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Bunny Diet, do I listen to the vet or other bunny parents

lisaxxoo

New Kit
My boyfriend and I adopted a baby Holland lop named Liam (10 weeks old). He has been eating hay consistently along with a small amount of pellets for two weeks and he gets lots of exercise every day. We have done lots of research from blogs and YouTube rabbit enthusiasts so we have a good idea of how to take care of him.

However, we took him to and exotic vet this week and he was was adamant that the bunny should only have hay and a little bit of pellets. I bred rabbits when I was younger and worked in the pet industry for many years, and the vets advice seems incorrect. I was hoping I could get a few other’s opinions before we start introducing greens.

Thoughts?


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My boyfriend and I adopted a baby Holland lop named Liam (10 weeks old). He has been eating hay consistently along with a small amount of pellets for two weeks and he gets lots of exercise every day. We have done lots of research from blogs and YouTube rabbit enthusiasts so we have a good idea of how to take care of him.

However, we took him to and exotic vet this week and he was was adamant that the bunny should only have hay and a little bit of pellets. I bred rabbits when I was younger and worked in the pet industry for many years, and the vets advice seems incorrect. I was hoping I could get a few other’s opinions before we start introducing greens.

Thoughts?


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Welcome to the forum :wave:

It's confusing, isn't it?

A baby rabbit will need a bit more sustenance than an adult, so more pellets than usual will be in order. Where did he come from? Were you given any instructions by the person who handed him over?

There's loads of good info here:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/

Here's a diet for young rabbits:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/diet-baby.asp

Should I feed unlimited pellets?

It's suggested in some books that young rabbits be given unlimited access to pellets but doing this can create issues later on.

As with people, good habits are often formed when young, and it is very important for your rabbit's future health that they get into the habit of eating lots of hay. It's much more difficult to introduce hay to an adult that has not grown up eating it. Pellets are extremely tasty and rabbits often prefer them to hay, so having unlimited pellets available can mean young rabbits eat little or no hay, a habit that can cause dental problems and make them more prone to digestive issues.

Pellets were designed for commercial breeders to make rabbits grow quickly, but in this situation little attention was given to the long term health or lifespan. Remember, wild rabbits grow up just fine on a diet exclusively plant material. Unlimited pellets are not necessary to rabbit's development.

For these reasons, it's a good idea to restrict pellets to a certain extent even in young rabbits, although they can have more than an adult.
 
It sounds like your Vet suggests exactly what you have been feeding. Lots of hay and a fair amount of pellets. I have always been very generous with my babies and they grow into good hay eaters. Good luck.
 
Mine have a couple of handfulls of pellets scattered among the four of them each evening. They have unlimited hay and some veg (a handful between four of them) in the morning.

They get two hours a day free ranging when they can eat grass.
 
usually for my babies, I have fed them one eggcup per KG they will likely grow up to weigh. an eggcup is roughly 15grams, so it makes a good measurement. other people use a tablespoon as it is more accurate (eggcups vary in sizes a bit), but most smaller eggcups will do fine. its very difficult to find a balance, as hay is very good for them, but a good quality pellet is also good for them *in moderation*. pellet contains fibre, protein and vitamins to help the younger bunny grow. without it (and without a supplement such as varied forage) I would suspect they may become deficient.

for instance, Orion will likely weigh around 2kg when he is an adult, so he gets two eggcups of pellet. when he is an adult, I will adjust accordingly. perhaps he will weigh a little more, or a little less. but its a rough guess and seems fair. pellet also depends on activity levels when they are an adult. my older girl, Luna, is pretty slow. so despite weighing 2.6kg, she only gets an eggcup of pellet. once again, diet changes are to be discussed with a vet.

a good diet is extremely important, bunnies that don't have one will likely fair with issues later in life. its the same with exercise too, so its really good that he's getting out!

some people here feed forage rather than pellet, but it is a personal choice and should be discussed with a vet first. its important to make sure that you get the forage right so you get the right balance.

as for veggies, they should be fed a ball the size of their head every day. with baby bunnies, you should introduce veggies slowly. too much too soon could cause diarrhoea. so slowly you might offer a few pieces of corriander, a few days later offer a little bit of mint and so on. after you have found ones that they like, make sure to rotate as its not healthy to have them on just one veggie every day.

I wish you good luck with your little bundle of joy :D
 
For an adult that's absolutely right, most of their diet should be hay with a few pellets and a bit of veg. A lot of rabbit owners are very misinformed and stuck in the past so I'd be wary of what you see online. Also be aware that people who raise their rabbits for showing/breeding/meat may feed a lot more than a pet needs.

For babies I'd be a bit more generous with the pellets. My 3kg bunnies are a healthy weight with just a small handful of pellets each day, so when I got my newest bunny (who weighed less than 1kg and was only 10 weeks) I didn't give her as much as the adults. The problem is at that young age they grow so quickly and need a lot of energy from food, my youngest bunny ended up quite skinny and needing more pellets than the adults.
 
So the recommended diet is:

80% hay and grass
15% fresh veg/forage
5% pellets

As babies many owners feed 90% hay and 10% pellets and they gradually introduce fresh veg/forage into the diet as the rabbit becomes older.

Personally, I've never given them extra pellets while young. Once they come to me they are weaned onto 20g of pellets and introduced to veg and a variety of hay.

My rabbits now are pellet free so just get hay, veg and forage.

I know I'm repeating what others have said, but worth giving you extra info.

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Yeah I'd feed pellets in moderation. A bit more than what you'd give an adult probably but not a whole lot. In my experience that just leads to bad hay eating habits.
 
Wow!!! I truly appreciate all of your thoughts on this topic and I’m glad we’re on the right track! Thank you everyone :)


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Hay, hay and more hay!!

However there's hay and then there is HAY!! Nice long strands that is slightly green - should smell fresh and sweet. Avoid very short lengths and avoid anything that smells musty.

I also given a handful of green and an egg cup of pellets. Make your buns work for the pellets - put them in a treat ball or scatter in their hay.

All the best
 
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