opinions on going pellet-free?

Hey all
I know i posted a while ago about worrying if maybe i wasn't feeding enough pellets, but now im thinking the opposite, that they are kinda unnecessary... So those of you with pellet free buns, what do your buns eat and do you have any tips for me?
Right now she gets 2tbsp (1/8 cup) every morning, scatter fed, but a lot of the time she will leave some or leave them until the night. She has fresh green unlimited hay (im not sure what type, its just like the stuff you buy in bales for horses, but she eats it fine) and a LOT of vegetables, and a wide variety of them as well. This afternoon i think 10+ different vegetables, so variety isn't really an issue. She doesn't seem to really like pellets, and i think having her on a lot more hay will improve her teeth, and encourage natural behaviour, and honestly pellets i think make rabbits lazy and pretty much everything in pellets can be replaced by fresh foods. Let me know what you all think about this


Todays veggies were, carrot tops, mint, parsley, corainder, dill, green and purple kale, asparagus, radish leaves, a small amount of carrot, radish and apple, rosemary, (apple sticks? dont know what that counts as XD ), dandelion, romaine lettuce and a small amount of grass. Let me know any tips for veggies and greens too

Have you ever foraged? As the weather improves and the seasons change there will be lots of available free food. I forage for willow, hawthorn, grass, clover, dandelion, plantain, sticky weed, wild rose, camomile, lavendar, sow thistle, bramble and nettle. Lots of variety and fibre. I currently feed a small egg cup of pellets for each bun but am also thinking of phasing it out.

I have frequently put my rabbits on a 'pellet free' diet and they are perfectly happy!

Many people feel that forage is the only green food you should feed a rabbit - i.e. no vegetables. Others feel that veg and forage, or even just veg as you've suggested, will give them what they require nutritionally.

in your case, i'd switch some of the veg for forage, particularly the sugary ones like carrot and apple. it sounds like she has a wide variety so pellets wouldn't be essential. hay, grass, forage are the main things. basically anything that is more natural.

I will definitely look for forage but theres nothing about at the minute last year she got hawthorne, dandelion, grasses, apple leaves, bramble and stickyweed but theres not too much about nearby I'm going to slowly cut down to practically no pellets and see how she goes and discuss it when we see the vet in a couple of weeks... Thanks for your opinions guys Is it a terrible idea to give pellets in the winter and not in the warmer months do you think, when there is more available forage?

One of my bunnies is on a pellet free diet and has been for 10 months. He is mainly fed orchard grass hay, the odd fenugreek crunchie, and mixed dried herbs. A bit of fresh dill and basil and very occasionally a leafy green. He is a dental bunny and can get dirty bottoms so I got rid of pellets, then carrot, any fruit and most vegetables. He hasn't had any dental problems for 10 months now but still a mucky bottom every week or so and at a loss what is causing it.

I actually stopped pellets for my other two and they lived on hay and vegetables and fresh herbs for at least 6 months. When he lost his partner and we got him a new friend she was very underweight I introduced pellets to help her put on weight. She is another dental bunny and needs to maintain her weight and still a little small so will keep feeding them pellets.