Curios about the "proper" teen bun diet..

[juliew19673]

Baxter! since him finding me 2 short months ago, has widen my world to the " spoiled bunny needs". However in watching a number of string on this forum I begin to wonder what Is the appropriate diet for a teen bunny? Baxter is approximately 6 - 7 months old and was fixed a couple of weeks ago.

From what I see after 5 months its just hay, 1/4 cuptimothy pellets and water? Seems kinda harsh?!

Baxter! loves his spinach/cilatro/parsley banana chip salad in themorning.. But do not want to hurt his health by any means - but would love to be able to spoil him healthfuly... He's just fine at the moment but been reading how "wrong" things can go when your overfeed buns and certainly do not wish this on Baxter!

Any guidance/suggestions appreciated.

 

[12354somebunny]

How much pellets is Baxter! getting now? you can reduce the amount slowly over time, to make it easier for him.

My rabbits are just a little over a year old, and they get 1/3 cups pellets each day. I feel bad, sometimes, cos they go crazy when they hear me getting their pellets out from the container, its as though they haven't had pellets in days! so, i split their 1/3 portion into 2 parts, i give 1 part in the morning and another 1 part at night.. that way they're able to munch on pellets throughout the day (more or less).

as for treats, i try to give not more than 2 full teaspoons per week of fruit. alternatively, if i dont give fruits, i'll give them a little raisin or craisin or papaya tablet. i'm wary about feeding them with too much sugary stuff too. Hope i'm not being to stingy with the treats its just that, even with limited pellets and treats, my buns still look a little chubby to me.. i'm not sure if they really are chubby or its just their fur..

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I've always heard it's ok to give them unlimited pellets for the first 9 to 12 mos. I could be wrong but that's what I did with all of mine.

Clover still gets unlimited pellets cause she's tiny and rarely eats more than her limit anyhow..... Bo gets about 1/3 cup per day.

They all get unlimited timothy hay and I feed some veggies too.

 

[juliew19673]

I hate to say but I've been giving Baxter! just unlimited pellets (fill the bowl) he doesn't eat all of them but I would guess he's eating about 1/2 cup a day...

 

[Evey]

Hello,

I wouldn't worry about keeping his bowl filled w/ pellets since he is still young. You might want to slowly decrease the pellets though to about 1/4 or 1/3 cup a day. You can definitely still give him his morning salad! It's actually better for them to have pellets, hay, and veggies everyday You're doing a great job with Baxter!

-Kathy

 

[juliew19673]

Thanks for the "vote" of confidence in my care of Baxter! lol..

second newbie question - I've not been successful in finding the right brush/comb to groom Baxter! (tried my cats metal flea comb - didn't work, at petco they had brush supposedly made for buns - didn't work)..

His fur is so "dense" not necessarily thick but impossible it seems to get anything through it. The best i've found so far is a regular black barber comb - but it doesn't really pull out the dead fur; as when jumps off my lapI'm covered in fur..

 

[Evey]

Ooh, you should try the Furminator! They are a little pricey, but I think most of us here have them. You can find them at any pet store--I think I have the cat Furminator, and it works well. Also, you can simply wet your hands and pet Baxter! I actually did that when my bunny, Leo, was going through a terrible molt, and it worked better (and was easier) than using the Furminator all the time

-Kathy

 

[juliew19673]

Just looked it up online - what a cool little gadget?! For today I'll definetly try the wet hands thing.. Thanks for the tip.

I think Baxter! read this string when I stepped out of my office as he is currently under my desk furiously eating pellets! LOL.. Silly bun..

 

[HoneyPot]

Hi Julie... if Baxter is already eating vegetables that's great - keep that up.

When he's around 7 months (which is guess is now...),you can start to cut his pellets back slowly (over the course of the next 3-4 months)till eventually he is only getting 1/4 cup a day. Right now it will be ok for him to get a full bowl, but eventually, a full bowl of pellets will be too much and you may start seeing some weight gain on the overweight side of the scale.

The "proper" diet (according to most sources), is 1/4 cup of pellets and 2 cups of vegetables per day per 5lbs of bunny. So, keep up with the salad and cut back on the pellets. Also, unlimited Timothy Hay at all times.

What kind of pellets is he getting? You may also need to switch him over to a Timothy based pellet as wellif he's been getting Alfalfa - it's a better adult pellet as an Alfalfa pellet is too high in protein and calcium for an adult rabbit.

Here is a link to a safe list of veggies for your guy - try to mix it up every week so that he's getting a range of vegetables as each kind will provide him with different nutrients to round out his diet:

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=13618&forum_id=17

Baxter is a cutie pie, good luck!


__________________
Nadia

 

[HoneyPot]

Also as far as brushing, see this link:



http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=28114&forum_id=17

________________
Nadia

 

[juliew19673]

Yes after learing that poor Baxter! was getting that crap Kaytee foods (had nuts and all sorts of carbs in it - but then again when Irescuedhim he was SO skinny - his little spine you could see clearly - and all I knew then of rabbits and food I learned from Bugs Bunny cartoons - sigh) but, after afew weeks of the crap food (and finding this site) I switched him over to Timothy Hay Pelts,stopped the alfafa and replaced it with timothy hay and I believe a blue hay. He does have a alfafa cube at my office, pellets and timothy hay to munch on and I keep cilantro and parsely at the office 24/7 (we also have a couple of rescue finches, myself and another employee found outside of ouroffice - so they eat alot of the same thing as Baxter! so its a great excuse to buy those items on the corporate card)..

I was just becoming concerned that I might be overfeeding him - but he seems to be holding strong at 5.1 lbs for the last month and half, and he gets plenty of run time daily..

Thanks all for the advice - mui appreciated.

 

[katt]

my feeling on what your bun should eat is to fallow the general 1/4 cup pellet ect. but fit it to him

if he is on free feed and is staying at a normal healthy weight, then i personally (in my opinion) don't see a reason to change that. others may disagree. some rabbits are good at not over eating and others not so good.

my "teen" bunny is 6 months old now (around that) and daily he gets all the timothy hay he wants, a small handfull of alfalfa, unlimited pellets, and about 1 cup of greens. he is bearly 2 pounds soaking wet, so just a little guy. as long as he doesn't start to chunck out on me in the next 4 months, i plan on keeping him on the unlimited pellets.

winnie is almost 3, and she is also eating unlimited pellets along with timothy hay and 2 cups of greens daily. i have never had an issue with her weight, moreso now that she is free range. she is just so active that she doesn't sit around eating all day.

i have owned rabbits that had to have their pellets rationed, they just would sit there and eat and eat and gain weight, in comparision to the buns i have now that aren't as interested in their food and are active. it just depends on the bun