Young rabbits and dried forage?

[Silverleaf]

I've been drying grass and forage for my two Futurebunnies, who will come to live with me in a fortnight. They'll be 8 weeks old.

Now I know I can't give them fresh forage or veggies until 4 months (and then I need to introduce new things slowly one at a time so I know if any of the plants upset them). But does this also apply to dried forage?

This is what I've been collecting: various grasses including barley grass, bramble, raspberry, loganberry, hawthorn, wild rose, apple twigs with leaves, vetch, rosebay willowherb, great willowherb, dandelion leaves and flowers, daisy, yarrow, plantain, wood avens, purple deadnettle, white clover, selfheal. It's drying really well and smells nice enough that I'm tempted to nibble it myself!

Of course I don't mind waiting for a couple of months to start giving the boys tasty forage, but if it's okay for them to have dried stuff earlier than that it'd be sad for them to miss out.

I'm sure my homemade hay is fine straight away, right? But what about the other non-grass stuff?

 

[Lady Logamorph]

Home made hay should be left to dry for 2 weeks and I tend to dry forage for a good couple of weeks as well as stalks and thicker bits take a while to properly dry out. I would start by giving your bunnies tiny amounts of forage. Also if they haven't been on grass before keep them off grass and let them graze for a small amount of time over a week or so.

 

[Tamsin]

Wow, it's sounds like they are going to be very lucky bunnies!

Do you know what they are currently eating? Baby bunnies that have been brought up on grass, veggies or forage can continue to eat it. For the first week or so you want to stick fairly closely to what they are used to - whatever that is - while they settle in so you aren't changing too much at once. After that then it's fine to introduce new foods gradually, you don't have to wait until four months. Dry forage would be great to start with as it's very natural for them to eat, more so than human veggies.

I'd personally start off with the blackberry leaves as they are good for digestion. One of the first solid food Scamp ate while I handreared him with dried blackberry.

I would be a little less cautious with forage to be honest. Although you want to build up gradually still. I don't think you need to do that one by one, try a little of different things and just build the amount up slowly. The thing to monitor is their poops, if they are good after a week, give them a little to start, if they stay fine keep going and any troubles ease back. I'd be surprised if you have any problems with dried forage though

 

[Silverleaf]

Brilliant, thank you both!

Everything will be dried for at least two weeks before I bag it up (in an old pillowcase so it can "breathe"), I've been foraging for weeks...

I'm pretty sure they are on pellets and hay only right now, but I'll check with the breeder when we pick them up. He's providing me with pellets so I can change their food over gradually, and I'll make sure to get enough for a full week and then enough to gradually change to Excel Junior. I want to switch because the pellets they are on now are only available in huge sacks and I prefer small bags so the food is fresher, and Excel has a higher fibre content.

My plan is to eventually feed them on hay and forage with small amounts of Excel, perhaps Fibrefirst as a treat. I think more "natural" food is better so they won't get much in the way of human veggies. I'll dry as much as I can for the winter.

Actually, that reminds me. I'm reading conflicting advice about pellets for young bunnies. Some say unlimited (starting to restrict at 6 months or so), some say to limit them but feed proportionally more than you would an adult. What do you guys think?

 

[Tamsin]

That all sounds good My advice is to restrict pellets from the start - by 8 weeks they've done a big portion of their growing and I think they do fine with them limited and it helps get them into good hay eating habits. As long as their coat looks good, they are a healthy weight and are active and thriving you are feeding about right, you can always add a few extra pellets if necessary.

 

[Silverleaf]

Thanks Tamsin, that sounds sensible. It does make sense to get them into good habits right away!

I added nasturtium flowers and leaves to my mix today. My old rabbit Neo used to love those. No idea if they'll dry but I fancied an experiment.

 

[Silverleaf]

My rabbits came home today! They've been entertaining me all evening exploring their cage and generally making a mess! I'm pleased to say that my homemade hay is a definite hit.

So I have a bag of changeover food, and for tonight I've given them about the amount they've been used to - about an eggcupful each. It looks loads as they are only tiny Nethies, so I'm thinking they probably don't need that much, right?

 

[Tamsin]

I'm glad they like the hay. How old are they? An egg cup full each is ok whilst they are growing as long as they are eating lots of hay too. You can split it into two feeds if you feel like they pig it down too fast.

 

[Silverleaf]

They are 8 weeks today. I fed them at 8pm and they still have a little left now, at quarter past midnight. Both are currently scoffing hay.

 

[Silverleaf]

Okay, I know they've only been here 3 days but I couldn't resist giving them a tiny taste of dried forage. Their poos are good (small, but they are tiny bunnies so I think they're in proportion) and they are eating hay really well, so I figured I'd try them with bits of forage and keep a close eye on the output.

So yesterday they tried blackberry and raspberry leaf, and today dandelion. All acceptable, apparently!

And they still have so many more things to try! I'll stick to blackberry/raspberry/dandelion for now and see how they do.

 

[Silverleaf]

Poos are bigger today, and lighter brown. I'm no poo expert but i think they look good. So they can have a few more bits of forage later, yay!

They are absolute monsters for hay. They get all excited when they realise I'm putting in fresh hay, even the boring pet shop stuff. But they like the homemade hay the best and pick it all out first.

 

[Tamsin]

Aww they are gorgeous!

Yes, when you start drying your own you realise how brown and unappealing the bought stuff looks in comparison.

 

[Silverleaf]

Aww they are gorgeous!

Yes, when you start drying your own you realise how brown and unappealing the bought stuff looks in comparison.

Agreed on both counts there.

I know what you mean about the brown hay. The homemade stuff even smell much better and it's less messy as the strands are long rather than chopped up. These two are happily eating it but I think I'll be getting a proper bale from a farm or something once the packet's gone. I wish I could make more of my own because it's really a lot of fun, but I don't have enough drying room to be very efficient.

If only my greenhouse wasn't full of tomato plants!

 

[Silverleaf]

Things they've tried so far in very small amounts - raspberry, blackberry, apple leaf, dandelion, carrot tops, hawthorn. No ill effects. Dandelion and carrot tops were their favourite but they've eaten everything. They also have a few hazel twigs which they've nibbled.

Tomorrow we'll try plantain, perhaps.

 

[Silverleaf]

They both love forage, I'm pleased to say! They are now getting a good handful a day to share - I've gradually increased the amount they get, and their poo has always looked good. I have a big mixed bag so they end up with different proportions every day, but they happily eat everything I give them.

Does a big handful sound about right?

They had one small fresh blackberry leaf each yesterday. The verdict? Very tasty!

 

[tabithakat64]

Sounds like theyre lapping it up I try to give mine 9all adults) a large a variety as I can find so its closer to what they'd eat if they were wild rabbits.

 

[Silverleaf]

Sounds like theyre lapping it up I try to give mine 9all adults) a large a variety as I can find so its closer to what they'd eat if they were wild rabbits.

Yes, that's what I'm trying to do too. Variety is good!