What should Smudge be eating on an average day?

[Rebecca88]

Hi all,

I just wanted to get some advice really to ensure i am feeding Smudge a well balanced diet.

He is a 1 year old Netherland Dwarf, i feed him Chudleys Rabbit Royale which is:

It is a complete muesli mix of pellets, micronised cereals, forage, herbs & vegetables and is suitable for adults and growing rabbits.

I feed him this twice a day in the morning and before i go to bed at like 10ish, he also has unlimited access to hay all day too (although he hardly eats any- i have tried several different types but he is not really interested in it unless i feed it to him!), i also pick fresh grass and dandelions when i find them growing in the garden.

I also give him vegetables now and then but not on a daily basis- i want to know if i should be feeding him vegetables each day and what people generally give their rabbits.... i am not very inventive in my selections and often give him strawberry tops (as a treat), carrot, broccoli.

Can anyone tell me how much and of what would be most suited to him- i do not want to over feed him obviously and would like to encourage him to eat more hay but at the same time i am worried about depriving him of his Rabbit Royale as i don't want him to get sick.

Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks all :wave::wave::wave:

 

[Roseberry]

how much dry food are you feeding him?

It is recommended to only feed and egg cup full a day. Some people on here dont feed their rabbits any dry food and they get along fine, they can just live off hay and water. Most people do give dry food and veg though. If you reduce the dry food he will probably eat more hay which is better for him, he wont get sick because of this.

Pellets are better than museli, but i think that Chudley's is supposed to be the best museli. Brown pellets would be better though i think, such as excel, waggs etc. but you would have to make any changes gradually.

also, what hay do you buy? good quality timothy hay will most likely be more popular with bunny than, say the PAH standard hay. Hay is not just hay.

hope this helps.

 

[Gemmapookie]

I agree with Roseberry re the pellets. Reducing his food to an egg cup full a day will encourage him to eat more hay and prevent him becoming overweight. Switching to a pellet rather than muesli will prevent selective feeding :wave:

With regards to veggies, carrott is high in starch and sugar which can upset the intestinal flora, so should only be fed in small amounts as a rare treat. I favour herbs (parsley, coriander, basil, mint, thyme, dill), endive, rocket, mache, chard and spring greens. Anything green and leafy really. I feed about a handful of mixed veg per couple per day, and also pick grass and dandelions for them as theyre indoor buns. For a treat they get an occasional nibble of banana or apple which they go nuts for!

With anything new, introduce slowly by feeding in very small amounts at first :wave:

 

[biscandmatt1]

i personally don't feed pellets but this is because mine are very good hay eaters so in your case i wouldn't cut out the pellets. also, reduce them gradually and be sure he is eating hay instead. or grass, whichever he prefers.

i get hay from hay for pets. it's a good price for the amount you get and my two love the ings hay and the soft meadow hay.

the willow warren is another good place for good quality hay aswell, and dust free hay.

you can get sample packs of different hays from places like the hay experts and aunty sallys also do hay pellets aswell which maybe you could start to add to his pellets so he is getting the goodness of the hay but in the pellet form he likes?

they basically need mostly hay, grass, natural foods (people sell them on here at times - pear leaves and sticks, apple leaves and sticks, hawthorn etc), veg wise anything that is a leafy green will be good for him. and then about an eggcup a day of pellets aswell.

of course, any changes done gradually but you probably already know that.

bisc and matt have:

hay

a scoop of protexin probiotics in the morning (they have long term illness)

hay all day (at the moment they have the hay for pets ings hay and soft meadow hay)

if they go outside they also have grass and some grazing mix that i grow in pots (it's from rabbit nutrition who also sell lots of other lovely things to grow)

hay

for their tea they have a plate of usually three different things - parsley, coriander, basil, thyme. (they have herbs because they can't tolerate any other veg)

then hay hay hay!

at night time they also have a plate of dried herbs from a selection i buy from galens garden/hayexperts/aunty sallys.

and always fresh water of course

eta: maybe keep him on the mix for now, gradually either swapping to pellets or reducing the mix and replacing what you take with some hay pellets?

