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How much food?

touie

Wise Old Thumper
How much food do little rabbits eat ( Netherland dwarf x lion head)? :?
I picked Niamh up on Monday, she is 3 years old, and I'm a little suprised by the amount she is eating!

This morning I put enough pellets (super excel) to cover the bottom of her bowl which she doesn't seem to have touched! 1/2 Romaine lettuce leaf that has gone, small bit of cabbage- gone, 1/2 small carrot- not touched, bit of broccoli- not touched, a sproat- not touched and some hay that doesn't look touched! Is this normal because my other rabbits eat 10 times this amount, though they are bigger??? :?
 
I am probably not going to be much help here.
Normally the rabbit will tell you how much they like to eat. I feed Toby dried food once a day every evening. If there is still some food left I know I have fed him too much...if however the bowl is empty I know I have fed him to little, so I have learnt how much to feed him. I personally think the measurements on the back of rabbit foods are rubbish as all rabbits are completely different. There are standard amounts for each breed - you can go by these if you wish, but I always preferred to go by my own rabbits needs :)
 
touie said:
How much food do little rabbits eat ( Netherland dwarf x lion head)? :?
I picked Niamh up on Monday, she is 3 years old, and I'm a little suprised by the amount she is eating!

This morning I put enough pellets (super excel) to cover the bottom of her bowl which she doesn't seem to have touched! 1/2 Romaine lettuce leaf that has gone, small bit of cabbage- gone, 1/2 small carrot- not touched, bit of broccoli- not touched, a sproat- not touched and some hay that doesn't look touched! Is this normal because my other rabbits eat 10 times this amount, though they are bigger??? :?

from what I've gleaned on here, I'd be more concerned about the lack of hay thats being eaten. Its hard but I've taken the advice and cut back on the pellets/veggies and the hay intake has increased. Mine devour the pellets when they do get them and they're a great bargaining tool when I want them back in the hutch. As long as she appears healthy I wouldn't have thought it was a concern. Brody was quite skinny and I thought she was a supermodel bunny but she had worms :oops: Now she eats mainly hay, 1 bowl of pellets between them each evening, no veg and she's looking heaps better i.e. glossy coat and has filled out a bit.
 
she looks ok, I'm just concerned that all shes eaten is 1/2 lettuce leaf and a tiny bit of cabbage!
 
Is she used to veggies? Some owners don't feed veggies, or only one type (carrots being famous for this!).

Perhaps you should start all over again, feeding just one type of vegetable at a time, introducing them all to her.

If you're really concerned, ask the vet, I'd say...
 
We have a very little lionhead called Harvey and he eats a fair amount I have to say. We were giving him a handful of Burgess a day and then lots of green vegetables as we understood they were more fibrous and better for wearing down his teeth. Plus he always has fresh hay in his cage. The problem being that Harvey doesn't like hay and hardly eats it. He has terrible teeth though and that's probably why! Recently the vet has told us he should be eating 70% hay which is different to what previous vets told us. Harvey is eating a bit more hay (to impress Honey his new lady friend who loves it).

We were also told to give him fresh cut grass which we did and which he threw out of his food bowl in disgust. harvey has always lived inside and doesn't seem to realise that rabbits exist outside! When we used to leave the patio doors open for him to go outside he used to sneeze and run away!

Anyway I digress. I think it's a question of finding what your bunny wants to eat as they can be a bit fussy. Maybe try some different green veggies as well as hay. But if he doesn't seem to want to be eating anything then a trip to the vet might be in order. Whenever Harvey stops eating that's when we know his teeth are bad and he has to go to the vets for a dental again.

Love Louisa xx
 
Is Niamh about the same size as a Netherland? If so they really don't eat much. Something I alwasy forget when feeding my one. As for pellets I only give him a small amout probably about a desert spoon full in the morning and the same again at night. Veggie wise he doesn't eat much not compared to the bigger bunnies anyway. MAybe he has about 2 chunks of carrot, 3 small florets of brocolli and 4 or 5 strips of spring greens will take him about 12 hours to eat. When I feed veggies though they don't get any pellets, well ok maybe some of them get a small sprinkling of pellets.
Definatley the most important thing for Niamh to be eating is the hay, if she won't eat it then cut down on pellets and veggies until she does and then you could try and work out a balance so she still eats lots of hay and also gets some veggies. Hay should make up around 85-90% of the diet, then the rest spilt between pellets and veggies.
Is Niamh otherwise happy and perky? Pooping well? If so I wouldn't worry to much but try to encourage hay eating.

Angela
 
I did the same to poor Violet - gave her a Zeus sized portion of food on Wed night and there was still loads left this morning (Fri) - doh! Forgot she is just a tiddler!

She ate all the carrots, kale and some hay though so I know she is not starving. Now to diet her slowly and get her exercising more ;)!

Caz
 
My lop Sugar will eat a fair bit of dried food day but strangely hardly eat carrots!!!! but loves apple and greens!! she will pick up the carrot and throw (as far as a bunny could...) it out of the bowl in favor of the apple Misty, who is dwarf cross wil go throu carrots and apple like nobodies business but doenst eat greens and not so much dry food
 
My mini lops aren't fond of carrots, either, I think the pieces are too big and hard to chew for them. They'll eat them, but not with the same abandon with which they'll attack leafy veggies!
 
You say youve only just got your bun so it may be she needs time to settle. Have you changed her food [she may not be used to whot youve given her] her size is all importent to how much to feed her. Aslong as she is eating something then dont worry. val
 
Thanks for all the replies! I feel a bit happier that she is eating ok now!!! She is pooing normally and seems quite bright and her teeth are fine. I'm using the same food that she had before though I think she was only fed grass and dandylion leaves in terms of fresh food. She is very small and is probably getting through a dessert spoon size portion of pellets in 24 hrs. I put fresh hay in every day so she is prob nibbling on it.
 
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