Does anyone have a bunny who doesn't eat their pellets?

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kikibee05

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My LC will pick around the pellets in her foodand I am not sure that is healthy for her. I give her the TimothyHay to eat every day and healthy treats but when it comes to her"regular" food she doesn't tend to eat much of it. Should I beworried or is she just spoiled like the rest of my pets?Thanks,Sheryland LC
 
It sounds like she's spoiled but it's not goodfor her to only be eating hay and treats. My advice is to stop feedingany treats for the time being and limit the hay to a handful a day,that way if she is hungry she has to eat the pellets. Yes they shouldhave unlimited hay normally but a rabbit needs pellets to maintainweight, hay does not provide enough and I could see her easily becomingtoo skinny. Limiting the hay for a short period of time will not be badfor her, many breeders don't evenfeed hay as it's too messy,they just feed pellets.

The other thing you could try is a new brand of food. If a rabbitdoesn't like a brand, they wont eat it. My buck is proof, he is verypicky about the brand of pellets he eats and so far I can't manage tofind a different one he will eat.
 
She won't get too skinny for a little whilebecause everyone tells me she is getting a little belly and is gettingchubby. I don't see it. I just noticed that she is getting moreof an adult bunny look to her. She has never eaten her pelletseven when I first got her and this week I tried limiting her treats andhay and it didn't help. I finally gave in last night and gave hersome of her apple and carrot treats and she went crazy eating them likeshe was starved...I felt bad. What kind of food do you feedbecause this is the third kind I have tried that she won'ttouch...Thanks
 
What brands of pellets have you tried?I'm blessed with fairly non-picky buns, they'll eat anything exceptMocha refused to eat the pellets from the pet store she camefrom. They're eating Oxbow Bunny Basics/T now.

I'd cut out the treats too, or at least cut them backseverely. I have oat and craisin addicts here but I refuse togive them treats more than 2-3 times a week unless there's somethingspecial happening like bonding or nail clipping.

Do you feed any veggies? If she's refusing to eat pelletsyou'll need to make up for that with veggies. Otherwise shewon't be getting the vitamins she needs. Check here for anexplanation of how to feed your rabbit without pellets (it's the lasttopic).
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=16340&forum_id=1
 
Picking around the pellets? is her feed mixedwith corn, colored treats and stuff? Those things are likehanding her a bigmac. They are really bad for her and all sheneeds is a good pelleted food and hay. Then, greens are niceand if you want a few tidbit treats. I love going to theorganic market and getting dried papaya for the buns. Theyget a small slice three or four times a week. They love itand it's good for their tummies :)
 
Yes, her food has corn and some Timothy hay init but no fancy colored things...just corn that I know of. I willcheck. I will start limiting her other stuff intake and see ifthat helps. I do feed her lettuce and carrots too about 2-3 timesa week so she does get vegetables.
 
Is there nutritional information on the packaging anywhere that you could post here?

Corn is very hard for bunnies to digest, and is not recommended to giveto them at all. Have you tried a food that is just plainpellets, with nothing else? Those are normally the best.

I know my sister's mother was worried that their bunny wasn't eatingenough pellets and gave her a food with seeds and corn in it becauseshe ate more of it. But having a bunny that eats fewer plainpellets is better than one that eats seeds and corn.

Maybe just pick out the pellets for now, and gradually wean her onto a plain pellet?

--Dawn
 
Just a note, not a lecture. I wanted to give you what an article in the
Feeding Your Rabbit section says about corn and food withanything additional to pellets in it.

Before I do, here's a link to the article. The things I'm quoting are at the bottom.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

Just wanted to provide data to go along with the advice. :)


DON'T FEED POTENTIALLY HARMFUL "TREATS"

Remember: a rabbit is a lagomorph, not a rodent or a primate. Therabbit digestive tract is physiologically more similar to that of ahorse than to that of a rodent or primate, and the intestine andrelated organs can suffer from an overindulgence in starchy, fattyfoods. NEVER feed your rabbit commercial "gourmet" or "treat" mixesfilled with dried fruit, nuts and seeds. These may be safe for a birdor hamster--BUT THEY ARE NOT PROPER FOOD FOR A RABBIT. The solefunction of "rabbit gourmet treats" is to lighten your wallet. If themanufacturers of "gourmet rabbit treats" truly cared about yourrabbit's health and longevity, they would not market such products.
Don't feed your rabbit cookies, crackers, nuts, seeds, breakfastcereals (including oatmeal) or "high fiber" cereals. They may be highfiber for you, but not for your herbivorous rabbit, who's far betterable to completely digest celluose ("dietary fiber") than you are. Fedto a rabbit, the high fat and simple carbohydrate content of "naughtyfoods" may contribute to fatty liver disease, cecal dysbiosis, obesity,and otherwise cause health problems.