 

[Elena]

If you feed too much dry food they won't be bothered eating hay because they know they'll be getting dry food which is like sweets to them. It's a bit like giving a child lots of sweets and the asking them to eat their dinner

 

[Rebecca88]

Thanks everyone

Thank you all for your replies, i do buy hay from PAH eeep i buy the expensive one though and have also had him on different types of timothy hay which i got from a special pet shop. I can gather by what you feed yours that i feed him too much i probably give him nearly 2 egg cups a day maybe 1 and a half (but he never empties his bowl..)

One egg cup full of food per day ok, so could i give half and egg cup in the morning and another half in the eve. Would that be ok for a netherland dwarf?

Herbs sound a great idea, how much do people reccommend feeding him?

I know how senstive their digestive system is so i wont go mad and think i will stick to introducing one thing at a time for him.

He is fussy and does not eat all the bits in his mix (i know it is my fault), i am thinking from your responses that i should change his mix to just pellets on their own. What would people reccommend for the transition into this, i.e how many weeks should i mix pellets into his mixed food until i only give him pellets (a bit annoying as i just spent £15 on a brand new bag of feed for him, so im not sure whether i should just use this up, but if it isnt good for him i will change).

Who knew being a bunny mummy would be like having a baby, i even get seperation anxiety!!! lol gosh i need to get a grip.

Thank you so much for the tips and advice thats really helpful i am going to go to the shops and buy some herbs (i might even plant some!!! ha )

 

[biscandmatt1]

Thank you all for your replies, i do buy hay from PAH eeep i buy the expensive one though and have also had him on different types of timothy hay which i got from a special pet shop. I can gather by what you feed yours that i feed him too much i probably give him nearly 2 egg cups a day maybe 1 and a half (but he never empties his bowl..)

One egg cup full of food per day ok, so could i give half and egg cup in the morning and another half in the eve. Would that be ok for a netherland dwarf?

Herbs sound a great idea, how much do people reccommend feeding him?

I know how senstive their digestive system is so i wont go mad and think i will stick to introducing one thing at a time for him.

He is fussy and does not eat all the bits in his mix (i know it is my fault), i am thinking from your responses that i should change his mix to just pellets on their own. What would people reccommend for the transition into this, i.e how many weeks should i mix pellets into his mixed food until i only give him pellets (a bit annoying as i just spent £15 on a brand new bag of feed for him, so im not sure whether i should just use this up, but if it isnt good for him i will change).

Who knew being a bunny mummy would be like having a baby, i even get seperation anxiety!!! lol gosh i need to get a grip.

Thank you so much for the tips and advice thats really helpful i am going to go to the shops and buy some herbs (i might even plant some!!! ha )

aw, you sound like a lovely bunny mummy

i'd start with removing a teaspoon of mix and replacing with pellets. then watch for any changes in his poops etc, make sure everything is ok, then i think people do like 90% old, 10% new, 80% old, 20% new etc etc, day by day until it's all pellets.

i used to give the oxbow pellets :wave:

 

[Elena]

aw, you sound like a lovely bunny mummy

i'd start with removing a teaspoon of mix and replacing with pellets. then watch for any changes in his poops etc, make sure everything is ok, then i think people do like 90% old, 10% new, 80% old, 20% new etc etc, day by day until it's all pellets.

i used to give the oxbow pellets :wave:

This. I was in your situation a couple of years ago! I gradually reduced how much muesli I was giving and also increased the quality of the hay. I've found the best hay is baled hay, it's cheaper and mine prefer the quality and eat masses. It does require some space to store though! Mine have never shown much interest in Timothy hay unusually.

Then once the amount of muesli had been decreased and they were eating hay I started swapping to pellets, in the quantities biscandmatt have mentioned.

 

[Rebecca88]

Great advice, will do thanks all :wave: