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Another food question

Amelia

Alpha Buck
How much exactly should I be giving my two rabbits of hard food every day? I have one dwarf lop who's gettting a bit podgy, and one mini lop who is exactly the right weight for her breed.

I'm just a bit worried about Mr B as despite lots of exercise I weighed him the other day and he is 0.5kg over the recommended weight for dwarf lops!

Normally I give them a bowl full of food a day and top up when it's all gone (by small bowl I mean one of those "rabbit" ceramic ones that they seem to sell in every pet shop)

Plus they have a constant supply of hay and fresh greens every day.

Is this too much?
 
Remember breed weights are only guidelines it does vary from bun to bun. Approximately 100g of dry food would be a good place to start from. Make sure they have plenty of hay to make up the difference. If you get them down to that and used to eating more hay/veggies instead you can reduce it further if needed.

Tam
 
Hello Amelia, always a diffucult one. But, I would consider the daily need allowance recommened of the breeds you have. eg. A dwarf breed needs about 2oz of dry food and hay, a large breed 4oz (suggested guidance only and should not be taken as gospel), but obviously this is a standard recommendation and each rabbit is different. One portion of dry food a day is enough, and if a bowl is finished, then a top up is not necessary, but hay and some greens can be offered. If your bunny is getting a little overweight cut down on dried and offer more hay. Another obvious sign of over-feeding dry food is the over production of caecotrophs.


If concern over reducing one bunnies diet maybe deterimental to their partner, it may be worth feeding dried food separately until the weight of the one is at the recommended level and monitoring the diet from then on. A little labour intensive, but may only be so for a short time.

The cermic bowls sold in pet shops are ideal in weight and size but hold an overly large amount of food for a dwarf or mini lop so weighing of the portion of food is a sure guidance that your bunny is receiving the correct amount, and once emptied the bowl should be removed, and cleaned ready for the following days portion of dried food.

In mixed diets the bowl should not be emptied until all food is consumped to avoid selective feeding.

-
 
Well burgess excel recommends 3-3.5% of body weight. I worked my 1.72Kg bunnie to need 51-60g per day. I then put it in a bowl to see the volume and now I just do it volume wise. But if your also giving veggies you should then cut it back a bit.
 
I normally feed my rabbit with Dry food just once a day in the evening, when his waking up, with greens and a round of bread. During the day he eats hay. Oh, and lots of exercise. :)
 
Thanks

I've changed their hard food to selective science as they were picking the green bits out of the last lot of food and leaving the rest.

They have been producing a lot of caecotrophs so I think I definitely do need to cut down on their food.

Tam, by 100g of food do you mean each or for both bunnies?

Would Mr Bump be considered v overweight by being 0.5kg overweight? (he doesn't look particuarly fat!)
 
I'd judge his weight by looking at him, the breed standards are for what breeds aim for that doesn't mean a dwarf lop can't be bigger or smaller without being the wrong weight for their size.

Even if they aren't currently overweight less pellets and more hay is better for them, hay is lots of yummy fibre and also good for their teeth!

Approx. 50g per bunny, so 100g between the two.

Tam
 
Thanks Tam, will definitely try and cut down on the dry food.

I think Mr Bump is just big boned :D :lol:
 
Yeah, they love bread! Well...Toby does anyway, and it seems to be doing him good. He has lots of energy and his very lively. Like us they need a good diet...well...he has a better diet then me :)
 
Mine eat lots and lots of hay different veggies and only get a tiny amount of s/s dry food every other day.
I always thought bread was bad for bunnies?
 
If u have wholemeal bread let it dry right out.. put it in the oven after cooking while its still warm and wait until it is hard as a rock. Then bunnies like to nibble on it.
Probably not great if they are overweight but mine likes it
Chris
 
Nope, I give Toby bread straight from the pack all the time and he loves it, he leaves it when it’s hard. I suppose it depends on the rabbit. I would never feed a pure breed anything that was different, I have been told they are more delicate then a cross breed. Come to think of it...the only bunny I ever fed bread too has lived for 12 years and counting.... maybe its for them :) Toby HATES carrots...but LOVES apples!
 
I'd be very careful with bread as it is very high in starch - which is difficult for bunnies to digest. I once gave a little too much and one of my bunnies almost went into GI stasis because of it... she was fine in the end after some intensive care, but I have stopped altogether giving any of my buns bread.
 
Found this:

"There have been researches done that suggest that foods high in starch and low in fiber may be factors that could lead to enterotoxemia. Enterotoxemia is caused by changes in the Rabbit's cecal pH, resulting in an overgrowth of certain bacteria that could produce iota toxins that could lead to death when they enter into the body"

Bread is very high in carbohydrates and is therefore not very healthy for the gut flora or weight control. Fresh bread also contains yeast which can in some cases cause problems. Rock hard brown bread or very well done toast is a better treat, better still a bit of fresh veg!

Bread is also used by breeders of 'meat' rabbits to fatten them up.
 
LurcherGirl/bunnyhuggger guys, no idea what you are trying to say but Toby has been eating bread straight from the pack for the past 12 and a half years and he has had no problems. He loves it; to him it’s a treat. He doesn’t get it every night because we buy it for us, but when there is spear we give him some. Sometimes to many people go by the book to much, and that can be bad for rabbits. At the end of the day, we as owners know what our own rabbits like.... not a book or a website on the net. ALL rabbits are different. Toby isnt even fat...that might be why his lived so long?Bread is NOT bad for rabbits - from my exsperience its the best thing for them
 
Emma, I am not trying to say anything, I am not saying you are wrong or I am right... just wanted to point out that just because something does not affect one animal, doesn't mean that it is healthy.

I know of people that smoke like chimneys all their lives and live to a very old age - and yet, no-one would claim that smoking is healthy. It just so happens that some people can cope with certain things better than others...

I personally had a bad experience with feeding bread (Pippa nearly died on me because of it), maybe she is just over sensitive, I don't know, but all my bunnies are very healthy - and they never get any bread...
 
Emma nobody is saying it's right or wrong to feed bread to rabbits, however there are lots of people who read these posts and if people can help them make an informed decision as to whether to feed fresh bread to their rabbit or not, then that's what we should do. Even though your rabbit is fine with it and thats great, other rabbits may not be, but it's nice to know some facts.
 
I think my post came across more abrupt then what I wanted it too. I basically thought I was getting a bit of a telling off over bread, lol. If Toby fell ill because I was feeding him bread I would stop – but he loves it so I feed him it. Lets face it, even us humans like all the foods that are bad for us…. all those sticky toffee puddings and chocolate bars. However eating organic and healthy all the time can become boring, we want a little treat now and again. I think it can be the same for bunnys. I except many rabbits don’t agree to change as well as others, I know most pure breeds don't.
 
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