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT CORN AND OTHER SEEDS

Some types of seeds (especially things like "Canadian peas" and cornkernels) have hulls that are indigestible to a rabbit, and can causelife-threatening intestinal impactions/blockages. Corn, fresh or dried,is NOT safe for rabbits. The hull of corn kernels is composed of acomplex polysaccharide (not cellulose and pectin, of which plant cellwalls are more commonly composed, and which a rabbit can digest) whichrabbits cannot digest. We know of more than one rabbit who sufferedintestinal impactions because of the indigestible corn hulls. Afteremergency medical treatment, when the poor rabbits finally passed thecorn, their fecal pellets were nearly solid corn hulls! Those rabbitswere lucky.

 
I am home now and looked at the package and yes,I am guilty of feeding her basically a Big Mac! There aredried fruits, vegetables, seeds and grain in with thepellets. I will start picking out the pellets from nowon. I am glad I asked...I just thought she was picky...didn'tthink she was getting full from unhealthy food. Thanks
 
Ya know...I ask myself that all the time. I don't get it, either...
 
Rightnow Iamgiving Pebbles three differentBrands of pellets inher bowl. (Oxbow, Sunfresh andMartins).

She will eat/pick herfavorite brand first, andthenfinish the restby the end of theday. I cut downon her vegetablesbecause she was getting mushypoopy butts when Igive her too much vegs.When there was absolutelynothing else to eat, Pebbleswould turn to her hay whichis unlimited. Of coursethere are treats, (ourbunnies really make us feelguilty when they giveus that you never feedme look.) :pleaseplease:

Rainbows! :)
 
kikibee05 wrote:
Thanks for the article! Why do they sell it if itis bad for them??? That is just plain irresponsible of petfood makers!
Click to expand...
I ask myself that all the time. I continually see huge balesof cedar shavings with bunny, pig and rat photos on them! That's adeadly bedding for them!

Feed that is good for them is more expensive than making the kind that has fillers like corn.

The bunnies eat more of the "crap" in those feeds with less nutrition so they sell more of that feed.

Bunnies eat less of the good stuff - but it's a bit pricier per pound. It's worth it.

I still give Clover Oxbow alfalfa pellets and Bo gets the timothyones. It took a couple of days "weening" them but they LOVEthose pellets now! Pig even gets a couple as a treat now andthen.
 
Are the treats the pet stores sell ok?I buy the yogurt treats and the timothy hay and berry chew block thingsand then there are these stick things make of carrots andhay? She will hate me if she can't have her yogurt treatsthough...she comes hopping over whenever she hears the bag beingtouched...yeah...she is spoiled!:bunnydance:',
 
Unfortunately the yogurt drops are probably oneof the worst treats you can give her. I refuse to feed them to myrabbits. As for the rest, I don't know as I have no experience withthem myself.
 
I don't give yogurt treats either. I give craisens, oatmeal flakes, and we do get tasty twigs from the store. I also allow Bo (Clover doesn't like them) a few cheerios now and then.

I noticed tho, that we were giving them way too many treats and Bo was getting a messy butt. We're backing off those treats now - it's hard and they hate it, but that's that.

Clover loves pumpkin so she can have a nibble of that and they both get papaya here and there.

That sounds like a lot but it's not all the time. They get maybe 1 item a day and when I say papaya they get a piece the size of a cheerio maybe.
 
I guess LC will have to be mad at me then...I will take away her yogurt treats. I may keep the bag that is her favorite but only give one a month instead of what she gets now. What about apples? I give her these dried apples that she likes too. Gosh I feel like a horrible bunny owner not knowing all this stuff they sell are bad for her. I will have to print out something that tells what are good treats and what are bad.
 
Dried apples are ok treats. So are raisins, Craisins (although they have a lot of extra sugar), rolled oats, and small pieces of fresh fruit like apples, pears, strawberries, banana, etc.

There are printable lists available for save veggies and fruits. And check out the "Feeding Your Rabbit" thread- the link is above- to get a better idea of what is good for your bun.
 
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