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Replacing pellets with a forage mix? opinions/alternatives?

Hey i was wondering if anyone could share their opinions on me replacing my male rabbits daily pellets with a mix of store bought forage due to him almost choking the other day and having minor stomach upsets. He'd still be given fresh vegetables everyday as well but i'm just wondering if the forage could be a little extra for him, or if anyone could offer any alternatives to the forage idea that would be appreciated too :)
 
Hey i was wondering if anyone could share their opinions on me replacing my male rabbits daily pellets with a mix of store bought forage due to him almost choking the other day and having minor stomach upsets. He'd still be given fresh vegetables everyday as well but i'm just wondering if the forage could be a little extra for him, or if anyone could offer any alternatives to the forage idea that would be appreciated too :)

These links may be useful

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...heets/recommended-diet-for-adult-rabbits/view

https://galensgarden.co.uk/shop/

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/snacks_supplements/natural_plant_snacks/herbs/301238

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/snacks_supplements/natural_plant_snacks/herbs/13321

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/snacks_supplements/natural_plant_snacks/herbs/301239

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/snacks_supplements/natural_plant_snacks/herbs/301187

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/snacks_supplements/natural_plant_snacks/herbs/465819

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/edibles/hay-grasses.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/antihistamine-hedgerow-herbs.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/birch-the-hay-experts.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/blackcurrant-the-hay-experts.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/chamomile-the-hay-experts.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/coltsfoot.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/dandelion-150g-the-hay-experts.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/country-garden-herbs.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/mountain-meadow-herbs.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/immune-boosting-hedgerow-herbs.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/marigold-the-hay-experts.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/melissa.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/nibble-oats-quiko-sunny-greens.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/nibble-wheat-sunny-greens.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/plantain-150g-the-hay-experts.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/quiko-rose-meadow.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/coneflower.html

Happy shopping !! :D
 
Hey i was wondering if anyone could share their opinions on me replacing my male rabbits daily pellets with a mix of store bought forage due to him almost choking the other day and having minor stomach upsets. He'd still be given fresh vegetables everyday as well but i'm just wondering if the forage could be a little extra for him, or if anyone could offer any alternatives to the forage idea that would be appreciated too :)


Hi there :wave:

I have had rabbits on a pellet free diet, and in some cases it's a good thing. However, I wouldn't advocate it in every case, dependent on age and health status of the rabbit. And of course rabbits get vitamin D from their pellets which can be deficient otherwise.

There is some info on diet here:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...heets/recommended-diet-for-adult-rabbits/view

These two articles are written by Tamsin (our site owner) and Frances Harcourt Brown (a retired specialist rabbit vet) so I would certainly feel confident going by their advice :)


Can I ask why you prefer to feed him without pellets?
 
There's a lot to choose from! :) Could you give us some idea as to the quantity you would recommend per rabbit per day, please Jane?
 
These links may be useful

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...heets/recommended-diet-for-adult-rabbits/view

https://galensgarden.co.uk/shop/

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/snacks_supplements/natural_plant_snacks/herbs/301238

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/snacks_supplements/natural_plant_snacks/herbs/13321

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/snacks_supplements/natural_plant_snacks/herbs/301239

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/snacks_supplements/natural_plant_snacks/herbs/301187

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/snacks_supplements/natural_plant_snacks/herbs/465819

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/edibles/hay-grasses.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/antihistamine-hedgerow-herbs.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/birch-the-hay-experts.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/blackcurrant-the-hay-experts.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/chamomile-the-hay-experts.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/coltsfoot.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/dandelion-150g-the-hay-experts.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/country-garden-herbs.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/mountain-meadow-herbs.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/immune-boosting-hedgerow-herbs.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/marigold-the-hay-experts.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/melissa.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/nibble-oats-quiko-sunny-greens.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/nibble-wheat-sunny-greens.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/plantain-150g-the-hay-experts.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/quiko-rose-meadow.html

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/coneflower.html

Happy shopping !! :D

Thank you so much for all these links they're certainly going to come in handy! 😄

Hi there :wave:

I have had rabbits on a pellet free diet, and in some cases it's a good thing. However, I wouldn't advocate it in every case, dependent on age and health status of the rabbit. And of course rabbits get vitamin D from their pellets which can be deficient otherwise.

There is some info on diet here:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...heets/recommended-diet-for-adult-rabbits/view

These two articles are written by Tamsin (our site owner) and Frances Harcourt Brown (a retired specialist rabbit vet) so I would certainly feel confident going by their advice :)


Can I ask why you prefer to feed him without pellets?

Thank you as well for the links and I know a pellet free diet is sometimes not recommended for certain reasons but I feel it is the best course of action as my rabbit started choking the other day and it was quite serious, I believe he may have done it previously also and racked up over £300 in vet bills because of it.
 
Thank you so much for all these links they're certainly going to come in handy!



Thank you as well for the links and I know a pellet free diet is sometimes not recommended for certain reasons but I feel it is the best course of action as my rabbit started choking the other day and it was quite serious, I believe he may have done it previously also and racked up over £300 in vet bills because of it.

Which food was he eating at the time as a few members have had this problem, I think it was SS.
 
