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How much hay should they actually eat?

MaxAndMolly

MaxAndMolly

Young Bun
Hello.

Max and Molly have a bowl of Burgess Excel every morning, which they polish off during the day. And they get a good bowl of fresh veg type stuff (mixture of our trimmings and stuff just for them). And they get whatever they nibble on when they're running free (depends on their mood whether they spend time eating or just being mischievous or lazy). But hay is the thing that I'm never quite sure on.

We give them two big handfuls each evening - I was told they should have a handful roughly the same size as they are each day. I see them eating it. But there's always lots and lots left, which I distribute around the hutch before refreshing with a new lot each evening, and then clear out when the hutch and run gets a really thorough clean. At this point, a fair bit gets thrown away.

So ... I guess the question is, are they meant to have big handfuls, but then should I expect them to just pick out what they fancy. Or should I be worrying about how much is left, and sourcing alternative hay varieties?

They seem absolutely fine health wise, and to my untrained eye weight wise. Molly is bigger than Max, but I think that's just the way they are. Neither feels bony or looks unhealthy in any way.

As always, all advice welcome.

Thanks!
 
Hi there. I am not sure how old your bunnies are but it sounds like you are feeding too many pellets and a little bit too much veg. :D Your rabbits should still be hungry enough after they have finished the pellets to carry on with their hay. Bunnies should also polish off their pellets in one, otherwise I would say you are overfeeding them. If your bunnies are leaving pellets until later this is why they don't want to eat their hay. Their diet should be about 80% hay with pellets and veg making up the rest. Hope this helps.
 
This is what I go off of....

How much Timothy Hay to Feed a Rabbit?

This is, in general, a very easy question to answer. And that’s simply because, in most cases, it’s as much hay as he or she can eat. Timothy hay (or another grass hay if you can’t get hold of timothy) is the staple of a rabbit’s diet. It all harps back to the way that rabbit’s have evolved over time and adapted to their natural environment in the wild. Here they would have a highly fibrous diet – munching on grass, hay and plant matter on an almost constant basis. This meant that the digestive system had a virtually never-ending source so fiber passing through the system. So when we keep rabbits in captivity, we need to mimic this diet as much as is possible. And the best way to do this is to feed your rabbit ad lib quantities of good quality timothy hay. In other words, he should always have a nice big pile of hay to feed on. Failure to do this can be very detrimental to the health of a rabbit. A lack of fiber can cause the gut movement to slow down or even stop altogether. This is a dangerous condition known as “intestinal stasis” – a condition that requires immediate veterinary attention as it can prove fatal. But it’s easy to do everything you can to avoid this, simply by ensuring that your rabbit always has a good supply of top quality hay to eat at all times.

Can Rabbits eat too much Hay at One Time?

In general, rabbits are not greedy and don’t tend to overeat (that’s a human trait, not an animal one!) Okay, there’s always the exception that proves the rule, however most rabbits will eat the amount of hay they need to remain in good health. Sure, there might be some cases of an obese rabbit that might need to have his feed restricted. But this should only be done with veterinary guidance. This reason for this is that a rabbit NEEDS a constant source of fibrous matter (provided by hay) passing through his gut to ensure good digestive health. Withholding hay from a rabbit can lead to many health problems, both with the digestive system (danger of intestinal stasis), and with his teeth (a condition known as malocclusion), whereby he doesn’t chew on enough fibrous matter to wear down his ever growing teeth. So, the rule of thumb is to always ensure your bunny has a nice big pile of good quality hay to munch on, and to replenish it at regular intervals.

(source: http://www.smallpetselect.com/timothy-hay/)
 
My rabbits get a handful of hard feed each daily and unlimited hay in their litter trays along with newspaper and straw.

They easily have four handfuls a day per rabbit. They also have half a handful of veg daily and as much forage (brambles, willow, etc) as I feel like gathering.
 
Our rabbits have 10g pellets each per day (they're Mini Rexes) with a pinch (and I mean a pinch) each of muesli each morning, with a generous pinch of dried herbs, Readigrass and about 6 Fibafirst sticks each a day. Hay wise, the shed of the floor is quite literally a foot deep in the stuff, they have 2 hay racks stuffed full of it and the floor of the run is also a foot deep in hay. So they have access to hay 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - you shouldn't be throwing in a handful here and a handful there; they should have access 24/7. I think you need to cut down on the pellets and other food and increase the hay so they have permanent access to it. They cannot eat too much hay, it is impossible. A rabbit should actually consume a pile of hay equal to its own body size each day in hay, minimum. Hay is essential for fibre and to keep teeth in check, but they also need pellets for added vitamins and minerals which hay alone cannot provide (although some on here will argue against that BUT only cut out pellets under vet advice). In fact, mine have a few extra pellets in a morning purely to increase the fibre intake in an effort to reduce Thumper's stasis episodes, hence the Fibafirst and Readigrass (oh and daily bramble) and I'm chuffed to report that so far it's working :).
 
tonibun said:
Hi there. I am not sure how old your bunnies are but it sounds like you are feeding too many pellets and a little bit too much veg. :D Your rabbits should still be hungry enough after they have finished the pellets to carry on with their hay. Bunnies should also polish off their pellets in one, otherwise I would say you are overfeeding them. If your bunnies are leaving pellets until later this is why they don't want to eat their hay. Their diet should be about 80% hay with pellets and veg making up the rest. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Hi Tonibun. Thanks. Max and Molly are 8 months old, Dutch rabbits. I think I am overfeeding pellets. I will weigh what I'm giving them when I next feed them, and post on here (please go easy on me - I think it is well over the 10-20g I've seen suggested!) ... And I will start to reduce the quantity. They definitely don't eat them all in one go. They eat them through the day.

