Introducing vegetables and pellets

Hi
Im new to the forum ! . Iv never owned a rabbit before but iv done alot of research the past few months im getting my rabbit on sunday she's not neutered and is 5 years old the person im getting her from is a friend of my brothers he doesn't want her anymore but he says she's the nicest rabbit loves being handled don't mind being picked up etc. She lives outside and all he ever fed her was grass and carrots . When I get her she will be an indoor rabbit but because she hasn't had a variety in her diet with other vegetables and has never had pellets how do I introduce those to her with giving her an upset stomach
Thanks
Kayla

Hi and welcome!

5 years old, not neutered, fed only grass and carrots! I'm surprised she's made it this long, that's one hardy bunny.

For her diet, I'd try to make changes as slowly as possible given her past diet and age. See if you can pick a large bunch of the same grass she's been eating, and for the first few days have her only on hay and the grass she's used to eating. If she handles the addition of hay well and her poops are nice and solid, introduce half a teaspoon of pellets daily for a week. Keep monitoring her poops. Gradually increase the amount of pellets she's given daily if her poops are good. Eventually she should get around 1/4 cup pellets every day.

Once you're certain she's holding steady on her pellets, you can slowly introduce other veggies, maybe one kind of veggie per week so you can pinpoint what veggies she can't handle if her poops go weird.

On another note, getting her booked in for a hysterectomy spay is something you might want to consider. It can be expensive and I don't know if she's in a healthy enough condition to undergo that surgery, but the risk of uterine cancer in older unfixed female bunnies is quite high, so spaying her may very well prolong her life with you. Talk it over with a good rabbit vet.

Start with one thing and just give her a very small amount. Then, watch her poop for a day or two to make sure there is no change in the consistency or size of the poops. You can increase the amount slowly over time of anything that seems to agree with her, then add something new the same way. I would only go up to about 1/4 cup of pellets at the most because she is an adult bunny, unless she is really big. How much does she weigh? While you are introducing new foods, keep feeding her grass if that is what she is used to, although hay is just dried grass so I think you could start with hay and there should be no problems. Carrots are high in sugar so you should only give her a couple of slices or one baby carrot a day.

Hay is something that you don't need to transition and should be given free choice immediately. Grass daily and carrots can be given sparingly ( I give greens daily and carrots once a week). Anything else like lettuce, kale, turnip greens or spinach, give a little at a time until you are sure your rabbit can handle it. I would say maybe one leaf a day and look in the litter box to ensure no diarrhea. I have found if hay is given free choice, they don't have a problem when greens are introduced as long as it's a little at a time.

Thanks so much this helped a lot . I'm not sure of her weight im only going to get her on Sunday . She use to be a breeding bunny aswell as a show bunny for magic shows do u like i should get her neutered it's very expensive and would probably have to save up months but if I need to i will I'd do anything to give her a happier longer life !