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Can you overfeed greens?

mashbywood6892

Young Bun
Hello, new to the forum here :wave:

I have two Netherland Dwarf rabbits, Luna and Hecate. Super happy girls - always flopping, purring and binking.

Their current diet is:
Unlimited hay (timothyhay.co.uk) with a sprinkling of forage mix (dandelion, chicory, dried flowers etc.) on it to encourage them to eat hay
Large handful of greens in the morning (usually a mix of things like romaine lettuce/green beans, kale, basil/parsley/rosemary/dill/thyme/coriander. I don't give them fruit, carrots, corn or anything high in sugar)
1 small scoop Excel pellets in the morning, another small scoop in the evening (I have weighed the scoop and it is about 25g, so 50g a day split between them is 25g each per day, which is correct from my research and the Excel pellet feeding guide)

They aren't the *best* hay eaters, and although they do eat a decent amount of it and their poos are usually a good size and fibrous, I am always having to encourage them with forage mix etc. and they have had an occasional bout of gut stasis. Vet says some rabbits are just more prone to this, even if they're happy and not stressed and have a good diet. Mine have had regular health checks and are in very good health, other than their random stasis bouts a couple of times a year.

They have very limited pellets so shouldn't be filling up on that, but I wondered if it is possible to overfeed on greens? Would it be bad for me to give them a large handful TWICE a day rather than once, to help increase their fibre intake? Or would that make them fill up on greens instead of hay? I imagine hay is better than greens as 85% of a rabbits diet should be hay, 10% greens and only 5% pellets.

Just curious as to how much greens you all feed your buns! :D

Thanks in advance!
 
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Hello and welcome. You are doing a great job with your Bunnies, and trying so hard to get their diet right. So, you don't mention the age of your Rabbits but assuming they are over 6 months I would say they are possibly getting a few too many Pellets and too much Veg. Most of us bunny folk reckon on around a tbsp of Pellets each day per bunny. This is more than likely the reason why you have to encourage them to eat their Hay. The Pellets plus the Veg amounts to too much carbohydrate and some of the Veg is high in calcium also, such as Kale. I am so pleased to hear your girls get on very well as not all do. Have you had a look at the RWA's website for more info?
 
You could try adding more foraged greens, although that is getting more difficult at this time of year. Things like bramble leaves are available all year and have a higher fibre content, which is good for teeth and digestion. Dandelions always go down well with mine (although it will make urine orange / red). Willow, apple, blackcurrant, raspberry are good as well - twigs and leaves.

Have a look at the book by Twigs Way for other suggestions:
https://shop.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/product/foraging-for-rabbits-by-twigs-way/
 
Hello and welcome. You are doing a great job with your Bunnies, and trying so hard to get their diet right. So, you don't mention the age of your Rabbits but assuming they are over 6 months I would say they are possibly getting a few too many Pellets and too much Veg. Most of us bunny folk reckon on around a tbsp of Pellets each day per bunny. This is more than likely the reason why you have to encourage them to eat their Hay. The Pellets plus the Veg amounts to too much carbohydrate and some of the Veg is high in calcium also, such as Kale. I am so pleased to hear your girls get on very well as not all do. Have you had a look at the RWA's website for more info?

Ah sorry, they are 2 years old :) Yes they are best friends (and sisters) - always snuggling and grooming eat other!

Thanks for the advice re pellets and greens. I have looked at the RWA website and read up a lot, and everywhere seems to say 25g per day (roughly an eggcup) of pellets for a 1-1.5kg rabbit. Both of mine weigh just under 1.5kg and so I have followed this advice re pellets. RWA also recommends this amount plus a large handful of greens a day.

Maybe I can try and cut down the pellets even further to 1 scoop per day (so 25g split between them?).

Re kale, I know kale can be high in calcium so they don't get it daily :) I usually give them romaine and fresh herbs, and then kale and green beans occasionally as treats as they're higher in protein and calcium.
 
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You could try adding more foraged greens, although that is getting more difficult at this time of year. Things like bramble leaves are available all year and have a higher fibre content, which is good for teeth and digestion. Dandelions always go down well with mine (although it will make urine orange / red). Willow, apple, blackcurrant, raspberry are good as well - twigs and leaves.

Have a look at the book by Twigs Way for other suggestions:
https://shop.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/product/foraging-for-rabbits-by-twigs-way/

Thanks! Will look into this :)
 
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Diet sounds really good to me & is very similar to how my bunnies eat during winter (spring to autumn I'm out foraging more days than not). Doesn't sound like you're at risk of over feeding greens to me & the greens you are feeding I'd say were appropriate. If I'd advise any changes I'd up the greens & reduce the nuggets
 
Diet sounds really good to me & is very similar to how my bunnies eat during winter (spring to autumn I'm out foraging more days than not). Doesn't sound like you're at risk of over feeding greens to me & the greens you are feeding I'd say were appropriate. If I'd advise any changes I'd up the greens & reduce the nuggets

Thank you :)

Yes, I might try and reduce the pellets even further. Instead of one scoop (25g) twice a day, I might do half a scoop twice a day instead and see how they get on...!
 