In terms of green stuff - usually something like Kale or greens or similar, with a sprinkling of, e.g., carrot peelings or tops / Strawberry tops / a slice of cucumber (essentially the 'trimmings' from the kids' packed lunches). In total, they have about an adult sized cereal bowl each morning. And that usually does go straightaway. They also get a dried slice of bread every now and again. And some fruit tree branch or similar also every now and again. I don't think they get enough forage.
 
Angie B said:
Our rabbits have 10g pellets each per day (they're Mini Rexes) with a pinch (and I mean a pinch) each of muesli each morning, with a generous pinch of dried herbs, Readigrass and about 6 Fibafirst sticks each a day. Hay wise, the shed of the floor is quite literally a foot deep in the stuff, they have 2 hay racks stuffed full of it and the floor of the run is also a foot deep in hay. So they have access to hay 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - you shouldn't be throwing in a handful here and a handful there; they should have access 24/7. I think you need to cut down on the pellets and other food and increase the hay so they have permanent access to it. They cannot eat too much hay, it is impossible. A rabbit should actually consume a pile of hay equal to its own body size each day in hay, minimum. Hay is essential for fibre and to keep teeth in check, but they also need pellets for added vitamins and minerals which hay alone cannot provide (although some on here will argue against that BUT only cut out pellets under vet advice). In fact, mine have a few extra pellets in a morning purely to increase the fibre intake in an effort to reduce Thumper's stasis episodes, hence the Fibafirst and Readigrass (oh and daily bramble) and I'm chuffed to report that so far it's working :).
Click to expand...

Hi Angie. They definitely have access to it 24/7. The issue is what they are doing with that access. Or not doing, to be more precise!
 
Thanks also to Melgo and Tulsi for their comments, and the link. Very grateful to everyone for their responses. And sorry for the delayed reply to some.
 
As has been suggested, reduce pellets very gradually until they are each having about an eggcupful each. If you scatter feed it, they quite like to go chasing. I certainly wouldn't advise cutting out pellets completely unless there is a very good reason to do so and you are able to feed a diet which provides everything they need. I think it takes my two approx 2 minutes to eat their pellets - and that's when they are on a go slow.;)
 
Right, two updates:
1. I have weighed a normal sized daily helping of pellets - and they get around 110g between the two of them each day. The guidance on the Burgess Excel bags say that adult Dutch rabbits should be getting 50-60g each per day. So if Burgess are right, I'm spot on. But I get the impression you guys think Burgess recommend too much??

2. I have taken a photo of the poos - but I can't figure out how to upload to here. When I click on "insert image" it just asks me for a url. But the photo is saved on my desktop. Help?!

Thanks.
 
MaxAndMolly said:
Right, two updates:
1. I have weighed a normal sized daily helping of pellets - and they get around 110g between the two of them each day. The guidance on the Burgess Excel bags say that adult Dutch rabbits should be getting 50-60g each per day. So if Burgess are right, I'm spot on. But I get the impression you guys think Burgess recommend too much??

2. I have taken a photo of the poos - but I can't figure out how to upload to here. When I click on "insert image" it just asks me for a url. But the photo is saved on my desktop. Help?!

Thanks.
Click to expand...

If you look at the top of the forum, there is a help section which explains about posting photos (you have to download your pics to a hosting site such as Photobucket)
 
Having read your first post properly, I'd say you were feeding them way too much veg and pellets and I'd be surprised if they were getting enough hay. My lot get a handful of pellets between them (3 of them and one is a giant, so I suppose equivalent of 4 normal buns) and a small amount of veg/forage (about a handful between them). Also please don't feed them bread :) it's really no good for them.

I did look for a good poo picture earlier but I don't have one and it's dark now, for comparison for you.
 
OK. Sorry for "spamming" my own thread with so many posts. But thanks to Babsie for pointing me in the right direction for the instructions ... If Snapfish is accessible to anyone (which I'm not sure of, but here goes), here is the poo photo you've all been waiting for:

COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk


http://www3.snapfish.co.uk/snapfishuk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=19248473006/a=131723705_131723705/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk/

EDIT: I tried putting the photo directly into the post, but that didn't work. I've put this url in. But could someone please warn me asap if this link gives access to all my photos? If it does, I will delete it fairly sharpish!
 
Last edited:
catherine09 said:
Also please don't feed them bread :) it's really no good for them.
Click to expand...

They don't get bread often. Maybe a slice or two every couple of weeks. I was told that if it is dried out fully before you give it to them, they like it. Ours certainly love it. It is all hard by the time they get it, and they love crunching it. Is this definitely a no-no?
 
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