New rabbit diet - how much?

[Sammysdct]

Hello again,

I'm having much fun with my noisy children loving bunny - Lolly. 4 days she's been with us. I think she's so tolerant as she's a greedy pig and is happy with nearly anything as long as she's eating. Lol.

She already has the art of begging down, standing up next to you, gently placing her paw on your leg. She nearly tripped me over today doing figure of 8's around my legs.

To cope with her (& t kids) demands I save her veggies as treats to help her bond with me, hubby & kids. I try to keep t amounts small, e.g. a small slice of carrot, & a finger size piece of cauliflower leaf, or an inch long piece of quartered broccoli stem for each of the kids to give her. The other thing is a couple of leaves each from my dried forage box, e.g. a dandelion leaf each for the kids, or a couple of small bramble leafs each. They get to do this a Couple of times a day. I also give her about the same a couple of times a day when its quieter, so I can start work on getting her used to grooming, having her feet touthed etc...

She was from a store and so we have kept her on t same pellets as she was on. These she has in her toys, prob about 3 flat teaspoons worth, with another teaspoon in her 'leading bowl/toy' when I need to move her. They are by far her favourite treat.

She also eats a good amount of hay, around 3 handfuls daily. Though she does have a strong preference for my green homemade hay. Again she will eat this from our hands as well as in her hay rack. I have given her a small nibble at some grass as well. She always seems to want to eat, no matter what it is.

From what I understand she is large for her age, the store thought she might be 14 weeks rather than 12 due to her size. I'm wondering if its because she ate all the food put down for the group of them. Or because there is obvious lop in her, which could mean she is going to be a big rabbit.

Her poops have gotten a little larger, darker & slightly moister since we have brought her home, & added to her pellet diet, but seems totally OK.

I don't want her to be a fat rabbit, but I also don't want to deprive her if she's simply a large growing rabbit.
How much should I be giving her?

[tonibun]

Hi there! Glad you and the children are enjoying your new bunny. As a general rule for a rabbit under 6 months a nice bowlful of pellets per day is about right, as much hay as she wants, and then small amounts of, maybe, Spring Greens, fresh grass, Dandelions, herbs, carrot as a special treat, and you can also give her Readigrass which most bunnies love. Keep an eye on her poops in case anything new is upsetting her tummy.

Rabbits are always hungry so we have to be strict about what they can have except for hay which they can have all the time. She shouldn't be fed bread or biscuits. The best thing if you aren't sure is ask on here before giving something which might not be good for her.

[Tamsin]

It's important to introduce things gradually so what you've fed so far is right for now but in terms of greens you can build that up to a 1-2 mug size amount per day long term. Leafy greens and forage are best

Hay - as much as she can eat.

Pellets wise, they are fattening and not as filling as hay so a maximum of 25g per 1kg of her weight. As she grows up and eats more greens I would be aiming to reduce that down to 10g per 1kg of her weight.

[Sammysdct]

Cool.

She already weighs over 1.6kg ( I saw them record 1.6 something at the vets). So it looks like she could have a few more pellets. Mind you I am convinced she came to us an overweight rabbit, as she has a small head on a large body, & her dewlap seems to have a bit of fat in it. She also has a bit of a pot belly. From what I can feel underneath the fur.

So I'll prob keep her pellets about the same as they are now & start to build up her greens.

She's also getting a few extra treats at the moment as she developed the peeing & pooping on the sofa problem and we are giving extra treats when she goes in the litter box next to the sofa, especially if we've just chased her off of it & she goes in.

Can't wait for the kids to go back to school Tuesday so I can get out and have a good forage. Hopefully my hay would have finished in my homemade cardboard box dehydrator by then. ( I wish I had an airing cupboard)

Many thanks for replies.