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British Giant - Feeding

billbear

New Kit
Hi All,

I'm new here, I have a British Giant Buck Rabbit around 18months old. I'm currently feeding him loads of fresh veg, apples, loves bread and also his dried rabbit food.
He only likes the pellet form of food, either Burgess or Supra, am I feeding him right, if I am does any one know where I can buy a 56kilo bag of Burgess/Supra rabbit food in the Colchester Essex area.

Sharon
 
Hiya,

Fresh vegetables are really good for bunnies. You don't mention hay though? This is a very important part of a rabbits diet both for nutrition and also wearing teeth down correctly.

Pellets are better than the mix as they prevent selective feeding and have a higher fibre content.

Bread shouldn't really be part of the staple diet, if you do give it as a treat then it should be whole meal not white.

Tam
 
Hi Billbear welcome to the bunny board :wave:

My Toby also eats bread and he loves it :) he really dives into it when I feed him it, but i suppose all bunnies don't agree with it. *I am probably going to get told off now, so i will duck while i say it hehe* Toby does eat both white and brown bread, but prefers white. I wouldn't recommend all rabbits eating it tho. The only reason why I feed toby it is because he has done for 12 years and i can see its not coursing him any problems - and he has regular vet checks. Toby is "fairly" big (in rabbit not weight) so might be a size thing:) .

Have any pix of your rabbit?
 
Hiya, I also have a British Giant Buck, he is two years old now! I feed him loads of timothy rich hay, Science Selective and a good amount of vegetables daily. But hay is the most important part of a rabbit's diet!
 
Hi All,

Rammie loves bread, we only give him a slice when i'm at then end of a loaf, does not mind white/wholemeal, even french bread.

Sorry did not mean to offend but yes we do give him hay and straw in his bed, but will eat that aswell. When in the garden loves to shred my plants of all the leaves and branches. Did have a nice selection of herbs in pots but the've all gone now too.

I do have some pictures but not sure how to put them on the board.

Sharon
 
I buy the Burgess in those huge bags from P@H - only place I can get them although I loath giving them my money. Our local Pet Shop will order them in at our request but it costs more - have you asked your local store?

I have a confession to make too - my continental giant Zeus (also 18mths old) also gets the odd loaf end pieces - I leave them until dried hard and then save them for treats. He loves it so much that he ends up running round the house with it in his mouth with Athena chasing him for a bite!

He loves celery, apple, kale, whole cabbages (any variety), carrots with tops (the tops are his favourite), spring greens, dandilions - actually pretty much anything. He is fussy over hay and rejects the P@H stuff in favour of the hay our local shop gets in bagged up fresh (I bought a bale last time but don't have the room to store another one now as my OH wants to put his car in the garage now the weather has gotten wetter :shock: ). The only thing is it is just described as meadow hay and I don't know what type it is.
 
Who big is Zues? I went to Derby the other week, and there was a Fur and Feather show on in the town center. They had there a Continental Giant Doe, only 8 months old, I thought Rammie was big but this doe was was massive.

Sharon
 
About 7.5Kg - the size of a jack russel but with smaller legs ;).

He gets a lot of attention wherever we take him and he is just the sweetest thing - especially with kids he just loves all the petting he gets at the vets! Makes up for the fact his girlfriend is still a bit vicious - she was a rescue and we have only had her 6 months - she has gotten a lot better now and I don't get through a box of plasters a week anymore :D !

I bet your boy is a real sweetie too - he is the same colour as Zeus isn't he? I read in one of your other posts I think - Light Steel - such a cool name for a coat colour.

Caz
 
Had to take Rammie to vets recently as had an infection in a tear duct, all the nurse's love him, our vet is south african and he thought Rammie was brilliant, said he'd never seem any rabbit's his size before.

Follow's me around the garden, like a little dog, did think of getting him a friend but now sure if he would bond, as his been on his own all this time.

Rammie's not a lap rabbit but does love being petted. Dont know who much Rammie weigh's, dont fancy the idea of putting him on the bathroom scales. (he he)

Sharon
 
I swear Zeus thought he was human for a year - he followed us about everywhere too (still does in fact) - when he saw another rabbit for the first time since he left his mother he freaked out completely - stamping his back legs to warn of danger and looked absolutely terrified cowering in the corner of the run at the rescue where he was supposed to be on an almost speed dating event for rabbits I had organised to find him a girlfriend. The dwarf lop that provoked this outburst looked very confused!!

