Does TIME of day matter, when feeding ?

[planetjenessa]

I been thinking of this for a while,thought it was a silly question. Now i really want to know.

Does it matter what time of day (morning/evening/Night) when feeding rabbits there veggies & pellets?

What time of the day do you feed your veggies/pellets?

Heres why i ask
Normally i feed Pikachu Pellets as soon as i wake up, about 1/4 cup, but by night anywhere from 9Pm-11PM she has ate them ALL.
I feed her a handful of veggies in the morning (but she rather eats her pellets first) and another handful of veggies before i got to bed.
The problem is, i notice when she has NO more pellets in her bowl, she goes "crazy" dystorying her newly made nic cage, throwing a "fit" trying to jump out...ETC

one night i decided to feed her pellets at night and she did NOT go crazy- lol.

So should i feed her pellets at night? and during the day keep her on a hay/veggie/water diet? does it matter?
I'm confused now? i think i read somewhere that feeding pellets in the evening help break down the minerals, but im not sure.

 

[LakeCondo]

I try to feed Honey about 12 hours apart. I give pellets about an hour or 2 after the veggies, so if I'm not going to be around later to remove any uneaten veggies, I skip the veggies for that meal.

But it depends what works for you & your rabbit.

 

[ldoerr]

If you want you can devide the pellits into 2 feedings and feed 1x in the morning and 1x at night. I feed pellits at night just because that is what time my friend who I got Beauty from fed at. I used to feed in the morning when I had my rabbitry and noticed no ill effects. I think that it is just a matter of personal preference.

 

[Imbrium]

I usually split pellets into two feedings, one when I wake up and one right before bed. as far as veggies go, it's just me and the bunns so I like to have "family" meals - I usually eat lunch/dinner in the bunny pen and bring some veggies with me to feed to them, lol.

 

[planetjenessa]

split into 2 feedings, why didn't i think of that !! lol
but as i said, she goes more for the pellets then anything.
Today, since asking this. I feed her veggies, and of course she has unlimited hay. Im going to try night feeding her pellets, maybe she wont go all crazy, chewing/digging everywhere. Since she only does that when she has no-more pellets in her dish.
AS well as more then one site said "feeding pellets in evening/night" since it helps break down minerals.

ill see how it goes, if not ill try 2 feedings.
BUT is 1/4 pellets sound right? or should i go to 1/2 cup of pettets ?

 

[Imbrium]

bunnies tend to be most active in the late evening/early morning (dawn and dusk if they're in the wild), which is one of the reasons I feed mine pellets twice a day at those times...

rabbit.org suggests "1/4 to 1/2 cup pellets per 6 lbs. body weight (depending on metabolism and/or proportionate to veggies)"

for a 6 lb bunny (not sure what yours weighs), I'd try a little less than 1/4 cup twice a day and cut back a bit if the bunny seems to start gaining weight

 

[Nelsons_Mom]

I feed hay in the morning and veggies and pellets at night. It's just easier for my schedule to throw hay in.really quick while I run out the door than to root around in the fridge for their salad.

Sometimes I'll do pellets in the morning, too, if they seem hungry.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We give ours treats in the AM along with their veggies. At nite, they get more veggies and pellets. The only thing they get more than once is veggies and they have hay available 24/7.

 

[missyscove]

Timmy gets 1/4 cup of pellets and his morning veggies a little while after I wake up (because at one point he trained himself to wake me up by making a mess so I would feed him) and am getting ready for class. He gets more veggies around my dinner time and a treat at bedtime. I fill his hay rack whenever it looks low.
Splitting the feedings sounds like a good option for your bun. Alternatively you could toss in some new hay when you go to bed. As far as how much to feed her, how old is she and how much does she weigh?

 

[nc_bunnys]

I feed some pellets in the AM, snack at lunch (parsley, mint,etc), salad at 6pm, some pellets at 10pm. Then lights out. Small fruit 3 days a week.

Buns are creatures of habit & if I am late with the salad, I have buns sitting in front of the refrigerator

 

[MiniLopHop]

I feed pellets in the morning and veggies at night. I agree with Trish, it is all about doing the same thing every day. My kids will put themselves back in their room around 9 pm because they know dinner will be coming. If they are still running around all I have to do is tell them to "go home" and they race into their room.

As for the amount of pellets, it depends on your rabbit and their specific needs. It also depends on how much exercise they get. Mine get 1/4 per bun except for Sophie who gets 1/2 c because she's 9 pounds. Becky gets additional oats because she doesn't eat enough pellets to keep her weight up because of chronic health issues. I hand feed her the oats because all of the buns want to eat them but she is the only one who needs them.

 

[ldoerr]

Brandy- How do you make sure that each rabbit gets only their food and not eat eachothers food?

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

I feed between 8 and 11 in the morning. Usually whatever time I wake up/before I leave for work.
I give pellets only in the morning.

In the evenings I feed between 6 and 7, and this will get closer to 5 when it starts getting darker since I have to go outside to feed. They get their pellets, and a handful of hay.

Emily