Feeding Alfalfa/Timothy hay, pellets and no veggies?

[Ponyta]

Right now my rabbits are on a Timothy hay/pellet diet, with no veggies. Before I got them they were on all pellets and cilantro. :/

I know that peoples opinions vary on diets, so...

The tractor supplies here are still expensive, and getting straight Timothy is $22 for a mini bale (8lbs). At the other tractor supply it's Timothy/Alfalfa (10lbs) for $6. You'd think, living in an agricultural community, it would be a bit easier to find hay and for it to be less expensive. It's still not as expensive as the pet store, though.

I would LIKE to do the Timothy/Alfalfa and then pellets, but I'm afraid that because they're adults that it wouldn't be good for them. Right now they're not getting veggies, but I'm going to start them up on greens next week.

Should I not do the alfalfa mix? If I do, should I skip veggies? If I feed veggies, how much should I feed and how often? Do any of you do the hay/pellet only diet? What if I bought both bales and mixed them? Would it hurt to just get a little alfalfa?

I didn't realize how confused I would be until I got them. I'm afraid I'd feed them to much or to little.

I'm also having difficultly gauging whether they need more or less pellets. They love pellets and go nuts when I bring the bag over. I eye ball about a 1/2 cup in the morning and another 1/2 at night and they get a giant portion of timothy in their litter box at each feeding, which they pretty much demolish. What if they're still hungry? How can I tell if they need to put on or lose weight?

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I feed just hay and pellets. Each rabbit gets 1/2 cup of food per 5 lbs. body weight once a day and a handful of mixed grass (basically, Timothy) hay.

This diet should be fine if you substituted in the Alfalfa mix as well. However, if you want to feed alfalfa mix hay AND veggies, I would suggest switching to Timothy pellets.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

You don't have to feed veggies/greens. So long as your rabbit is getting a balanced diet of pellets and hay, then they'll be just fine. I like to feed a mixed hay (I think mine has a bit of everything in it!) since each type of hay has different nutrients, etc.

Is the pellet they're on a timothy or alfalfa pellet? If it's alfalfa, then I wouldn't give them a hay with alfalfa in it. But if it's a timothy pellet, then a bit of alfalfa hay probably won't hurt them.

As for pellets, the rule of thumb is 1/8-1/4 C per 5 lbs of rabbit.

There are a few threads about telling if your rabbit is overweight. Try doing a search at the top.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Ponyta]

Thank you guys for your help! They do eat timothy based pellets, but the bag I picked up the other day has alfalfa in it (they aren't getting veggies), so I'll switch them back to Timothy pellets and do a timothy/alfalfa hay mix, with veggies as treats. I'll see if I can find some orchard grass as well.

Good thing they aren't picky eaters. They're more bulldozer than rabbit.