He soon remembered what female rabbits were for though - then it was her turn to look terrified. We finally found Athena (previously Bubbles) a very feisty little lop who took no notice of Zeus' posturing and soon had him whipped into shape.

Honestly I have never seen him so happy now, he still runs to see us when we get home and tries to trip us up dashing between our legs trying to get to the fridge (very bad move first thing in the morning when I don't have my contacts in :D ) but he now has a friend to play chase with and goom him/be groomed when we are at work. It took a couple of months to bond them fully but I really think it was the best move for him as he is so sociable and used to get very lonely on his own all day.

Caz
 
Caz said:
I have a confession to make too - my continental giant Zeus (also 18mths old) also gets the odd loaf end pieces - I leave them until dried hard and then save them for treats.

It's not that unusual, in fact a lot of rabbit breeders, esecially those with the big breeds, feed dried bread. For the big rabbits, it's a handy way of bumping up the carbohydrates they need.

Personally I don't feed it, as most of my bunnies are small-ish, although Jaya my Black & Tan Hare was used to a piece of brown hard-bread every morning for breakfast! But I stopped that because her poos were too soft for a while after she arrived... it wasn't the bread doing it but I haven't returned to her "morning toast" as in this house the rats get any leftover bread!

I've read that bread can increase the numbers of "wrong" bacteria in the gut, but by the number of people who do feed hard-bread to their rabbits (in moderation) I would guess that some must become accustomed to it and cope very well.

You might want to find out if you can get any crushed oats or whole oats... this is another thing that people who breed large rabbits use, as it can "dilute" the pellets and provide more bulk without being as fattening. Belgian Hare breeders like to use oats with the pellets as it keeps them fit without getting too fat.
 
What sort of oats - like rolled oats for baking or can you get cheaper animal oats like for horses?

Caz
 
I tried feeding Toby hard bread this morning (to see if he would eat it) but he just threw it to one side and left it. I have noticed, anything hard (food, toys, wood) he will pick it up and throw it :roll: ah well.
 
Caz said:
What sort of oats - like rolled oats for baking or can you get cheaper animal oats like for horses?

Rolled oats are for porridge/baking... but you can get crushed oats for horses... they are lightly crushed and still have their husks on. Whole oats are very hard to come by, but even better :)

I believe places like Jollye's sell crushed oats by the kg, but be aware of freshness as they quickly go stale once crushed. You'd be better off finding a horse place and seeing if they can sell you a small amount.

Rolled can also go stale and were avoided in the old days, but with modern packaging that's less of an issue. But they don't have the husk on and so are a lot lower in fibre (which rabbits need) and might be a bit constipating.
 
:D hi there

my french lop baby is massive but not overweight. we have to be very careful what we feed her. i get 1O kg bags of burgess super excel from our vets. i am very lucky in that my vets dont charge me for buying it in & it arrives next day. i refuse to buy from pets at home and most pet shops unless i know them. you could ask your vets if they would buy it for you.

xx :D
 
Pendragon said:
It's not that unusual, in fact a lot of rabbit breeders, esecially those with the big breeds, feed dried bread. For the big rabbits, it's a handy way of bumping up the carbohydrates they need.

I have found this thread very interesting, Blueberry is a french lop, she is 6 months old. At the moment she is having rabbit mix ad lib, lots of hay Timothy and meadow, and were up to a cup full of veg in the evening ( still introducing veg)

I was advised by the breeder to keep filling the bowl with her mix when it was empty. I stopped doing this though as she was getting a "sticky bum"
and to also give weetabix and ryvita, I do give her the odd ryvita but only as a treat.

Now I'm wondering, should she be having more of these if she has higher carbohydrate needs?

I will also get in touch with the breeder for some more advice/info.
 
Was told by Rammie's breeder to give him Rolled Oats to bulk him up, but when we took Rammie to vets for his myhx tab, vet said rolled oats were a no goer, also things like sweetcorn as well, Ramme loves fresh sweetcorn. Not sure what to feed him now?

Just been told by my sons that Rammie prefers 'Fold Hill' pellets, well I'll be taking the rabbit shopping with me in future.

Sharon.

oops cant spell for the life of me. sorry now editted.
 
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