Eating enough?

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Meganc731

Meganc731

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2004
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Location
, Virginia, USA
Hello all,

My rabbit is a German Angora, about 9 pounds. I give hima cupof pellets daily. I wasn't sure how much Timothy hay to give him, I'vebeen gradually increasing the amount he gets daily until he had enoughthat he was eating most, but not all of it. He's stopped eating all ofhis pellets though and I wondered if I'm giving him too much Timothyhay, I haven't measured, but it looks like he's eating about half ofhis pellets.

Thanks,

Megan
 
bunnys tend to stop eating their pellets when yougive them hay, your bun sounds like he/she is mature by how much itweighs. so you should be giving he/ she unlimited hay and an ocasionalvegi treat.

i on the other hand dont follow the rules strictly, lyla gets about 4ounces of pellets, a bowl of vegis and a hand full of timothy and ahandful of alfalfa (she only gets alfalfa because she is stillgrowing.) a day .
 
Hi Meganc,

Are you giving him treats?

My rabbits have unlimited amounts of timothy hay offered to them andone gobbles it all down in a sitting while the other takes her time andonly eats when she's hungry.

Is it really hot where you are? Sometimes the heat can decrease their appetite.

Have you checked her teeth?

Is she acting normally otherwise?

If bunnies are in pain, they'll go off their feed. Not saying she is, just pointing it out to you.

How long has he been off his feed?

A while back Pamnock recommended a product called NutriCal. It's adietary supplement and it helps to increase their appetite, it's goodfor when they go off their feed so that they're still gettingnutrients, and it boosts their immune system. You can get it relativelyinexpensive in the USA. It's about $4.95 a tube and it's worth it justto have in your 'medical' kit for your rabbit.

-Carolyn
 
Hello,

I was re-reading what I wrote and it sounded kind of confusing... just to clarify, he is eating about half of his pellets.

He is a year old which I believe is mature, correct?

Sometimes in the morning I give him a small piece of banana, but it'snot on a daily basis and not more than once a day, he hasn't had anyfor a couple of days.

It's definitely summer time here, but I keep the house about 75 degrees and he is a house bunny.


I looked at his teeth last night and they looked like pictures of teeth I've seen online.

Other than not eatinga full cup of food he seems to benormal. I've had him for 10 days now. No obvious signs of injury and nolumps that I can find. It just seems the more hay I give him the lesspellets he eats. Is it possible that when I first got him I wasn'tgiving him enough hay, now that he has enough of both hay and pelletshis appetite hasdecreased?

Thanks for the help,
Megan


P.S. I'm concerned about hairballs and I haven't found any ofthe products or fresh produce recomended, has anyone tried Petromalt?Petromalt/ LaxatoneHe hasn't had any poops stringingtogether, but I really want to get him on something soon.
 
How big is he? Can you find out how much heweighs? You may simply be over-feeding him. Some bunnies can have freerange on food and not eat it all because they know when they've hadenough and that might be the case. A small bunny doesn't need a cup offood so I was just wonder his weight.
 
He weighs about 9 pounds, but I haven't taken him to the vet yet to get a more exact weight.

Megan
 
I quoted this from another post.

[align=center]****************************************[/align]
[align=left]Up to 8 months old: unlimited feed because they're still growing.

After that, it's recommended:

2-4pounds of body weight: 1/8 cup ofpellets per day

5-7pounds of body weight: 1/4 cup ofpellets per day

8-10poundsof body weight: 1/2 cup of pellets per day

11-15pounds of body weight: 3/4 cup of pellets per day

or an ounce of pellets for every pound of body weight.

It's been statedthat if they finish the bowl before the endof the day, not to refill it before the next day. Feeding unlimitedamounts can lead to obesity and serious health problems resulting fromthe high calcium and carbohydrate, and low fiber content in pelletedfoods. (Humane Society)

Some rabbits have more control over not overeating than others.

Timothy hay can't be overfed.

-Carolyn[/align]
[align=center]*********************************************[/align]
 
Oh!! It looks like maybe he's right about oncourse then :) I'm going to track his weight and get him to a vet soonto get a more accurate weight, but that makes me feel a lot better.

I assume that he was eating more pellets in the beginning because hewasn't getting enough hay. Now he has plenty of hay so he's eating theappropriate amount of pellets. He such a good little bunny :D



Megan
 
You can never give your bun enough hay.They need it. Even if they stop eating their pellets do notrestrict their hay consumption. Also, I always make sure thatmygirls have a good supply of hay, pellets and fresh waterEVERY DAY. Never leave any bowls empty.
 
Lissa wrote:
Youcan never give your bun enough hay. They need it.Even if they stop eating their pellets do not restrict their hayconsumption. Also, I always make sure that mygirlshave a good supply of hay, pellets and fresh water EVERY DAY.Never leave any bowls empty.
Click to expand...
Lissa,

The pellet bowl can be allowed to be left empty. :)You aresupposed to feed them their daily amount and that's it, no more pelletbecause they don't need everything that's in them. But you are rightthat water and hay need to be topped off daily so they always have asupply, as long as they have hay all the time the bunny will be quitefine even if they finish the bowl of pellets.
 
MyBunnyBoys wrote:
The pellet bowl can be allowed to be left empty.:)You are supposed to feed them their daily amount and that'sit, no more pellet because they don't need everything that's in them.
Click to expand...
Oops...I forgot to mention that my bunnies are very spoiled. :D
 
BunnyMommy wrote:
P.S. And Mocha andSpice live the life that most bunnies only dreamof!!! LOL!
Click to expand...
4_18_5.gif
You let my secret out! I confess... I'm the ideal bunny slave, lmao.

Ok ok, they're slightly spoiled, but they still think they rulethis hutch and are constantly trying to convince me of how hard done bythey are. I'm starting to believe them. :?lmao, just kidding.
 
The breeder of Lenci came over last night tocheck her over and told me that she's too "overweight" toshow. I wasn't going to show her or anything, but I think shehurt Lenci's feelings. :(
 
MyBunnyBoys wrote:
BunnyMommy wrote:
P.S. And Mocha andSpice live the life that most bunnies only dreamof!!! LOL!
Click to expand...
4_18_5.gif
You let my secret out! I confess... I'm the ideal bunny slave, lmao.

Ok ok, they're slightly spoiled, but they still think they rulethis hutch and are constantly trying to convince me of how hard done bythey are.
Click to expand...


SLIGHTLY, Laura???? *laughs*

I'd like to know what 'really spoiled' is to you! ;)

-Carolyn
 
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