bunny won't eat pellets

[lrichards]

I just got a 6 week old mini lop. I have had her for 4 days. I do not think she is eating her pellets. Do I need to be worried and if so what do I do? She is eating her Timothy hay and I have given her some romane lettice and a carrot. I just do not want her starving. The type of pellets that she has is NutriPhase.



Any help would be appreciated. This is the first time I have owned a bunny.

 

[pamnock]

How do her droppings look?

I wouldn't be too concerned right now if she's eating very little pellets or no pellets because she's still getting settled in and used to her new home. You could try adding a little dry oatmeal to the pellets.

Put just a tiny amount of pellets in the dish to see if she's eating any at all.

If you have a small scale, weigh her daily.

Pam

 

[lrichards]

Her droppings are round and firm.

Thanks for your advice. I will weigh her and moniter her food a little closer. Could she be eating to much of the hay and not wanting any of the pellets. Supprisingly she will eat out of my hands and has no problem eating the hay or fresh veggies. I just want to make sure she is getting a balanced diet.

 

[pamnock]

She may be filling up on the hay, butat least she'seating something during this adjustment period. She's not in danger of nutritional deficiency if she's eating primarily hay while getting used to her new home. The little bit of carrots and greens will also help to balance out her diet.

As she's growing, she'll need the minerals that the pellets provide so you may need to cut back on the hay once she's settled into her new home.

Pam

 

[naturestee]

What was she eating before you got her? Some rabbits are picky and it might be best if you give her the same brand she was getting before, then mix the new stuff in so she gets used to it over time.

 

[lrichards]

Yes, she was eating pellets before. I guess I will have to find some of that food.

 

[tonyshuman]

6 weeks old is a bit young to be on a high-veggie diet. Switch back to mostly pellets with a small amount of veggies as a treat until she reaches 6 months, then gradually go to more veggies and fewer pellets. Younger rabbits have a harder time digesting veggies than older ones. It's also best to change pellet brands gradually if possible. She should be on an alfalfa-based pellet, fed free-choice at this age.

 

[lrichards]

I do have an alfalfa based pellet availabe to her she is just not eating it. I also do not have access the the kind of food she was on. I am also not sure that she was eating pellets. I assume she was, she was in cage with mom. What do you mean by fed free choice?

 

[tonyshuman]

I mean just fill her bowl to the top every day. Free choice means she should get to eat as much as she wants. What alfalfa pellet do you have? There are quite a few good ones. My shelter uses Lab-Diet Hi-Fiber for adult bunnies and Green Bag Purina Rabbit Chow for younger bunnies and picky bunnies. Oxbow also makes a good alfalfa pellet called 15/23.

 

[lrichards]

Its called Nutri Phase

 

[tonyshuman]

That pellet is not the greatest. As a rule, pellets with "Lucky Charms"-looking colorful bits in them aren't as good--they're more like junk food. It should be ok for now, but switch to a better pellet when you get the chance, like one of the ones I listed. She'll be on alfalfa until she's about 6 mo old, and will probably eat 1/4-1/2 c a day these first few months, so you'll probably run out of the Nutriphase.

Edit: i'm sorry I missed that you said the brand of the pellet earlier in the post. D'oh!
::headsmack::

 

[Hazel-Mom]

tonyshuman wrote:

6 weeks old is a bit young to be on a high-veggie diet. Switch back to mostly pellets with a small amount of veggies as a treat until she reaches 6 months, then gradually go to more veggies and fewer pellets. Younger rabbits have a harder time digesting veggies than older ones. It's also best to change pellet brands gradually if possible. She should be on an alfalfa-based pellet, fed free-choice at this age.

If she was with mom in the cage, and mom was getting veggies, she should be ok though. BTW, the House Rabbit Society advises to start adding vegetables to the diet at 12 weeks, which is 3 months old. http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html

 

[tonyshuman]

Oh yeah, veggies are ok as a treat for younger bunnies. I wouldn't go high-veggie yet though. For instance, my adult guys get 2c veggies per day per 4lb of bunny, plus less than 1/8c pellets per day per 4lb of bunny (except the nethies, who get more pellets because they're "high energy"). That's not a diet I'd give a bunny under 6 mo, at which point they should primariy be eating pellets.