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FreezeNkody

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Ok so Gunner is 7 months old now, he's on oxbow young rabbit. I think he weighs around 8-10 lbs now. I'm sure he'll be on the smaller side. So anyways my question is 1. How much food should he be getting right now I kinda give him 4oz two times a day. I don't really feed "greens" because none of my rabbits eat them and if they do they get the poos. He has unlimited hay he doesn't eat much of it. I've heard unlimited but I'm scared he's gonna get too fat. He's my first FG. 2. When should I switch to regular Timothy based pellets? Conflicting things I was told 1 year and then another 6 months. Help!! Lol ImageUploadedByRabbit Forum1397531792.453601.jpgImageUploadedByRabbit Forum1397531831.451281.jpg
 
You can definitely feed unlimited Timothy hay. Rabbits don't usually get fat off of hay, it's just pellets that you'll have to limit as he gets older. Oxbow recommends feeding young rabbit food until rabbits are about a year old, then feeding about 1/3-1/2 cup of adult pellets to a 8-10 pound rabbit. I use a guideline of about 1/4 cup per 5 lbs of weight. If he starts getting fat you might have to cut down on the pellets.
 
If he doesn't eat much hay you may want to try a different type of hay or a mix of different types of hay. Some buns are picky and prefer certain hay. One thing I do is keep hay in the cage as well as some outside of the cage for free time. My bun seems to eat more this way. You can also try filling some empty paper towel/toilet paper rolls with hay.

I also noticed that in the morning when I feed my bun his pellets if I leave the door open for free time then he'll eat the pellets then leave the cage. If I keep him locked in for another hour after feeding pellets then he will spend a lot of time eating hay after.

Typically I have read to switch from free feeding pellets at age 7 months but since flemmies are bigger buns and tend to have a longer growing stage I switched my guy at 12 months or so. He didn't get fat and did seem to regulate himself as he would not finish all of thye pellets.
 
We were told with the smaller breeds to transition them from unlimited pellet at 6 months as they are done growing and go to regular hay--allergic to Timothy, so we use orchard grass. A Flemish grows til they are a year so that's when you switch them to an adult schedule. If you're worried about his weight, only give pellet a couple of times a day--at specific times so he will want to eat more hay. Our Checkered Giant was getting chunky so the vet had me cut out all pellet--now she only gets veggies 2 times a day and she eats a ton of orchard grass. The upside is she looks more like a rabbit now and less of a blob and I no longer worry about hernia's when I pick her up. With veggies you need to introduce them slowly and adjust the amount to keep the poop normal--some can eat more veggies than others with no problems so you just have to adjust it per the rabbit. Cosmo, 5 lb wonder gets double what Serena our 19 pound Checkered Giant gets. With the smaller amount twice a day she no longer needs a "cleanup on aisle 2".
 
He doesn't look chubby to me. I think flemmies do tend to look a little chubby when they are not. Feeling your bun would give you a better idea on whether or not he is chubby over just looking at him.

BTW I love his coloring. I'm not sure what it is since it is not an approved color for flemmies.
 

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