Feeding Your Rabbit Q & A

[jamesedwardwaller]

whew,i better read on,the thread gotta be better than the answer:nerves1,james waller

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

cucumber is a vegtable and always will be ,.i love this website,but i cannot change peoples bad habits,but i will try ,i can agree with some things however,but other stuff sounds midevil,wow:rollseyes:nerves1,james waller

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

bull.-ony,,,james waller

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

pipp,.wow,.did you read this stuff,wow i am:nerves1h34r2,james waller

 

[Pipp]

LOL! Well lately I'm leaning towards only very tiny amounts of pellets and lots of hay, grass and a very large variety of veggies, so this post could use updating to emphasis that, but the info in the thread largely seems correct, or at least its the House Rabbit standards.

But a lot of people don't agree on diets, there will always be other opinions.

Not sure what you're protesting in particular. I've just skimmed it. :?

sas :bunnydance:

 

[Pipp]

Lindiwe wrote:

At what age do my bunnies become "adult" and stop growing. They are Netherland Dwarf-types (pretty sure they're not pure-bred though), and just over three months old.

I want to know at what point I should stop giving them unlimited pellets...

The small breeds stop growing sooner than the large ones, so I'd probably go through puberty and the like and start decreasing at around eight months old.

I think Flemish Giants grow until they're 18 months or something like that but dwarfs are done at 10 months. My 5 an 6 lb guys all seemed to have amazing growing spurts at a year or so, though. (Mind you they were mostly growing outwards).

A lot is also up to the individual bunny, whether they're they're active rabbits or cage potatoes, big or little appetites, if they're naturally thin or getting tubby, etc..

Best to play that by ear.


sas :bunnydance:

 

[Pipp]

I just read it thoroughly, and Angela (Naturestee) is seems her usual dead-on self to me.

And yup, cucumber is technically a fruit (as is tomato), because it has seeds. It's a science thing.


sas

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

and the debate goes on,..is pluto a planet???,,,rrrr..james waller

 

[naturestee]

Hi,it would help me understand what your concerns are if you would say what they are. Everyone has different opinions on what exactly should be fed to rabbits and I try to take a lot of things into account. I've also found that food has to be tailored to each rabbit. What's good for one could make another sick. For example, one of my rabbits can't tolerate pellets but can eat huge amounts of just about every veggie she tries, while other rabbits get diarrhea from any veggies but do well with pellets.

As for the vegetable vs. fruit arguement, I'm a trained botanist. Fruit= mature ovary containing seeds, and in technical/scientific literature this includes cucumber, tomatoes, squash, and others that our culture labels as vegetables because they're not as sweet. They are often more sugary or starchy than the stems or leaves that we would feed our rabbits, so I prefer to feed them as fruits. You can call it whatever you want to call it as long as you keep the nutritional content in mind.

 

[Rhun and Speckle]

There is never anything about Lemon Tree or their branches.

Does anyone know if Buns can have them to chew on? I have a huge Lemon Tree (no Spikes/thorns) out the back and would love to give my buns a branch to chew but just can't find anything to tell me if I can or not...

Hhmmm maybe I should ask this in a thread all of it's own.

Nik

 

[naturestee]

I haven't ever seen citrus trees listed on safe twigs lists, so I wouldn't. It's pretty common for one part of a plant to be bad while the other isn't. For example, peaches are fine but peach twigs are usually on the "no" lists.

 

[Hazel-Mom]

james waller wrote:

bull.-ony,,,james waller

umm, James, before you start throwing stones, I'd look closely at what you yourself write in some of the threads. IMO, you have some outdated opinions on rabbits too.
I also don't like it when people seem to think that their, and only their, opinions are the right ones. ALWAYS qualify your own opinions, what works for your rabbits may not work for others, and vice versa.
(and no, I don't agree with everything in this thread either, but I don't call other's opinions BS just because I don't think they're right.)

 

[Hazel-Mom]

naturestee wrote:

I haven't ever seen citrus trees listed on safe twigs lists, so I wouldn't. It's pretty common for one part of a plant to be bad while the other isn't. For example, peaches are fine but peach twigs are usually on the "no" lists.

