how many cups do you feed your rabbit?

[planetjenessa]

HELLO again, its been awhile since i been on here.

Im wanting to know how many cups do you feed your rabbit ?

Ive read they need 1/4-1/2 cup a day of pellets, along with unlimited hay and 4 cups of veggies.

Does this sound correct?

People keep telling me my bunny is fat

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

For me, it varies from rabbit to rabbit.
Korr, Amelia, Gizmo and Nala each get 1/4 cup per day of pellets. They are all spayed/neutered. They also all get Oxbow BB/T.
Tesla gets about 1/2 a cup of Masterfeeds and 1/8 of a cup of Oxbow. He is an intact buck and very active, so he needs more to keep weight on. He doesn't usually eat all if it, but will eat most of it.
Kraken gets 1/4 cup of Oxbow and a bit of Masterfeeds. He is also an intact buck, but not as active as Tesla. He was on just Masterfeeds a while ago, but his poops are better on Oxbow.
Lillian gets a bit less than 1/2 a cup of Masterfeeds. While she is neutered, she is also an angora so needs some more protein for her wool. She is a tad chunky, so is on a bit of a diet.
They all get unlimited timothy hay and some Orchard grass or other hay as a treat.
I don't really measure veggies, I usually take a couple bunches of parsley and cilantro and some romaine leaves and divide that up.

How much to feed does depend on the rabbit. Some need more than others based on size, energy level and just the individual rabbit. If your rabbit is not too fat or thin and is doing well on what you give, then that should be fine. If they are gaining or losing weight (and you don't want them too), then you need to adjust the amount of food.

 

[BunMommaD]

Im not much help... Our Cookie is not an over eater, as long as he gets his veggies, fruit and oats everyday... So he is free fed... We have tried to cut him back to more of a meal everyday but every time we do, he ends up with gas or weird poos... So we just fill his bowl up every other day

 

[planetjenessa]

Thank you all, i just wanted to see the average on what people feed there rabbits.

I was told/read to feed unlimited pellets until 1 year old.
After one year, feed it 1/4 cup?!

As far as what the pet shop told me, my bunny is mini rex... but she is not mini!! She is 6 months now, and large. Kinda like a adult size cat! Lol

We had plumers working on are bathroom and all of them called her big or fat :-( so i got to thinking "am i over feeding her"
Just another paranoid bunny mom

 

[EdwardForDaWeen]

My Polish rabbit is about 9 weeks and he WAS on an unlimited pellet diet but he appeared to start getting overweight so I cut his pellets down to about 1/4 cup a day.

 

[ilovepets]

my breeder told me to feed Snickers 3/4 of a cup of pellets a day. she doesnt eat all of them sometimes, but she is at a good and heathy wieght.she gets unlimited hay and veggies. i feed her Purina Rabbit Chow Complete pellets, i recommend them!

 

[wendymac]

Is your rabbit fat? Or is it firm and meaty? If she's that big, she sounds like she's a Rex. Those are meat animals, so she's going to appear plump. If it's not fat and it's meat, then I'd keep doing what you're doing. If it's squishy fat, then cut back a bit. Mine are all Californians and French Lops. While the Californians may eventually have to be strictly rationed, French Lops never are (and this came from a lot of Flop breeders, not just one source).

 

[Blue eyes]

The diet you describe is exactly what I do for mine. They do love their pellets though. That is how I coax them back in their condo for bedtime.

 

[rabbitfarmer]

Our rabbits vary. But our adult male gets unlimited hay, 2 cups of lettuce, and 1/4c. Of pellets

 

[mimosa]

Since Harriet is still young I give her about half a cup of pellets but she only eats about 1/4 of a cup. I don't measure her timothy. She gets a good handful a day. I haven't started giving her any green veggies yet, but she gets the occasional bite or two of fresh banana, parsley or carrot. She gets a banana chip or two a day and maybe one or two Cheerios.

 

[planetjenessa]

To me, shes not fat. However. She seems to eat a lot.
She is Rex, pet store said mix with dwarf but shes the size of an adult cat!
She's not jiggly lol

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Wait, is this the bunny in your picture to the left-if so, that really doesn't look like a rex. Just a thought.


Our bunnies get 1/4 c. daily Netrena pellets along with unlimited hay and ocational papaya treats & ocational veggies-not many as they end up with upset tummies.

How much does your bunny weigh?

 

[Blue eyes]

planetjenessa wrote:

I was told/read to feed unlimited pellets until 1 year old.
After one year, feed it 1/4 cup?!

As far as what the pet shop told me, my bunny is mini rex... but she is not mini!! She is 6 months now, and large. Kinda like a adult size cat! Lol

Hi again,

Your bunny looks alot like one of mine. But mine is not a rex or mini rex. I wouldn't hold too tight to what the pet shop told you about breed (or feeding for that matter). They rarely have any idea and just make something up that sounds close. Have you weighed your bunny?

If you ever bring your bunny in for a nail clipping at a rabbit rescue, I bet they'd be able to be much more accurate with deternminng what breed(s) yours is (if it matters). I often have mixes from rescues, so I don't care too much about what breeds they are. {BTW, I don't know if this came up in any previous posts of yours, but I see that you got your bunny when he was barely over 4 weeks old, according to the pet store? That pet store can't be too reliable since it is illegal to sell a baby under 8 weeks of age in CA} Good job on keeping him alive and healthy!

The House Rabbit Society says to start limiting pellets at 7 months (I think the exceptions are the huge breeds like Flemish Giant). Scroll down to "What quantities of food should I feed babies & teenagers?" at this site:

http://rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#basics

That should give you some thoughts on feeding. Other sites have slight variations on feeding suggestions, but they seem to be generally the same. It's usually 1/4 to 1/2 cup per 5 or 6 lbs of body weight.

 

[planetjenessa]

UPDATE: thank you everyone for all your information.
Pikachu is a MINI REX, the picture of her is when she was a baby about 9-10 months ago.
She has fully developed lol
her ears are both up, got that double chin-dwelp-thing going on.
Her diet is 1/4 pellets a day ( shes doing good) about 2-3 1/2 cups of veggies (if i give her more she dosnt even finish them) and all the timothy hay she wants! (she loves her hay)

(ill update the picture of her now)

 

[ldoerr]

My rabbits get 1/3 cup of pellits each per day. I am just starting to introduce vegies to them, so for now they get under 1 cup each per day. They always have access to hay but they do not seem to like it.