Hi. I have a dumb question. I know buns are supposed to eat roughly their body size in bay and be offered unlimited hay. What does body size worth look like when grabbing handfuls of long hay? I always ensure my buns have plenty of hay, but we have been dealing with stasis and I want to know exactly what a body size amount looks like to see if they are truly eating enough each day.
Hay feeding amount question
- Thread starter stephzeff
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Could you also describe his daily diet? It could be that an adjustment may be needed to help.
Could you also describe his daily diet? It could be that an adjustment may be needed to help.
Right now they are both getting critical care and unlimited hay. We were supposed to try adding. 1/8 c pellets back in today, but little guy hunched a few times so he’s going back to the vet first thing in the morning.
Rabbits need about 1-2 oz of dry food each day, per lb of body weight, including both pellets and hay. Forage(dry weight) can also be included in this, but not veggies.
The easiest way to figure the hay amount, is by the handful. A small breed rabbit(2-3 lbs) will need approximately one large handful of medium soft grass hay per day, at a minimum. So at least one large handful per 2-3 lbs of body weight per day.
Now this amount may need to be adjusted along with pellets, depending on the quality and coarseness of the hay. More pellets may be needed when a coarser hay is fed. Or feeding fresh forage, fresh grass, etc.
It's all about the right balance of protein and nutrient rich food for health and weight maintenance, along with enough indigestible fiber for good gut health. Indigestible fiber is what drives gut movement. Soft hay and leafy forage has more protein and nutrients and less indigestible fiber, coarse hay and coarse forage has mostly indigestible fiber and very little protein and nutrients.
Cuts of hay
The best way to monitor if you have the right balance in the diet, is by a rabbit maintaining a healthy body condition, as well as by the quality of their fecals balls. Large, goldenish, friable(crumbly) fecal balls are the ideal and show there is good gut motility.
Monitoring your rabbits weight
https://bunssb.org/bunnies/guide-bunny-poops/
The easiest way to figure the hay amount, is by the handful. A small breed rabbit(2-3 lbs) will need approximately one large handful of medium soft grass hay per day, at a minimum. So at least one large handful per 2-3 lbs of body weight per day.
Now this amount may need to be adjusted along with pellets, depending on the quality and coarseness of the hay. More pellets may be needed when a coarser hay is fed. Or feeding fresh forage, fresh grass, etc.
It's all about the right balance of protein and nutrient rich food for health and weight maintenance, along with enough indigestible fiber for good gut health. Indigestible fiber is what drives gut movement. Soft hay and leafy forage has more protein and nutrients and less indigestible fiber, coarse hay and coarse forage has mostly indigestible fiber and very little protein and nutrients.
Cuts of hay
The best way to monitor if you have the right balance in the diet, is by a rabbit maintaining a healthy body condition, as well as by the quality of their fecals balls. Large, goldenish, friable(crumbly) fecal balls are the ideal and show there is good gut motility.
Monitoring your rabbits weight
https://bunssb.org/bunnies/guide-bunny-poops/
If you find your bun is sensitive to the pellets, trying different brands may solve that problem, like going to a more natural pellet like sherwood, or you may need to go pellet free, like I talked about in your other thread.
