Previous diet unknown - what's best?

[sophiew]

Hi

I took in a rabbit yesterday and I have no idea what his previous diet consisted of. He looks a bit on the slim side but not horribly so. It was a bit of an emergency, so last night he had Charnwood mix which is all I had (I have guineas). I went to buy some rabbit food today but there is a bewildering variety, I've heard pellets are best to prevent selective feeding, but also that you should make any changes gradually, so given that he had muesli last night I bought muesli again for now. If he was on something different before, will he be ok?

He had a bit of carrot but I'm being cautious re: new foods, he already had carrot when I got him...

Thanks

Sophie
x

 

[Bundinki]

Really the best foodstuff for your bunny is lots of hay, and a certain amount of veggies, and some fruits as treats, if you look on the search bit at the top you can find threads about foods to feed your bunny, but the thing is to slowly introduce foodstuffs and not make too many changes all at once. If you change his pellets then make this a gradual change over at least 10 days, but these should only be fed sparingly and the majority of the diet should be hay/meadow grass, the extruded pellets prevent selective feeding, such as science selective, wagg, burgess, & P@H do their own brand too, plus there are other such as bunny basics T. There are so many types of hay out there too, it can be bewildering, alfalfa grass/ hay should also be treated as a treat or used for an underweight bunny for a short period of time, dont feed unlimited like hay, it's a treat & hay is really what is best for their teeth, sometimes people buy a bale for 4-6 quid, I buy 1/2 to a 1/3 of a bale for about £3 from an animal food merchants, and that lasts my 2 a while, even tho I also use it for their litter tray too.

I'm sure you'll gets lots of really helpful tips & info from people on this site, best of luck with your new bunny, hopefully you'll be able to get him neutered & find him a bunny wife ? perhaps another rescue? they are such social animals, it's really lovely to watch them together grooming & snuggling up :wave:

 

[sophiew]

Thank you. I have hay for the guineas, so he's had as much of that as he'd like, and some alfalfa cubes (only 1 so far!) - I was just worried that as I don't know what he was having previously, I might have already upset his tummy with the new food.

Reading up now on all the other stuff! It's so different to guineas though, as they can have lots of veg! Felt bad just giving him a bit of carrot tonight when they were getting all sorts! :lol:

sOPHIE
X

 

[sophiew]

Sorry, an afterthought - can you quantify 'sparingly' for the pellets / muesli? My guineas get what they like, do I have to limit him to a set amount per meal?

Thank you!

 

[Hoppit!]

Sorry, an afterthought - can you quantify 'sparingly' for the pellets / muesli? My guineas get what they like, do I have to limit him to a set amount per meal?

Thank you!

Most people say an eggcup full is about right. Maybe start with half of that though, as you don't know what he had before. As long as he has unlimited hay he'll be ok.

 

[sophiew]

Oh! *runs to remove the food from his bowl!* - thanks, that's a lot less than I imagined. I'll reduce it somewhat!

Sophie
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[Daisylop]

I agree lots of hay,be careful of veg as if he isnt used to it it may upset him.When Ollie arrived [as a stray] I gave him Science Selective with no problems [but only a small amount at a time]

 

[poppymoon]

Sorry, an afterthought - can you quantify 'sparingly' for the pellets / muesli? My guineas get what they like, do I have to limit him to a set amount per meal?

Thank you!

nowhere near as much as the piggies eat - if they're anything like my greedy lot:roll:

i'd say a small handful of pellets and lots and lots of hay introduce veg slowly in case it upsets his tum. xxx

 

[Amy104]

Reading up now on all the other stuff! It's so different to guineas though, as they can have lots of veg!

My rabbits eat lots of veg, pretty much the same amount as my piggies. Just introduce it gradually as you would piggies. Some buns don't tolerate veg as well as others so its just a case of trial and error.

 

[sophiew]

Ok so he's eating lots of hay still although the latest bale isn't the best and us quite tough so I'm off to buy him some nicer stuff to eat. I've been giving him an egg cup full of muesli twice a day, I know nuggets are best but as he had muesli on arrival I thought it best to change gradually. However he picks out all the coloured bits and leaves the brown nuggets, so not sure what to do now. He has a little bit of veg a day and so far has been ok on carrot and a small piece of apple and pear. Some people seem to say he needs lots of veg, others say a little?

Sophie
x

 

[Amy104]

Some people seem to say he needs lots of veg, others say a little?

Buns are notorious for sensitive tummys. All buns are different, some like mine can eat loads without a prob, some have problems with it and can't eat as much. People are probably giving advise on their own experiences. If I was you I'd introduce it gradually and see how you go, there's not really a right or wrong, its what works well for you.

Go easy on the apple/pear/carrot though, these all have high sugar content and too much will mean a fat bunny. Ideally you want no more than a teaspoon of fruit a week. I'd try him on some greens (kale/spring greens). Mine also go mad for peppers which it brill because I buy them for the piggies anyway as they are great sources of vit c. Herbs are also a fav, just watch your calcium contents.