Hi I have just joined not sure how to use this site properly but here goes I have 17 rescue rabbits, and I need to know which food to feed my rabbits are on science selective but it is an alfalfa based pellet, I am wondering if to change them onto oxbow basics but it does not contain a prebiotic do rabbits need a prebiotic in their food is oxbow better than selective in your oppinion. would be grateful for any replies and help.
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PipkinbunRibb
PippyBunny
First off, welcome to the site!
I use oxbow for my rabbit, and he LOVEs the food. It is also rated very well for rabbit's health. I use oxbow Timothy Hay as well and he also goes crazy for that. If you are concerned about your rabbits not getting enough of something, I recommend using vita-drops in their water. Oasis is a good brand for that, and it will tell you in the back how many drops you need to put in each bottle. You can also give the rabbits a variety of vegetables for a side, and fruits for dessert, once they are over 6 months (maybe even 7 to play it safe) (make sure you check that rabbits can have it before you give them a new veggie or fruit) I don't recommend lettuce because it does not have as much nutritional value as something like celery tops, kale, or spinach, and too much can easily give your rabbit bathroom problems because it is high in water level. Hope this helped! Let me know if you have any more questions! :bunnysuit:
I use oxbow for my rabbit, and he LOVEs the food. It is also rated very well for rabbit's health. I use oxbow Timothy Hay as well and he also goes crazy for that. If you are concerned about your rabbits not getting enough of something, I recommend using vita-drops in their water. Oasis is a good brand for that, and it will tell you in the back how many drops you need to put in each bottle. You can also give the rabbits a variety of vegetables for a side, and fruits for dessert, once they are over 6 months (maybe even 7 to play it safe) (make sure you check that rabbits can have it before you give them a new veggie or fruit) I don't recommend lettuce because it does not have as much nutritional value as something like celery tops, kale, or spinach, and too much can easily give your rabbit bathroom problems because it is high in water level. Hope this helped! Let me know if you have any more questions! :bunnysuit:
PaGal
Well-Known Member
Any new veggie you may give to your buns should be introduced very slowly and gradually and you should keep an eye for any digestive problems that could occur due to it.
Limit fruits to a very small amount as they are high in sugar.
Iceburg lettuce should not be fed to buns but dark, leafy greens are fine. Also most buns seem to really like herbs such as parsley and cilantro.
Limit fruits to a very small amount as they are high in sugar.
Iceburg lettuce should not be fed to buns but dark, leafy greens are fine. Also most buns seem to really like herbs such as parsley and cilantro.
Thankyou i usually look on barbi browns rabbitry site for answers to all my worries but she says not to really feed veg that they dont need it as long as there eating hay and limited pellets ive had a lot of my rabbits with back teeth problems and had to have them rasped so not sure if im feeding too many pellets or not enough I give my netherland dwarfs 30 grams my lops 40 grams and my large 50 and unlimited hay i want to feed my bunnies a little veg but only veg that will not cause gas in them at the minute they are on science selective but still wondering if to put them on oxbow as the recommendations for feeding is less so they may eat more hay and therefore have less teeth problems but many thanks for your advice
Hi, welcome to RO. I'm guessing you are in the UK from the science selective pellets. It's not one we have here in the US, but we do have Oxbow and it is one of the best brands of rabbit food here. Having prebiotics isn't a necessary thing for rabbits. It may be in some rabbit food because they believe it might be helpful to rabbits, but it's not a common thing to find as an ingredient in most rabbit pellets. But the Oxbow pellets have all the vitamins and minerals that your rabbit needs to stay healthy. Pellet amounts really depend on each rabbits metabolism. Generally you start out with the amount either recommended on the bag or with the basic recommendation of 1/4-1/2 cup per 6 lbs. of body weight. Then depending on how the rabbit does on that amount, you may have to adjust up or down. If they are getting chunky then decrease the amount and add more veggies, or if they aren't staying at a good healthy weight and looking a little thin, then increase the pellet amount. Along with that you want them eating an amount of grass hay that is about the size of their body, each day.
