Dietary Questions

[robertherrington]

I just have a couple of questions in regards to feeding my two flemish giants.
I bought a couple hundred pounds of timothy hay from a local farmer for $25. I will now be able to supply them as much hay as they want. I also give them as 1/2 head of lettuce or cabbage each per day as well as cucumber, peppers, strawberries, and limited carrots. So they do have plenty of variety in their diet. I'm wondering with the aforementioned items that i feed them daily, how much pellets should I be giving them? The buck is maybe 12lbs and the doe is maybe 14. The pellets I have are kayte supreme. Are those ok? Do they need salt licks? Any other helpful hints appreciated. I would like to feed them right so they don't develop health issues.

Thanks!

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

The cabbage may give gas. I don't think you need a salt lick. For veggies, it's good to feed them mostly dark, leafy greens. But, Spinach, kale and parsley in moderation. Fruit as a treat. Carrot as a treat. Avoid Cruciferous veggies and legumes. Nuts and seeds limited or avoided completely...though there is varying opinion on that. I feed 1/8 cup pellets per day for my 4.5 lbs rabbit but I don't know how much for your weight and breed of rabbit.

 

[HiddlesKenway]

I feed mine meadow hay (Used as bedding too) they have unlimited supply of pellets which is mixed with different type of pellets and alfalfa, Timothy, and lucerne chaff mixed in. They get celery, carrot, pear, apple, banana and cucumber on select days but in small portions. They also get freshly picked wheat grass, normal grass and clover.

I will also be testing them on other fresh veggies.

 

[Bville]

I think Kaytee is a good brand of pellets. You won't need a salt lick because the pellets are fortified with salt and other minerals. I looked online and the package says they recommend 1/2 to 1 cup for large rabbits so I would go with that. Use your judgment as to how much within that range based on whether they are eating enough hay. Sometimes if rabbits have too many pellets, they won't eat as much hay. Also, weigh them periodically to see if they are maintaining a healthy weight.

When you say 1/2 head of lettuce, what kind of lettuce? Iceberg is not good for rabbits. Better choices of lettuce are the dark green leafy ones. Parsley is also good for them and mine particularly love dandelion greens.

 

[BlueMoods]

Those are good pellets, give them 1/2 to 3/4 cup per day, split into two feedings. For greens you want about 2.5 to 3 cups per day per FG rabbit. Mostly spinach, kale, basil, leaf, Romain or bib lettuce with no more than 1/2 cup cabbage or other cruciferous vegetables. Fruits, carrots and anything else for treats only (1 TBS per rabbit per day or so at most.) The exception would be if they had poor coat quality, or dry skin issues, then some extra black sunflower or flax seed would help that but, they don't need those if they do not have dry skin or coats.

Of course unlimited hay and fresh water at all times.

 

[JBun]

How much of the pellets you feed will depend on the age of your rabbits and if they are pets. Another consideration is if there are any signs of digestive problems, such as mushy poop.

 

[robertherrington]

They do have mushy poop. I had initially thought that the mushy poop
was due to me introducing fresh veggies into their diet. One is 1 year and the other 11 mos if I recall correctly. Please let me know what i need to do. Thanks!

 

[JBun]

Sorry for the late reply.

When a rabbit has semiformed or unformed mushy cecotropes, along with normal fecal poop, this is often due to an imbalance of the microflora in the cecum. Usually too many sugars and carbs from treats and/or pellets is the cause, but occasionally a rabbit can either have a sensitivity to a certain veggie, or a new food was introduced into the diet too quickly. To find the cause you have to start reducing or eliminating foods. If it is just a mild case and you suspect it might be the pellets causing it, then you can try reducing the amount to see if that clears it up. In a more severe case you might need to cut pellets from the diet temporarily and feed hay only til the mushy poop clears, then slowly reintroduce pellets again. If you suspect it's one or more of the veggies, you can try cutting out the suspected veggie to see if that helps improve things. You do need to ensure your bun is eating plenty of hay if you have to reduce or cut pellets.
http://rabbit.org/intermittent-soft-cecotropes-in-rabbits/

In some cases parasites or bacteria can be a cause of mushy poop. A fecal test can be done to determine this. If this is suspected, your rabbits condition worsens, or it doesn't clear up with diet changes, you should contact your vet right away.

Here is some diet info for rabbits. The recommended amounts mostly apply to small or medium breed rabbits. Young large breed rabbits need a larger amount of pellets for a longer period of time, as they do take longer to fully mature. and need the added protein and nutrients for growing. For sm/med. breed rabbits, that is usually around 6-7 months old. Not sure exactly when a large breed rabbit is considered fully mature.
http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/

 

[princessfional]

Actually, I found that my bunny has much softer poop with cucumber! I cut it out of his diet, and now he rarely has excessive soft poops!

This might be useful to try/something to cut out as it actually isn't listed on the rabbit.org site for okay'd vegetables.