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How much food should a rabbit eat a day?

My bunny pairs have a tray full of veg including : spring greens, savoy, baby corn, sugar snap, curly kale, broccoli, dill, flat leaf parsley, curley leaf parsley, coriander and mint (occasionally thyme as well) twice a day. Nuggets have no set time, some days I don't give them. When I do it's a eggcupful per pair once a day. :D

My buns aren't overweight, infact Lola is underweight, the others are perfect weight. :D

Buns have eaten like this since I got them, no bad tums or problems yet. :)

ETA: I'm hay crazy, so unlimited amounts always fresh :D, of five different varieties, though meadow bale their main staple.
 
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kk_kayla said:
really i just thought my other 2 were bbeing greedy and that rabbits stop eating when they are full....strange lol i must have great rabbits :D
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It is important that they eat loads and loads of hay for the reasons I gave in my other post. I'm sure that if I gave mine the choice, they would fill up on pellets and eat very little hay.
 
This has all been very useful, im going to use an egg cup as my guideline and add more hay into all of there diets as ive noticed recently the boys have started eating the hay slower thank you everyone im sure all of my bunnies will be a lot happier and healthier :)
 
This has all been very useful, im going to use an egg cup as my guideline and add more hay into all of there diets as ive noticed recently the boys have started eating the hay slower thank you everyone im sure all of my bunnies will be a lot happier and healthier
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Not a prob. Remember any changes should be done gradually, so if you are reducing pellets do it slowly.
 
If she's nursing she may need more - I'm not an expert on that sort of thing though :oops:

In general though they should have a lot less than 2 bowls. My exotics vet once asked how much I fed and I said about two tablespoons (this equals an eggcup) and he said 'yes that's about what we recommend'.
 
Schuette said:
If she's nursing she may need more - I'm not an expert on that sort of thing though :oops:

In general though they should have a lot less than 2 bowls.
Schuette said:
I know because Pumples is nursing that she should be completely free fed (as recommended by my vet) and it works out around 2 bowls per day, espec now the babies have decided to start chomping :) She also eats a heck of a lot of hay and is actually a bit underweight atm. Free feeding will stop when babies have been weaned though.
As for the rescues, was also advised to free feed.
When Dexie and Pumpkin the first were together (before she died) they used to share a bowl of pellets and then eat a mass amount of hay and greens. Guess it'll go back to that when babies are weaned :)
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Babsie said:
I understood from posts that the guidelines given on the back of packets recommend way too many pellets? Can't check my Excel as I've emptied it into a container.
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Probably but, I think you have to judge the size of your rabbit, the amount of activity, the quantity of other foods fed and providing they are still getting 80% of their diet as hay - the egg cup rule cannot possibly be accurate for all bunnies regardless of size, age, activity levels - I would go by veterinary advice if in doubt of how to adjust the official recommendations, I don't even know where the 'egg cup' thing has come from - all pellets are different aswell.
 
VickiP said:
Probably but, I think you have to judge the size of your rabbit, the amount of activity, the quantity of other foods fed and providing they are still getting 80% of their diet as hay - the egg cup rule cannot possibly be accurate for all bunnies regardless of size, age, activity levels - I would go by veterinary advice if in doubt of how to adjust the official recommendations, I don't even know where the 'egg cup' thing has come from - all pellets are different aswell.
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That's why it's a guide isn't it, cos all bunnies are different.
 
VickiP said:
Probably but, I think you have to judge the size of your rabbit, the amount of activity, the quantity of other foods fed and providing they are still getting 80% of their diet as hay - the egg cup rule cannot possibly be accurate for all bunnies regardless of size, age, activity levels - I would go by veterinary advice if in doubt of how to adjust the official recommendations, I don't even know where the 'egg cup' thing has come from - all pellets are different aswell.[/QUOTE

My vet did recommend the Excel Lite as pellets have more fibre - but his idea is to feed as few pellets as you can get away with (which I guess means to maintain their weight). I feed plenty of a good variety of veg and unlimited hay - and try to stick to the eggcup measure.
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VickiP said:
Probably but, I think you have to judge the size of your rabbit, the amount of activity, the quantity of other foods fed and providing they are still getting 80% of their diet as hay - the egg cup rule cannot possibly be accurate for all bunnies regardless of size, age, activity levels - I would go by veterinary advice if in doubt of how to adjust the official recommendations, I don't even know where the 'egg cup' thing has come from - all pellets are different aswell.
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Babsie said:
[My vet did recommend the Excel Lite as pellets have more fibre - but his idea is to feed as few pellets as you can get away with (which I guess means to maintain their weight). I feed plenty of a good variety of veg and unlimited hay - and try to stick to the eggcup measure.
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Yes sounds logical - worth getting bunnies weighed on vaccination day and monitoring their weight I think, none of mine would even eat an egg cup full of excel hence switching to Science Selectives and Chudleys Rabbit Royale, they aren't greedy over their dried food at all, they scoff hay all day and the food is sitting there, they generally nibble at it now and then but, they are more for hay and fresh veg.
 
VickiP said:
QUOTE=VickiP;4306184]Probably but, I think you have to judge the size of your rabbit, the amount of activity, the quantity of other foods fed and providing they are still getting 80% of their diet as hay - the egg cup rule cannot possibly be accurate for all bunnies regardless of size, age, activity levels - I would go by veterinary advice if in doubt of how to adjust the official recommendations, I don't even know where the 'egg cup' thing has come from - all pellets are different aswell.[/QUOTE



Yes sounds logical - worth getting bunnies weighed on vaccination day and monitoring their weight I think, none of mine would even eat an egg cup full of excel hence switching to Science Selectives and Chudleys Rabbit Royale, they aren't greedy over their dried food at all, they scoff hay all day and the food is sitting there, they generally nibble at it now and then but, they are more for hay and fresh veg.
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Mine almost eat my hands as I put the bowls in their run - anyone would think they'd hadn't been fed anything for a fortnight. Then I have to stay with them whilst they eat to sort of 'defend' the bowl of the slowest eater (too dainty an eater for her own good).:)
 
kk_kayla said:
a tablespoon??? are you sure...
my rabbit that is nursing has about 1 and a half -2 bowls plus lots of hay....and my other rabbits have 1 bowl and lots of hay....
i dont think a tablespoon is enough
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A tablespoon is plenty for a normal rabbit, in the wild rabbits do not eat pellets they eat hay, grass, veg, leaves etc. This type of diet is usually the best type of diet a rabbit can have. Feeding lots of pellets makes them more liable to dental and gut problems, by not feeding a lot of pellets they have a higher hay intake which encourages the teeth to be kept ground down and less likely to develop spurs. Feeding too many pellets can lead to an overwidght rabbit which will exacerbate heart and lung problems, obese rabbits are less likely to move about so freely and more likely to get joint and spinal problems.

I believe that pellets were originally designed to fatten rabbits up for the pot
 
Amy104 said:
Yes, I have it in writing from a vet. But as I said its only a guide line. Obviously nursing mothers and rescues who've been neglected are going to need more calories.

If I free fed I would end up with extreamly fat bunnies who never ate hay.
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Really... !!! my buns have 2 bowls of food a day and then my othe buns have two bowls one meal a day and the balls are not small. How old are the bunnies exacly because that can also have an efect?
 
I give my buns 2 shot glasses of pellets in the morning (between them) and maybe a spring green leaf or handful of kale etc. each, obv. They get unlimited hay, then in the evening I give them a big tray of fresh veg/herbs... both are a healthy weight :wave:
 
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