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How much hay?!

New bunnies

Young Bun
Hi everyone, we’ve just got our two new baby bunnies at the weekend & are complete newbies to bunny owning. Although i’ve done lots of research i do tend to get very worried about whether whether i’m doing the right thing...

The bunnies are only 13 & 17 weeks & we were told by the breeder to give them 3 small measures of their dried food every day (I guess they’re about an egg cup). We use some of this as treats plus Rosewood Fenugreek Crunchies. We only see maybe 2/3 caecotroph a day & they’re generally well formed little grapes so I hope that means they’re ok.

But they don’t seem to like to eat hay from the hay rack by the litter tray or the metal ball they have. They only eat hay from the floor really, is this ok? Plus I just put some hay in the litter trays on top of the litter?

I’m just wondering how much hay they should be eating? I know unlimited but I wonder if they are eating enough?

Thanks if you got to the bottom of the waffle 😁
 
Hi everyone, we’ve just got our two new baby bunnies at the weekend & are complete newbies to bunny owning. Although i’ve done lots of research i do tend to get very worried about whether whether i’m doing the right thing...

The bunnies are only 13 & 17 weeks & we were told by the breeder to give them 3 small measures of their dried food every day (I guess they’re about an egg cup). We use some of this as treats plus Rosewood Fenugreek Crunchies. We only see maybe 2/3 caecotroph a day & they’re generally well formed little grapes so I hope that means they’re ok.

But they don’t seem to like to eat hay from the hay rack by the litter tray or the metal ball they have. They only eat hay from the floor really, is this ok? Plus I just put some hay in the litter trays on top of the litter?

I’m just wondering how much hay they should be eating? I know unlimited but I wonder if they are eating enough?

Thanks if you got to the bottom of the waffle 😁


Hi there and welcome to you and your bunnies :wave:

Rabbits should eat their body size in hay every day.

Or as much as possible in other words (as you know) and it's fine for them to eat it from the floor or litter tray. You have to experiment really and also rabbits do tend to change their minds from time to time as to how they like their food served :)

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/components-rabbit-diet.asp


They are still quite young, but you could soon begin to cut down the pellets and also perhaps vary the hay - different types. Readigrass (freeze dried grass) is also another good one to make a variety for them.

In the wild they would have access to lots of different bits and pieces, so it's a good idea to give a variety of forage and hay for them to eat. Although you may soon find that they develop their favourites :)
 
Thanks Mighty Max, i’ll have a look for some Readigrass.

At what age could I start to introduce some forage (is that the right word)? I think bramble leaves are easy on tummies aren’t they? And raspberry leaves? We have some of both in our garden & i might be able to persuade my boys out foraging for their bunnies!!
 
Thanks Mighty Max, i’ll have a look for some Readigrass.

At what age could I start to introduce some forage (is that the right word)? I think bramble leaves are easy on tummies aren’t they? And raspberry leaves? We have some of both in our garden & i might be able to persuade my boys out foraging for their bunnies!!

Yea readigrass is great :)


You can start introducing forage now, just in very small amounts, and slowly as bunny tummies are sensitive. Both of those leaves are fine :)

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Thanks Mighty Max, i’ll have a look for some Readigrass.

At what age could I start to introduce some forage (is that the right word)? I think bramble leaves are easy on tummies aren’t they? And raspberry leaves? We have some of both in our garden & i might be able to persuade my boys out foraging for their bunnies!!


Yeah, exactly as Grace said - introduce slowly :)

Bramble leaves and rose leaves are good.

Some forage links, just in case you need them :)

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?303114-Plant-Images


Safe plants etc

http://www.kanin.org/?q=node/193

http://www.actionforrabbits.co.uk/Plants toxic to rabbits.pdf

http://www.actionforrabbits.co.uk/Toxic & Safe Plants v2.pdf

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits/foraging



And a very good book written by Twigs Way called 'Foraging for Rabbits' which can be purchased from the RWAF bookshop
 
My bunnies like eating hay from the floor - usually ill give them a big mound on the floor to eat. I've got racks and balls too but the floor is always where the most hay is eaten.

Maybe you could try timothyhay.co.uk hay? It's the yummiest hay ever. All bunnies go mad for it

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My bunnies like eating hay from the floor - usually ill give them a big mound on the floor to eat. I've got racks and balls too but the floor is always where the most hay is eaten.

Maybe you could try timothyhay.co.uk hay? It's the yummiest hay ever. All bunnies go mad for it

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Absolutely this hay is the best.


I had to buy some temporary hay for a couple of days after a storage mess up, and they loved the hay I bought and still ate lots... But after getting back the Timothyhay.co.uk hay.. There was binkies, zoomies, flops on the hay and so much munching [emoji38] then next day all 4 had pooped so damn much. They really really love that hay haha

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Aah thanks everyone, reassuring to know it’s not just ours that prefer hay on the floor! I’ll check out those links & the Timothy hay too!
 
My rabbits have hay in their litter trays, if we put it in a rack or ball or similar, not only do they not eat as much, but they then poop everywhere as they associate hay=toilet. It sounds like your bunnies are too small for a hayrack, or maybe the hay is too hard to get out?
 
Ohh coco loves eating hay off the floor. I have just purchased him a hay ball feeder though! I use straw for his bedding & for some reason he prefers to eat the straw rather than the hay so I'm hoping the hay ball feeder will help him!



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Aah thanks everyone, reassuring to know it’s not just ours that prefer hay on the floor! I’ll check out those links & the Timothy hay too!

Mine loves digging around and finding the tastiest bits :lol: I also think he'd get really stroppy if we put a hay rack in... he hates new things that get in his way!

I always worry that Sonic doesn't eat enough hay, but I just make sure that he has loads! Any left over gets transferred to his litter tray, so we actually don't waste much at all.

It took me a LONG time to get over the "you haven't given me enough pellets" eyes! Sonic had a few problems with spurs on his teeth, and it was a bit of a wake up call. He now probably only gets about 25-30 pellets a day, and we haven't (touch wood) had any teeth issues for 2 years, so it must be working!

Timothy Hay gets my vote too. Sonic refuses to eat any other hay, and my guinea pigs go absolutely bonkers for it. It's totally worth the money, and it's always delivered so quickly.
 
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