You can also introduce veggies into your rabbits diet, to supplement it's nutrition. It's often best to wait til a rabbit is at least 12 weeks before introducing them, though some people wait til their rabbit is older. Introduction is best done starting with one small piece of a veggie and gradually increasing the amount if you don't see any soft poop or tummy upset. Veggies aren't a necessity if feeding your rabbit a normal amount of pellets, but are if you are feeding reduced pellet amounts for any reason, as they need the added nutrition. But even then, veggies can be a good addition to your rabbits diet. They are a good healthy treat, help with tooth wear, and are a helpful food for your rabbit to already be used to if it ever gets sick as veggies will sometimes be the only food they will eat on their own when feeling unwell. You'll find several different veggie lists on the internet. For my own rabbits, I tend to avoid any cruciferous veggies, as they seem to cause digestive and gas problems with a lot of rabbits. But some people feed them to their rabbits without any problems at all. Good basic ones to start out with are dark leafy lettuce(not iceberg), cilantro, and parsley. Some people don't think veggies are good for rabbits, and it is true that they can cause some problems for rabbits that are sensitive to a particular veggie or if veggies aren't introduced correctly and given too much too soon. But if introduced correctly, most rabbits do well having daily veggies. Barbi's site does have some good information on some things, but some of her information is outdated, as far as current rabbit health and research is concerned, including the info on wry neck. If looking for health related info on rabbits I suggest looking for your info from more medically based sites on rabbits, as well as from your vet. A good rabbit vet will have the most current info on rabbit health. I've found the medirabbit site to be the most helpful and accurate, for things pertaining to rabbit health.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/index_en.htm
http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#top
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables
Tooth problems in rabbits can have to do with diet and genetics. Some breeds are more susceptible to tooth problems. Hay and veggies will help with the tooth wear. Natural forage can help as well. Things like apple and willow branches, and other rabbit safe branches, may help a lot in keeping those molars worn down. Just make sure they are free of pesticides. Lots of good coarse fiber will help keep those back teeth worn down, but even then, there may still be a few rabbits that will always have tooth problems, but with lots of fiber in the diet, you may be able to stretch the time needed between dentals.
You can also introduce veggies into your rabbits diet, to supplement it's nutrition. It's often best to wait til a rabbit is at least 12 weeks before introducing them, though some people wait til their rabbit is older. Introduction is best done starting with one small piece of a veggie and gradually increasing the amount if you don't see any soft poop or tummy upset. Veggies aren't a necessity if feeding your rabbit a normal amount of pellets, but are if you are feeding reduced pellet amounts for any reason, as they need the added nutrition. But even then, veggies can be a good addition to your rabbits diet. They are a good healthy treat, help with tooth wear, and are a helpful food for your rabbit to already be used to if it ever gets sick as veggies will sometimes be the only food they will eat on their own when feeling unwell. You'll find several different veggie lists on the internet. For my own rabbits, I tend to avoid any cruciferous veggies, as they seem to cause digestive and gas problems with a lot of rabbits. But some people feed them to their rabbits without any problems at all. Good basic ones to start out with are dark leafy lettuce(not iceberg), cilantro, and parsley. Some people don't think veggies are good for rabbits, and it is true that they can cause some problems for rabbits that are sensitive to a particular veggie or if veggies aren't introduced correctly and given too much too soon. But if introduced correctly, most rabbits do well having daily veggies. Barbi's site does have some good information on some things, but some of her information is outdated, as far as current rabbit health and research is concerned, including the info on wry neck. If looking for health related info on rabbits I suggest looking for your info from more medically based sites on rabbits, as well as from your vet. A good rabbit vet will have the most current info on rabbit health. I've found the medirabbit site to be the most helpful and accurate, for things pertaining to rabbit health.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/index_en.htm
http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#top
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables
Tooth problems in rabbits can have to do with diet and genetics. Some breeds are more susceptible to tooth problems. Hay and veggies will help with the tooth wear. Natural forage can help as well. Things like apple and willow branches, and other rabbit safe branches, may help a lot in keeping those molars worn down. Just make sure they are free of pesticides. Lots of good coarse fiber will help keep those back teeth worn down, but even then, there may still be a few rabbits that will always have tooth problems, but with lots of fiber in the diet, you may be able to stretch the time needed between dentals.
