How much food should a baby bun have?

[kassidylangiano]

Okay so Ralphy is 11 weeks old and weighs just under 1 kilo, he's a Dutch lionhead/ dwarf rabbit I was told.

I am currently feeding his 25-30g of his pellets a day with unlimited hay and occasionally the smallest bit of veg as a treat to get him used to it.

I have read that he doesnt need anymore pellets a day on some websites and others say he should be on double the pellets because he's still a baby. I obviously don't want to over feed him and let him get fat, but I don't want to be under feeding him. Occasionally like this evening while he was running around a gave him maybe 10 pellets extra out of my fingers as little treats and he went nuts like I hadn't fed him in weeks.... This makes me think I'm starving him.

Either that or he's a little piggy....

Any advice would be great!

 

[whiskylollipop]

Rabbits ALWAYS make you think you're starving them of their favourite foods (be it pellets, veggies or treats), they're just bossy little pigs that way. If you are feeding a decent commercial pellet brand, it should have feeding instructions on the back for how much to feed bunnies at what age/weight.

If not, though, a good rule would be to feed a baby bun as much pellets a day as he will eat, AS LONG AS he is also getting enough hay. You'll have to monitor his poops for this. If all his poops are nice big round and hard (but not so hard that they can't be broken apart), he's getting enough hay. If he starts pooping soft wet unformed poops, you'll know you have been feeding him too much pellets and you should scale back on that so he'll be hungry for his hay too.

In the long term, just keep an eye on his weight overall and adjust your pellet feedings accordingly.

 

[majorv]

If I converted correctly you're only giving him 1/8 cup of pellets. Youngsters would normally need more than that to get the nutrition they need while growing. Some recommend unlimited pellets, but if they're gaining too much weight then it's okay to limit pellets. I think 1/4 of a cup would be better to start with, along with the hay. If he's still hungry you could up it, while watching his weight. A good quality pellet will provide the nutrition he needs at this age while the hay helps to keep his gut moving.

 

[kassidylangiano]

Okay, I will start gradually adding more pellets and see if he can handle it without upsetting his belly...

I love my little man I don't want to be starving him
Or over feeding him and him getting overweight

Thanks for the advice xx