Young bunny diet & grooming

Dear fellow friends, I'm new to bunny and read several website that bunny should be introduce to Alfalfa and pellets when they are growing. My bunny is a Holland lop and she is about 10weeks old.

How much quantity of pellets and alfalfa should I be feeding her?

How often should I be brushing her fur?

How long should I be cleaning her paws/butt?

What has she been eating so far?

Normally, a young rabbit should have access to plain pellets (no colorful add-ins or seeds), and constant access to hay (either alfalfa hay or timothy -- a mix of both is also fine). Whether or not she should be getting any greens yet depends on what her diet has been up until now.

If she is being kept in a clean cage with a litter box, there should be no need to be cleaning her paws or butt. Rabbits clean themselves and don't need us to help them. A poopy bum is an indication of something wrong. A healthy bunny won't have a poopy bum.

Thank you!

I have been feeding her growth pellets and a mixture of hay(Alfalfa, Orchard & Timothy)

However I'm not sure how much is the quantity for the pellets for her. As she don't seems to eat Hay if I feed her pellets so I have to timely give pellets like 2 tablespoonful every morning and 1 spoonful at night.

And when Alfalfa is available, she will finished them as well. So I'm not sure she is having enough. Once I even have her drinking so much water not sure if it is to replace her diet

Can you explain what you mean by "growth pellets"?

Drinking lots of water is fine. They tend to drink more water if they eat more hay. She should be allowed to drink as much water as she wants.

Do you know her weight? 3 tbsp of pellets per day doesn't seem like enough for a growing baby. Is she eating about her body size in hay every day?

She is about 400gram as per last week by the vet. As she will finished lol the pellets and not touch the hay at all. Thus I'm not sure what is the right way to handle this little girl.

Oh sorry the pellets I'm feeding her now is the brand Bunnytaste Growth pellets for growing bunny. So what do you think is the recommendation for me to feed her?

Yikes! Are you sure about her age? 400 grams isn't even 1 lb. That seems way too small for a 9 week old rabbit.

Hopefully one of the experienced breeders will hop on to this discussion.

In terms of pellets, most baby rabbits (NOT adults) can handle unlimited or quite a bit of pellets. But not all at once. While she is young, I'd probably increase her pellet allotment by double (6 tbs) and if she doesn't eat it all, that's ok (don't give her all of it at first, slowly increase the amount). Alfalfa is good for young growing rabbits too (but not adults!). You can also try orchard and oat hay if she really won't eat much hay- my two adults love those flavors!

She's on the small end for a Holland. She should probably be getting more pellets. Hay is good, but at her age the pellets are providing important nutrition for growth. Maybe you could feed her pellets in the morning and give her hay at night?

Hi, thank you for your advice. May I also check with you if your rabbit will flood the pee tray within 2 days?

Tellojello said:

Hi, thank you for your advice. May I also check with you if your rabbit will flood the pee tray within 2 days?

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Is she on a wire floor with a tray underneath? If so do you have any litter or wood pellets on the tray?

Rabbits do pee alot and the pee usually has a strong odor. This is why litter training is such a help. Check here for info on that.