feed my bunny dog food,how bad is it?
- Thread starter igotcarma
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tonyshuman
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I'm surprised that he ate it--my bunnies hate the smell of anything with meat in it. They actually hide if I cook bacon, they hate the smell so much! I have heard of bunnies eating a tiny bit of dog or cat food and being ok though. I would not do it again. It's probably better for him to go without pellets for a night than to eat dog food.
Rabbits are obligate herbivores. They do not eat animal products. Occasionally in the wild, a rabbit will eat bugs, or a mother rabbit will eat the placenta, which is a form of meat-eating, but these are exceptions and rabbits usually cannot and will not eat meat. Many dog foods are mostly grain-based, which may be why your bunny ate it. Still, the animal fats and proteins in dog food aren't digestible by rabbits. In addition, there are a lot more carbohydrates in dog food than rabbit food, which aren't good on a rabbit's GI tract.
If you gave a lot (like 1/2 c or more), I'd be worried, and push hay for him over the next few days. The way to get a rabbit to eat more hay is to put out new stuff and cut back on the amount of pellets and veggies you give so they're hungrier. Hay is really good at cleaning out the system, to get rid of the things in dog food that aren't good for a rabbit's sensitive digestive system. If you gave less, I wouldn't worry as much. Just switch back to the normal food and keep an eye on his poos. They should look normal and there should be as many as normal.
Rabbits are obligate herbivores. They do not eat animal products. Occasionally in the wild, a rabbit will eat bugs, or a mother rabbit will eat the placenta, which is a form of meat-eating, but these are exceptions and rabbits usually cannot and will not eat meat. Many dog foods are mostly grain-based, which may be why your bunny ate it. Still, the animal fats and proteins in dog food aren't digestible by rabbits. In addition, there are a lot more carbohydrates in dog food than rabbit food, which aren't good on a rabbit's GI tract.
If you gave a lot (like 1/2 c or more), I'd be worried, and push hay for him over the next few days. The way to get a rabbit to eat more hay is to put out new stuff and cut back on the amount of pellets and veggies you give so they're hungrier. Hay is really good at cleaning out the system, to get rid of the things in dog food that aren't good for a rabbit's sensitive digestive system. If you gave less, I wouldn't worry as much. Just switch back to the normal food and keep an eye on his poos. They should look normal and there should be as many as normal.