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Hello and welcome to the forum :wave: It is lovely to have new members, who are concerned about giving their rabbits a good diet :)

I very much agree with others in that the current diet sounds very good. I would also reduce the pellets a little, as this might encourage them to eat more hay.

If they are getting stasis attacks a couple of times a year, I would certainly consider forage, tree leaves and twigs. As you live in London, there will be plants for foraging possibly most of the winter. Tree leaves and twigs will be available at the moment, so Willow, Hazel, Alder and Hawthorn amongst others. Within this section of the forum, there is also a foraging thread, which is useful to browse to see what others are collecting at different times of the year. Brambles, Dandelions, Cow Parsley, Red Campion, Red Deadnettle, Chickweed and young Dock are all available at the moment in my garden in Kent.

ETA You might find this interesting re calcium content of foods https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits/calcium-and-rabbit-food
 
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Hello and welcome to the forum :wave: It is lovely to have new members, who are concerned about giving their rabbits a good diet :)

I very much agree with others in that the current diet sounds very good. I would also reduce the pellets a little, as this might encourage them to eat more hay.

If they are getting stasis attacks a couple of times a year, I would certainly consider forage, tree leaves and twigs. As you live in London, there will be plants for foraging possibly most of the winter. Tree leaves and twigs will be available at the moment, so Willow, Hazel, Alder and Hawthorn amongst others. Within this section of the forum, there is also a foraging thread, which is useful to browse to see what others are collecting at different times of the year. Brambles, Dandelions, Cow Parsley, Red Campion, Red Deadnettle, Chickweed and young Dock are all available at the moment in my garden in Kent.

ETA You might find this interesting re calcium content of foods https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits/calcium-and-rabbit-food

Thanks so much for your reply. It is reassuring that their diet sounds OK (and will be better with a slight reduction in pellets). I will certainly have a look at the foraging post you mention! Sounds like a great idea :) I did try to grow dandelion on my balcony...but they died after a few weeks which was unfortunate! I will definitely look into other foraging stuff, thanks so much.
 
Thanks so much for your reply. It is reassuring that their diet sounds OK (and will be better with a slight reduction in pellets). I will certainly have a look at the foraging post you mention! Sounds like a great idea :) I did try to grow dandelion on my balcony...but they died after a few weeks which was unfortunate! I will definitely look into other foraging stuff, thanks so much.

If you find that you're not confident of the identity of a plant and/or whether it is suitable for rabbits, just post a picture here and one of us will try to ID for you. Plants will certainly look different at different times of the year and it's always easier in the Summer months when they are in flower. Cow Parsley is one to be careful with, as it is similar to Hemlock, which is of course toxic.
 
Cow Parsley is one to be careful with, as it is similar to Hemlock, which is of course toxic.
Once you can recognise the difference it's dead easy to spot, but they're easily confused at first :) Foraging confidence comes with practice and we're here to help :)

RE diet, my outdoor bunnies get about 50g between them in midwinter and they weigh 2.2-2.5kg, just to give you an idea :D Being outside they burn more calories when it's cold, and we pretty much only feed forage and 'our' kale etc. leftovers (stalks) other than unlimited hay, so they need the winter calorie boost. Midsummer we're down to about 10 pellets each XD
 
Once you can recognise the difference it's dead easy to spot, but they're easily confused at first :) Foraging confidence comes with practice and we're here to help :)

RE diet, my outdoor bunnies get about 50g between them in midwinter and they weigh 2.2-2.5kg, just to give you an idea :D Being outside they burn more calories when it's cold, and we pretty much only feed forage and 'our' kale etc. leftovers (stalks) other than unlimited hay, so they need the winter calorie boost. Midsummer we're down to about 10 pellets each XD

Ok, it seems I think I am giving them too many pellets so will try and cut it down! Annoyingly there seems to be conflicting advice online. The Rabbit Welfare Association has a caluclator that when I put my rabbits weight in, tells me they should have 23g of pellets a day EACH (which is what I do at the moment), whereas the PDSA website says any rabbit less than 3kg only needs a tablespoon of pellets (which is about 10g EACH when I tested it with my pellets and weighing scales just now! Half of what I currently give them).

I will try cutting down their pellets to 10g each a day (20-25g total for both) but will keep greens the same and see what their hay intake is. I will also investigate the foraging stuff too!

Thanks all :) :)
 
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