What do you feed your buns?

So I am new here and this is my first time having a rabbit as a pet. My 7 year old got her for passing school this year and he is so excited to have a pet!

Right now she is just over 3 months old. I have been feeding her Living World Pellets, hay and sometimes a couple bunny treats from the pet store. I am doing some research online of what is good to feed pet rabbits.

I would love to hear from others the feeding routine you give her bunnies and what you give them throughout the day!

Thanks!

I think this is the best site on this topic I ever encountered:

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

Also the rest she has to say about stuff like toxic plants etc.

OK, don't give treats from the petstore. Those are generally horrible for your rabbit's guts (digestive problems are likely to kill your rabbit, it's not something you can take lightly). Rabbits should eat hay. lots of it. About her body size in hay everyday. If she doesn't, she'll get teeth problems and guts problems which are very serious and could lead to her death a lot quicker than you think. The second thing she'll eat as an adult is vegetables. Fresh from the market vegetables. About 8% of her body weight with 2/3 leafy greens and 1/3 other vegetables everyday. You can begin to introduce them now. One by one, slowly over the course of several days for each vegetable.
Pellets are a complement. Your rabbit can still eat quite a bit of it (as long as she eats her hay!) while she's still growing but after that it's around 2-3% of her body weight each day (my Nethie eats about 10g of them). I don't know Living world pellets, but I just looked up the composition and it looks pretty awful. There isn't anything in there that a rabbit should be eating (salt, corn, soybean aren't meant for rabbits, who are strictly herbivors). You'll have to transition to something else - you can look it up on the forum, several brands are recommanded, I wouldn't advise you on this because the one I use can only be found in Europe... I seem to remember Sherwood is pretty good.
My personnal rule is no treats because I feel it does more bad than good, but you can give a small piece of fresh fruit or carrot once in a while if you feel like your bunny need some.
To know everything about nutrition, I recommend you and your son go read the articles about food (the vegetable list is especially useful) here:
http://rabbit.org/category/care/diet/

It has nothing to do with nutrition, but considering you sound like you are a beginner rabbit owner, I feel I should tell you : since you got a doe, you know that you'll have to get her spayed, right? She's got over 80% risk of getting uterine / ovarian cancer if you don't, some does get this around their 2 or 3 years.

Rabbits are considered adults around 6-7 months of age. At that time, their diet should change.

For now, yours is considered young but is still just old enough to start being introduced to greens. (slowly and carefully)

The links suggested by both Prietler and Aki are good links. However, if they seem overwhelming or complicated, you can see a 'short & sweet' diet pie chart and summary here.



Pellets should be plain with no colorful bits, seeds or add-ins. They can be alfalfa-based (1st listed ingredient) for now. That will switch to a measured amount of timothy-based pellets at 6 months.

Hay should be unlimited, refreshed daily. Alfalfa is only ok for younger than 6 months. But it's still good to mix some timothy in with it so there'll be less problems transitioning at 6 months.

Greens, after gradually introducing them, will eventually be a daily part of her diet -- about 2-4 cups daily.

Skip all treats until she's an adult and on an adult diet. The link explains about treats. For now, the intro of greens will be viewed by her as her "treat."

Just saw on your other post that you brought your bunny home just over 3 months ago. Typically rabbits don't "leave home" until they are 8 weeks of age. That would make your bunny closer to 5 + months of age.

If that is the case, she very well could be hormonal and ready to be spayed. Those hormones could be affecting her in multiple ways.

It also means that you can begin to transition her to her adult pellets. No need to first transition to juvenile pellets. Might as well go straight to a healthy adult (timothy-based) pellet. Brand suggestions are on the link I provided.

I'd also go for the non-alfalfa hay, like timothy or bermuda or orchard grass, etc.

My rabbits are 2 and 4 years old, so their diet will be different than a juvenile. I feed them twice per day: around 6am before work, then around 8pm.

The biggest food item is hay. I have timothy, oat, and orchard medley from a company called Small Pet Select (SPS).

They have access to Oxbow adult pellets, but they don't particularly care for them.

I spend around $10/week in greens from the grocery store: dandylion, endive, spinach, collards, turnip greens, cilantro, parsley, carrot, kale, romain, and whatever else looks good for them to try.

I also get cheap small animal treats from the grocery store -- not the best, but cheaper than the fancy rabbit treats in small packages that literally cost >$100/pound. SPS makes nice, moderately-priced treats that are healthier as well... but my rabbits don't particularly care for them. Hay- and wood-oriented treats are the best, and I have tons of these, also from SPS.

I've started growing grass (literally grass seed in a large planter thing) this year and bring it in every now and them for them to munch on. They seem to like it.

OMG!!! Thank you so much for all that information!!!

Blue Eyes I was told that Nibbles was at the Pet Store for 2 weeks before we brought her home and was told she was 8 weeks old.

Should I just give her the pellet food at certain times of the day?

Aki. Thank you so much for your information about that pellet food and that its not a good one for her. I was told this is the one they feed them at the store and it is a good one. I will be doing more research on the best brand for her now.

How old do rabbits need to be before they are spayed? Her cage is cleaned every day. I cleaned it out completely after supper and the smell in her cage is strong again! I am so worried. I will be calling around on Monday to see which vet hospital specializes in rabbits and get her checked out.

There is a Farm and market not far from where I live. I will be stocking up on some more greens this week for her. Does anyone give their rabbits celery? I have a lot of that here and I am the only one that eats it.

If she hasn't had greens yet, go easy!! You'll have to start by introducing one new type at a time. You offer one palm-sized piece of a romaine lettuce leaf (for example) on one day. Then you see if her poos change. If there are no changes, then she can have another piece the next day. On this goes for several days with a little romaine, always checking for poo changes. If she does well, she can have a little more romaine.

After that week, then you can try the next green. Do the same very slow intros and checking poos. This is how greens are gradually introduced, so don't "stock up on greens" yet. It is too soon.

Click here to check/compare pellet brands:
http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp

Different vets are comfortable spaying rabbits at different ages. But typically 5-7 months of age is when most vets are ok with spaying.

Are you using a litter box? Rabbits train fairly easily (especially once spayed) and that makes clean up easier. There is no reason for an indoor rabbit cage to have to be smelly. The trick is setting it up to the best advantage with a good litter and helpful maintenance. I explain on my site here how I keep my home odor free. I do not clean every day.

Oh...celery is fine for rabbits too. It should, however, be cut into 1" slices though so that the 'strings' don't get caught or tangled in their gut.

I give my rabbits their pellet food right before I go to bed. It gets them back in their cage for bedtime. That is when their cage is left closed. (I keep it open during the day. )