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Feeding 8 week old Netherland Dwarfs

Hi all,

I'm new to the site and need some advice on feeding my new babies. They came to me eating Rabbit Royale but the pellets seem so large and the food packet says use for adults, normally I would use Burgess food for 1 plus weeks and change them over as they get older. I'm so confused as the breeder told me how careful you need to be feeding this type of rabbit and in the paperwork she sent back with them said plenty of veg, I'm reading online saying no veg for six months so please can someone help. Is it ok for hay at this age.

thanks in advance for your replies
 
Hi all,

I'm new to the site and need some advice on feeding my new babies. They came to me eating Rabbit Royale but the pellets seem so large and the food packet says use for adults, normally I would use Burgess food for 1 plus weeks and change them over as they get older. I'm so confused as the breeder told me how careful you need to be feeding this type of rabbit and in the paperwork she sent back with them said plenty of veg, I'm reading online saying no veg for six months so please can someone help. Is it ok for hay at this age.

thanks in advance for your replies

Hi, welcome to the forum :wave:

Were the rabbits eating hay at the breeders? I would have hoped so. Whether they were or not, they should definitely be eating unlimited amounts of hay now and this should form 85-90% of their diet.

Whether to use Rabbit Royale or a pellet food such as Burgess is a matter of preference and people have different views. If you usually use Burgess pellets, I would very gradually change them over to Burgess over a couple of weeks.

Regarding veg, the rabbits would be able to have veg, herbs or forage at this age. However, if they have had none of these before at the breeders, each different type of food would need to be introduced gradually. The digestive system of very young rabbits is quite fragile and so I would feed a small amount of each type of fresh food and observe whether there is any adverse effect before feeding something different.

There is absolutely no reason why you should be more careful feeding Netherland Dwarf rabbits than any other type. However, because of their head shape they can be prone to dental problems so I would make absolutely sure that they are eating lots of hay to wear the teeth down properly.
 
Hi all,

I'm new to the site and need some advice on feeding my new babies. They came to me eating Rabbit Royale but the pellets seem so large and the food packet says use for adults, normally I would use Burgess food for 1 plus weeks and change them over as they get older. I'm so confused as the breeder told me how careful you need to be feeding this type of rabbit and in the paperwork she sent back with them said plenty of veg, I'm reading online saying no veg for six months so please can someone help. Is it ok for hay at this age.

thanks in advance for your replies


Hi Lily and welcome to the Forum :wave:

Hay is recommended at any stage!

If they've been used to eating veg, then continue with what they have been having beforehand and there will be no stomach upsets.

I do agree that changing them over to something that will fit their small mouths will be better in the long term, and there's a move away from muesli as you can't be sure who's eating which bit of it and therefore what nutrients they are getting or missing.

There's some really good info here:

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

A dry food brand comparison:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp

And a diet for young rabbits

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/diet-baby.asp


I hope you enjoy your Nethies - they are beautiful little rabbits.
Small rabbit = big personality :D
 
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