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Daily willow and pellets

KCG

KCG

Warren Veteran
You all know about Cookie's intestinal condition right now. I sometimes wonder if I'm feeding him too much, and Cookie was a rabbit that had almost no intestinal problems until now. Normally cookie eats hay 7 times a day for a long time, takes 12 pellets a day, eat 3-4-5 willow branches a day, gets 4 hoops a day, takes 1 fibafirst a day, eats vegetables twice a day. He's normally a rabbit that really eats all the time. But while he ate all this, he also ate his hay well.
My question now is, there are too many alternatives to Cookie, so I reduced giving willow branches, pellets and hoops. Is Cookie's diet normal or overfeeding? (Cookie's weight is 1800 grams/3.96 pounds)
And how much willows branches and pellets do you think a rabbit should eat per day?
 
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Not sure what you mean by ‘hoops’, but if they are commercial treats I wouldn’t feed them at all. Or only one, once a week. Rabbits don’t need treats, as such. I feed my Rabbits their pellet ration as hand fed ‘treats’ they get about 10 pellets a day maximum. I Rabbit won’t starve if they just have a diet of a variety of hays, grass,fresh and/or dried forages and water. House Rabbits could benefit from a few pellets as they don’t have much exposure to natural light which is needed for Vit D synthesis.

Willow should be fed in moderation as it has a natural anti-inflammatory property and too much can cause gastric irritation for some Rabbits. Especially if the Rabbit is already on a NSAID for a health problem.

I can’t give JJ willow at all as it always causes him to have abdominal pain. But he has abnormal guts anyway, so a small amount of willow shouldn’t be a problem for most Rabbits.
 
I think bunnies vary in what they can tolerate. Like Jane, I don't give any commercial treats and so wouldn't feed the hoops. What vegetables are you feeding?

I think you need to adjust what you are feeding, depending on how much hay Cookie eats. So I would gradually cut down everything else until he eats more hay.
 
InspectorMorse said:
Not sure what you mean by ‘hoops’, but if they are commercial treats I wouldn’t feed them at all. Or only one, once a week. Rabbits don’t need treats, as such. I feed my Rabbits their pellet ration as hand fed ‘treats’ they get about 10 pellets a day maximum. I Rabbit won’t starve if they just have a diet of a variety of hays, grass,fresh and/or dried forages and water. House Rabbits could benefit from a few pellets as they don’t have much exposure to natural light which is needed for Vit D synthesis.

Willow should be fed in moderation as it has a natural anti-inflammatory property and too much can cause gastric irritation for some Rabbits. Especially if the Rabbit is already on a NSAID for a health problem.

I can’t give JJ willow at all as it always causes him to have abdominal pain. But he has abnormal guts anyway, so a small amount of willow shouldn’t be a problem for most Rabbits.
Click to expand...
I see, good warning about willow branches, thank you. Well, do willow branches normally have a clear measurement?

Omi said:
I think bunnies vary in what they can tolerate. Like Jane, I don't give any commercial treats and so wouldn't feed the hoops. What vegetables are you feeding?

I think you need to adjust what you are feeding, depending on how much hay Cookie eats. So I would gradually cut down everything else until he eats more hay.
Click to expand...
Cookie usually eats kale, arugula, purslane, dill, coriander, celery, chicory. I am very careful with his vegetable diet, as he had frequent urinary tract infections in the past.
Now I'm cutting back on treats, less willow and pellets a bit, to divert more to hay, hope that helps. Thank You 🩷
 
Sending vibes your diet changes help Cookie. Did you stop giving fruits? I never give fruits to my bunnies.
 
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