MILU
Well-Known Member
Welcome to Rabbits Online!! :bunnysuit:
Welcome to RO. Good advice on here. I feed mine veggies every day, they don´t have a problem with cruciferous veggies but I do limit them to a couple of times a week as they really like spring cabbage leaves, broccoli and cauliflower leaves. They also love herbs such as basil, coriander, parsley, sage and dill and they also like lambs lettuce, endives, rocket and spring greens. They do eat a little bit of fruit, they love dried cranberries and banana but get only a tiny bit a couple of times a week. Just keep your eye on them when first introducing.
Hi many thanks for your replies I have been giving mine netherlands 1/3 cup lops 1/2 cup and english spots 3/4 cup of science selective but it is alfalfa based it has 25 percent fibre 14 pritein 0.6 calcium and has vitamin a d and other vitamins in it my bunnies are happy on it but is oxbow better would it be worth me changing to oxbow pellets they also ge a tiny bit of spring green 2 inch of carrot each handful of willow leaves branch etc and unlimited grass hay and burns green oat hay and a couple of them keep getting bloat what out of the above do you think could be causing the bloat and also am i giving them too much pellets as a few of them have to keep having their molars clipped every 2 months is oxbow the best food out there. do you think with oxbow being less fat it may encourage them to eat more hay and therefore wear there teeth down quicker.
ps to my last question I have heard molasses added to food is bad for rabbits teeth but oxbow t bunny basics has molases added to it have any of you had any problems feeding oxbow t if not should i change from science selective
Molasses is in most rabbit food, so it's pretty hard to avoid. I haven't read anything about it being bad for teeth. It can sometimes cause problems for rabbits that are very sensitive to sugars and carbs though.
With your rabbits having dental problems, it might be worth trying the Oxbow. Or you could reduce your current food a little bit. They just need to be getting enough to stay a good healthy weight and get the proper nutrition for their size.
When rabbits have frequent gas and digestive upset, there is most likely something in their diet causing it. It could be a certain veggie causing it, or it could be too many sugars and carbs from the carrots oat hay (if it has seed heads), and anything else with a lot of sugars, causing a gut flora imbalance. Cruciferous veggies will sometimes cause gas problems for some rabbits. If you are feeding any, you could try stopping those to see if it helps. But you may just have to try eliminating one thing at a time to see if you can pinpoint the problem food. If you think it's a veggie, you could stop all veggies, then reintroduce one veggie at a time, taking at least a week for each one so that you can try and see if you can find the one(or more)causing the problem. If the spring mix has severel different greens in it, it would be hard to find a specific one causing a problem. You may need to switch to just one green at a time instead of a mix.
Have their poops been normal or are you seeing soft mushy ones, or ones that are much smaller than usual?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables
With your rabbits having dental problems, it might be worth trying the Oxbow. Or you could reduce your current food a little bit. They just need to be getting enough to stay a good healthy weight and get the proper nutrition for their size.
When rabbits have frequent gas and digestive upset, there is most likely something in their diet causing it. It could be a certain veggie causing it, or it could be too many sugars and carbs from the carrots oat hay (if it has seed heads), and anything else with a lot of sugars, causing a gut flora imbalance. Cruciferous veggies will sometimes cause gas problems for some rabbits. If you are feeding any, you could try stopping those to see if it helps. But you may just have to try eliminating one thing at a time to see if you can pinpoint the problem food. If you think it's a veggie, you could stop all veggies, then reintroduce one veggie at a time, taking at least a week for each one so that you can try and see if you can find the one(or more)causing the problem. If the spring mix has severel different greens in it, it would be hard to find a specific one causing a problem. You may need to switch to just one green at a time instead of a mix.
Have their poops been normal or are you seeing soft mushy ones, or ones that are much smaller than usual?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables
Hi just found out pet supermarket on line do oxbow t bunny basics at a reasonable cost for those of you who live in England and may fancy changing on to it its thirteen pounds forty nine pence for a 4kg bag.