Personally I use the excel pellets because when I was looking for a food I thought the SS ones were too big and was worried about the possibility of chocking :(

Maybe try a different brand that's much smaller before you give up on pellets all together? :) or use the Fibafirst sticks xx

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 

Thank you for the link to this thread i had no idea that SS pellets have been a common source of choking in rabbits we've used them for years now and my other 2 buns eat them with no problems but this is certainty something i will look into and consider changing the food.

Personally I use the excel pellets because when I was looking for a food I thought the SS ones were too big and was worried about the possibility of chocking :(

Maybe try a different brand that's much smaller before you give up on pellets all together? :) or use the Fibafirst sticks xx

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

Thank you too for your help i think i will do just that, ive used the fibafirst sticks before and they went down well so i might pick up a box to use while i consider other otpions.
 
Thank you for the link to this thread i had no idea that SS pellets have been a common source of choking in rabbits we've used them for years now and my other 2 buns eat them with no problems but this is certainty something i will look into and consider changing the food.

Thank you too for your help i think i will do just that, ive used the fibafirst sticks before and they went down well so i might pick up a box to use while i consider other otpions.


Many people use a smaller pellet for this very reason :)
 
its a shame as SS is one of the best out there, but choking is so common :( I usually hand feed Luna her eggcup one by one which reduces the risk but I know this isn't always possible!! I have a big 5kg bag but I might swap after as I am terrified of it. burgess is another great brand with small pellets, a lot of bunnies love it. you can find a comparison of foods here, and it highlights the "good" ones :) while pellet is a small part of diet, its still very important to get the "good" ones
http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp
 
Many people use a smaller pellet for this very reason :)

I'm very thankful to be learning this now and will definitely be looking into switching to smaller pellets

its a shame as SS is one of the best out there, but choking is so common :( I usually hand feed Luna her eggcup one by one which reduces the risk but I know this isn't always possible!! I have a big 5kg bag but I might swap after as I am terrified of it. burgess is another great brand with small pellets, a lot of bunnies love it. you can find a comparison of foods here, and it highlights the "good" ones :) while pellet is a small part of diet, its still very important to get the "good" ones
http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp

Thanks for your reply and the link is so helpful, if only hand feeding was practical. Best of luck to you if you do decide to change your bunnies food though :)
 
I'm very thankful to be learning this now and will definitely be looking into switching to smaller pellets



Thanks for your reply and the link is so helpful, if only hand feeding was practical. Best of luck to you if you do decide to change your bunnies food though :)
This may not actually be helpful but I'm putting it out there anyway haha - could soaking them in water make them harder to choke on? Until you've used them up? Just a thought if you had some to use up but after that personally I'd switch brands :) x

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
This may not actually be helpful but I'm putting it out there anyway haha - could soaking them in water make them harder to choke on? Until you've used them up? Just a thought if you had some to use up but after that personally I'd switch brands :) x

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

I read online somewhere that doing this does help lessen the chance of them choking and i tried him with some pellets that id soaked and he refused to even touch them, cant say i blame him though :lol:
 
I read online somewhere that doing this does help lessen the chance of them choking and i tried him with some pellets that id soaked and he refused to even touch them, cant say i blame him though [emoji38]

Haha yea never personally tried it :)

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
I read online somewhere that doing this does help lessen the chance of them choking and i tried him with some pellets that id soaked and he refused to even touch them, cant say i blame him though :lol:


Yes i've not had success with soaked pellets ... at all! :lol:
 
My bunnies are on excel and never had a problem. They do love it too. I get lots of binkys and zooms at feeding times. Why don't you slowly change over to burgess and see if you feel better with that? They also do all different types and flavours. Mine are on mint but my bridge bun was on excel for elder rabbits - cranberry with ingredients for joint health etc . I never tried oregano but that's supposed to be more tasty.

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk
 
My girls are pellet free due to dental issues but I have reintroduced pellets over winter as there isn't as much forage available.

Tonibun - the girls normally get a branch approx 60cm long.
They will also get a couple handfuls of different forage through the day.
The main thing when going pellet free I discovered was having at least 3 different hay types available at all times as each hay has a different nutritional value. The different hay is what helps them balance their diet.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
My bunnies are on excel and never had a problem. They do love it too. I get lots of binkys and zooms at feeding times. Why don't you slowly change over to burgess and see if you feel better with that? They also do all different types and flavours. Mine are on mint but my bridge bun was on excel for elder rabbits - cranberry with ingredients for joint health etc . I never tried oregano but that's supposed to be more tasty.

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Thank you, this might be what I do, I've used excel 's diet pellets before for my female rabbit and they went down well with her so I may try him with them rather than remove pellets all together.

My girls are pellet free due to dental issues but I have reintroduced pellets over winter as there isn't as much forage available.

Tonibun - the girls normally get a branch approx 60cm long.
They will also get a couple handfuls of different forage through the day.
The main thing when going pellet free I discovered was having at least 3 different hay types available at all times as each hay has a different nutritional value. The different hay is what helps them balance their diet.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

Thank you for the reply and the information about the hays it's incredibly useful, I think I'm going to try a different brand of pellets but this info will definitely be helpful in the future
 
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