About food (for my Red Rabbit)

[Victoria]

Hi

I have not written on this forum it looks like for some time.

I have some questions about rabbit's diet.

We are not giving him any pellets at the moment. I wrote in other places on this site that he had a problem with choking on them and nearly died and another rabbit who was also gotten at the same time as Red did die from choking on them.

We feed him Timothy or Orchard hay. Often it is Oxbow but sometimes it is from supermarket called Peter's (name of the brand), I am not sure how good it is or how old it is (from the supermarket).

We then feed him coriander, mint, basil etc. rarely he gets celery. Sometimes we give him tomato, apple pieces and also carrots and carrot tops.

This is pretty much what he eats. he is underweight.

I want to feed him more but I am not sure what. Today I bought him radicchio (the type that is round looks like redish coloured lettuce) and baby endive. How good/bad are these greens?

Any other ideas?

 

[jcottonl02]

If you cut out pellets entirely, then you will need to make up for these lost calories, and essential vitamins and nutrition that he is not getting anymore.

If he is losing weight, then clearly you aren't feeding him a) enough, or b) the right veggies.

The House Rabbit Society recommends that on a pellet-free diet, or a low pellet diet (which my buns are on), to feed approximately 3-4 cups of chopped veggies daily, with a variety of at least three. My rabbits are on a low-pellet diet (according to HRS guidelines), and get at least 3 or 4 cups of veggies a day, and they love it! It is such a varied diet: a small amount of pellets, with many different vegetables, herbs, a little fruit etc.

My rabbits adore pak choy, curly kale, basil, broccoli, romaine lettuce, brussel sprouts, carrots, strawberries, banana etc.

It is best to feed at least 3 types of greens daily, because feeding one type only can lead to nutrient imbalances (Brown 1994). However, such imbalances are less likely to occur if at least a small amount of pellets is given each day.

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-4/pellets.html

Check out some of these 'safe veggies' lists:

http://www.adoptarabbit.com/articles/packet/abcvegi.html

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/safefoods.htm



You'll notice that some of them, such as broccoli and cabbage can cause gas if given in high amount, and some such as kale and spinach should not be fed every day due to high levels of oxalates, but doesn't mean at all that they can't have them. The HRS explains it really well here:

Kale, mustard greens and spinach contain high levels of oxalates, the salts of oxalic acid, which can accumulate in the system and cause toxicity over time. Rather than eliminating these veggies from your list (because they are highly nutritious and loved by most rabbits), limit your use of them to 1-3 meals a week. One method is to feed kale (with other veggies) for several days until 1-2 bunches are gone, then avoid buying it again for a week or so.

This will apply to you, if you are giving a completely pellet free diet:

Particularly for rabbits who eat no or few pellets, try to include at least one veggie daily that is high in vitamin A (such as carrots, collard or mustard greens, endive, or parsley). If all these instructions seem complicated, simplify things by making sure you vary your rabbit's diet as much as possible to avoid giving too much or too little of any one food.

Btw you aren't feeding the tomato greens too are you??

I think that bunnybunbun feeds a pellet-free diet, and so hopefully she can can come along and give her advice, because she knows what she is talking about.

Also, perhaps you should give some more of the slightly higher in calorie and fat veggies n fruit than others who feed pellets do. Like perhaps give something like banana, artichoke, squash, brussel sprouts, carrot, baby sweetcorn (apparently fine by rabbitwelfareassociation standards) 3 or 4 times a week, rather than only a few times a week that I would give?

http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/nutrition/carb-counter-vegetables.html (for carbs and fat in different vegetables. Remember to check these on the safe foods lists before giving them).


Jen