Feeding Question

[bunnyluv96]

O.k . so I've heard both, to feed the bunny only in the a.m. and p.m. and also i've heard to leave food out all day/night so the bun has constant supply of food. Which is the right answer? I hear lots of conflicting advice so I end up confused not knowing what to do! How do I know what is right to do? :dunno

 

[Tigs]

From what I've been getting from reading posts is pellets should be split into an am and pm feeding and their hay should be a 24/7 buffet. I'm sure someone with rabbits in mass will be along in a few min for a definite answer.

 

[elrohwen]

For baby buns up to about 6 or 8 months, it's generally advised to give unlimited pellets. When my bun was a baby, I would give him maybe 1/4c in the morning and again in the evening, but I made sure it was taking him all day to eat it. So I guess I didn't quite do unlimited food, but I gave him pretty much as much food as he would eat in a day. The reason I did this is because it can be very hard to tell if your bun is off his food if you constantly fill his dish.

For buns over 6-8 months, it's recommended that you cut down to 1/4c per day per 5lbs of body weight (in addition to veggies). Some people do free feed, and it might work for them, but most bunnies will eat as long as there is food in front of them and can get very overweight.

I feed my buns in both the morning and evening. In the morning they get some veggies and the bulk of their pellets. In the evening they get a bigger portion of veggies and just a sprinkle of pellets as a treat. I prefer at least two feedings a day, because food keeps them busy and out of trouble, but you don't have to feed twice if you don't want to.

And of course, hay should always be fed in unlimited quantities.

 

[Runestonez]

Hi!:biggrin2:

I'm one of the free feeders!:eats:
We start all our kids out with free feeding...since most of our bunns are rescues we evaluate to see if they are going to be pellet pigs...for two of our kids(bonded) we have had toschedule their pellets...we only feed pellets once a day in the pm...but we also free feed veggies as well.

We found that with alot of our rescue bunns they weren't eating as much hay as they should. They would just wait for chow time to eat their pellets! So we feed huge amounts of veggies that last through the day, pellets in the pm and hay is always available!

Most of the rescues started out as pellet pigs but after about a month or so when they figure out the eats aren't going to dry up or disappear they aren't as frantic to clean out their dish.

Danielle

 

[Arwen]

May I butt in? I had some questions about feeding too. I'm a free feeder. I haven't had my rabbit very long but so far she is not overweight. I've read about people giving "salads" and "greens". What kind of greens and lettuces do people feed? I'm giving romaine and green leaf right now.

Seems like no matter what anyone feeds, someone else doesn't agree with it. For example, I've read threads that say not to feed too many veggies.

 

[Runestonez]

There is a lot of contradicting opinions when it comes to bunns.
Really what we know and have learned comes from spending (in my case anyway) too much time with rabbits! lol

We have more money than sense so we feed about 6-7 cups of veg per day per bun...even our nethies clean them up!:biggrin2:It works out to about $60-$80 a week on greens depending on the season!
I've found that even though we free feed pellets for most of our kids they have so many other things to eat they snack here and there on the pellets but don't over do it.

Check out our library section on rabbit safe foods!
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=54630&forum_id=17

Danielle

 

[bunnybunbunb]

I have tried free feeding, feeding once in the PM and feeding once in AM and once in PM. I found better health and body condition(more muscle, less fat bellies) when I fed twice a day. When I free fed everyone was way to fat. Right now I do not have a proper schedual to feed pellets twice a day so I feed once. Everyone is doing ok, but not as good. Some have big-er bellies, some are a little to bare in the pelvic area but most are proper condition. Since the warm weather has moved in my cousins has been helping me pick grasses every day so they are eating more than once. Around afternoon they get their hay fix and flowers and grasses and then around 6PM they get pellets/veg. They are doing better with the afternoon grass feeding.

 

[Inle_Rabbitry]

We feed our rabbits a ration of pellets twice a day and allow them to eat unlimited amounts of grass hay that is constantly available.

From personal experience, rabbits given a free feed diet of pellets will eventually gain weight which can lead to all kinds of problems, especially for pregnant does. We do however give does and their litters free feed once the young are out of the nest box.

Veggies and other treats can be given occasionally, but in moderation. In general, vegies are healthier for rabbits than fruits are and of course things like parsley, lavender, and dandelions can be very good for your rabbits diet.

As long as you're giving your rabbit pellets, it will be fine, as pellets contain all the right ingredients and right amounts for all the nutrients rabbits would naturally find in the wild. Brood, show, and pet rabbits are fed differently balanced pellet diets, but in all, pellets are the best choice for your rabbit's primary food source.

As mentioned above, we also give our rabbits unlimited grass hay. This simply gives the rabbits something to munch on when they do get hungry between feedings and is low in nutrients and calories so it doesn't upset their nutritional balance. It also aids in digestion for them as well.