Pellet free diet

[aerofine]

Does anyone feed a pellet free diet? Would like to hear people’s opinions on a hay/fresh food only diet.

 

[Omi]

I feed a diet that is very low on pellets. Their diet is mainly hay, with some fresh cut grass, when it's available in the garden. They also have a lot of wild forage from the garden, with some green vegetables and herbs when in season. I also feed tree leaves and branches of rabbit-friendly trees.

If for some health reason I needed to stop feeding pellets, I wouldn't be too concerned, but I would make sure that I weighed the rabbits routinely once a week to make sure they weren't losing weight.

 

[Shimmer]

Mine are not entirely pellet-free, but eat very few. I use them mainly to make sure that there are no health issues. Uneaten pellets ring alarm bells and it's easy to monitor. They are also a good bribe to get them back in at night. I don't use any other manufactured food for them (treats, etc) as it's really not necessary and just a marketing ploy. Fresh dandelions make good treats and cost nothing.

I had one rabbit that was pellet free for long term urinary tract issues. It's easy to feed a decent quality hay with added forage or greens (from my allotment and garden), which is what the others get anyway. Pellets are not essential, and certainly not in the quantities usually shown. It wouldn't worry me if I had to go completely pellet free, and I know some people do. Maybe more people should. It's much more worrying when a rabbit doesn't have access to hay or grass.

 

[SarahP]

I have done it, when I had bunnies with chronic stasis issues. To be honest, I wished I'd tried it much sooner. I fed about 4 different kinds of hay and dried forage. They didn't lose any weight.

 

[Graciee]

I used to!

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[InspectorMorse]

I used to but in recent months I have fed a few hand fed Science Selective Pellets after reading updated research on the dietary requirements of House Rabbits. The pellets are considered to be treats and feeding them by hand helps keep a good bond with each of my 5 Rabbits.

 

[aerofine]

I used to but in recent months I have fed a few hand fed Science Selective Pellets after reading updated research on the dietary requirements of House Rabbits. The pellets are considered to be treats and feeding them by hand helps keep a good bond with each of my 5 Rabbits.

Are SS pellets supposed to be better than Burgess Excel? I've only ever fed Burgess pellets.

 

[InspectorMorse]

Are SS pellets supposed to be better than Burgess Excel? I've only ever fed Burgess pellets.

No, not really. If Burgess suit your Rabbits then stick with them