Wrong time of year to reduce an outdoor rabbits pellets so he eats more hay?

[wombley_99]

I have a recently adopted rabbit who lives outside and on his own at the moment so has no other rabbits for body warmth (I will be getting him a buddy once his hormones have settled down, he's only just been neutered). He eats well but is on the slim rather than chubby side, I've been thinking about reducing his pellets so he eats more hay but don't like the idea of doing this now that it's getting cold outside. Would it be best to do this in spring?

 

[nessar]

How much hay is he getting through a day exactly?

How many pellets are you giving him?

Are his poos big and crumble very easily?

 

[wombley_99]

It's difficult to say how much hay he's getting through as his hutch is stuffed with it so I can't tell how much it's going down by each day but I don't think it's much. He's gets through about a typical size rabbit bowl full of pellets in a 24 hour period divided in to 2 servings one in the morning and one in the evening. His bowl is always empty when I come to fill it. He's also very active spending a lot of time digging in his run. His poos are the right shape but probably slightly on the small size but he's only a small rabbit and they're not really crumbly.

 

[Stator]

A whole bowl full is really too much, I would cut it down and get in some nice hay that he will like. Try one of the ones with something else mixed in like Herbage or Vitaverde.

 

[nessar]

I agree with stator, best to cut them down. Most people seem to feed a few more pellets in the winter, but I mean just that, a few individual pellets more. The general amount a rabbit needs is an eggcup a day, maybe a bit more in the winter, but play it by ear. Some are better on more or less than an eggcup. Reduce them very slowly and keep an eye on his weight.

You should see an increase in hay consumption, but you may want to add some different varieties of hay too. Some brands are also better than others, baled horse hay tends to be good quality. He'll probably have a preference to certain types or brands. Also, give him fresh handfuls of hay at least once, preferably twice a day, as they prefer it fresh out of the bag.

 

[wombley_99]

Ok, thanks for the advice everyone. I'll slowly start to cut the pellets down