's right for your rabbits.
 
Buster has an eggcup full a day, with a lot of hay and some greens everyday too.
He used to have a few more pellets when we first got him, but the vet said he had small spurs when he came to us so she recommended cutting his pellets down a bit to see if he would eat more hay. I think you generally know when it's enough.. well we certainly did! The vet originally told us to cut him down to only 10 pellets a day but he was such a pain in the bum, eating anything and everything he could get into as if he were hungry. He's calmed down a bit now he has his eggcup full and is still eating lots and lots of hay :)
 
I don't give my rabbits pellets anymore :wave: Their poops haven't changed since I stopped, they are still active, and haven't lost weight. Like Jane said it's important to do what's right for your rabbits.

What do you give them instead of the pellets to replace the nutrients? Do you give a lot of forage?
 
I feed 2-3 large handfuls a day but my 2 need it and my vet is fine with it. They're also on junior pellets rather than adult
 
As long as your rabbits are maintaining a healthy weight with whatever pellets you give them, and it's not causing them to be eating too little hay/grass for roughage, then feed as much as you like imo! I've noticed Nena needs more pellets after her period of being poorly, and if I cut down to what I used to give her before she drops a bit of weight. Mine personally have about 3 egg cup fulls between them per day.


I've noticed that too, when Mae was still alive she and Sebastian were on hay only for a while because of Maes tummy and both maintained weight really well but since then Sebastian was quite poorly and Imogen was very poorly and neither can keep their weight on very well now
 
Ted and rosie get 10 SS pellets each in the morning and evening. They get some veg in the morning and they are both very good hay eaters with big golden poops. Rosie has recently moulted (well it's been a few weeks now) though and her spine feels quite bony in her new coat. Behaviourally she's exactly the same though so I'm not worried but I'll see what vet says when I take her for vaccinations in the next few weeks
 
if they are fine on what you give them at the moment why change? I wouldnt change for the sake of reducing pellets like others have done its like jane says its different for each bun

i increase and decrease pellets according to their poops, weight and health
 
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