There's a reference on the HRS website (http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/chewing.html) about peach tree twigs etc:
"Fruit tree branches, such as, apricot and peach are toxic while attached to the tree but not after they're cut and dried (a month or more). Lisa McSherry and Rusty Fayter, who package The Busy Bunny baskets, share this research. Another tip they offer for your bunny's safety is to keep your purchases of imported baskets limited to willow, the only basket material not sprayed with pesticide."

On this list http://earthhome.tripod.com/saferab.html they mention lime (which is related to lemon, and also a citrus fruit) as being safe for chewing.

 

[Rhun and Speckle]

Thanks for that naturestee and hazel-mom

I think to be on the safe side I will just not give it to them. There are other trees in the yard so will research them and see if they are suitable.

Nik

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

lemon tree,branches,big and little,.--is this california type weather??..i am stuck in washington,.i have access to apple,plum,pear,etc .no lemon tree,s,..good question can rabbits chew on lemon tree branches??-my guess is yes,-if-they can eat lemons then.??-one way to find out is if you see other rabbits running around orchards,..wouldn,t you think?? i would think!!- there are no-no,s to keep rabbits away from because they may eat certain things that may not be good for them,.just an example,..potato-(russets)-my cotton tail likes them ,,yet sweet potato,potato leaves/or plant is a no-no to eat-,.ie...part of the night shade family.,,they like tomatoes but the plant is deadly,..go figure,..apples are good,but seeds are arsenic,,go figure---hey peaches,apricots,are all good,..never a dumb question,.when it comes to rabbits,just observe them,/their habits,you will develope a good base for yourself and them,..chewing is a requirement for animals like rabbits and rats,,because their teeth constantly grow,must be controlled by chewing,-and twigs/branches/etc.make for for good toys,...-watch out for the eyes/don,t want an injury,,...sincerely james waller [email protected]

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

amen,.thank you,.i finally got a rise out of someone,..i ammethodically slow at accepting other peoples opinions/suggestions,.i raise exotics,.and i have taken on specialist which i find amazingly stupid,.i challenge them/and take them out of their comfort zone,then and only then do i accept or deny them,...there is an old saying:.when one lives in the state of missouri,..they say :show me/.,.there are important questions on this website concerning peoples pets,/i am bothered by the abstract to the questions,- i try to keep it simply/there is something to be said for simplicity/..i like to pick on the specialist because a couple of them were directly responsible for the death of one my lagamorphs/,correction:.no matter where you gather the info the responsibility/safety of your pet is up to you--and--i can notemphasis this enough!!,.i do not mean to offend anyone,or accept everything,..sincerely james waller

 

[PipT]

Are Rabbits able to be fed corn/maize? Have read in some publications that corn should be avoided yet in most pet stores this is included in the muesli mix for rabbits.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

PipT wrote:

Are Rabbits able to be fed corn/maize? Have read in some publications that corn should be avoided yet in most pet stores this is included in the muesli mix for rabbits.

though,corn not be part of a regimental diet,it won,t kill them,and gives them teeth something to do,.pet stores hirefor minimum wage,not iq,s./my buns don,t care for corn kernal or otherwise/corn is considered a carbohydrate,for energy,..kinda like the carrot myth,,use as a treat-.sincerely [email protected]

 

[Talula Belle]

I wanted to know if it can be bad for a rabbit to be on a timothy hay pellet and consume a lot of timothy hay. I read that they have to have alfalfa pellets in there diet or either the hay. I am concerned about long term health and are pellets you get from a feed store bad for pet rabbits?

 

[pla725]

I don't give my rabbits pellets. I stopped giving them pellets about ayear ago. One of my rabbits got severe bladder sluddge. I figured it would difficult to keep from taking pellets from her partner. I just weaned everyone off the pellets and just give them hay.

Alfalfa pellets aren't good for adult rabbits. If you do give pellets give in moderation. I would use a good commercial grade pellet like Oxbow or Kaytee. Also get the kind without the little tid bits. This is mostly alfalfa based.