How much should I be feeding my rabbits

[MichelleandThumper]

Every morning I give Thumper and Willow a small handful of pellets in their dish, 3 leafs of green leaf lettuce, 6 baby carrots, and an amount of Timothy hay that they can eat as much as they want through the day. But is this enough? Should I feed them more than once a day? I only give them one handful a day because I don't want them I become obese and so they can focus more on the Timothy hay. But should I be feeding more veggies to them? The leafs of lettuce are quite generous in size they're bigger then my hand, usually about 2 hands a leaf. And the baby carrots are thick. What do you guys feed your rabbits?

 

[Chrisdoc]

Pellets all depend on the size of you bunny, mine get an egg cop full in the morning and another at night. The aso get a generous bowl of veggies every night. I'd cut down on the carrors as they are considered a treat and feed more leafy greens. Mine eat lambs lettuce, rocket, endives, chard, ome spinach and escarole, I usually buy the salad bags. A really good option which most buns love are fresh herbs which count as leafy greens. You can alternate between basil, coriander, dill, sage, rosemary, parsley, thyme, mint and they are easy to grow. And you can always forage in the garden, mine adore dandelion. As always they should always have hay available.

 

[MichelleandThumper]

Both bunnys are smaller breeds, Thumper is a Dwarf and Willow is a Mini Rex/Mini Lop mix so does that mean they should have less pellets

 

[JBun]

How old are they and what kind of pellets are they getting- alfalfa or timothy based?

 

[MichelleandThumper]

Thumper is about 5-6 months and Willow is almost 3 months old and I think they're alfalfa based, I really don't know here's a picture

 

[Bville]

The most important thing is for them to have Timothy or some other grass hay available to them at all times and it sounds like you are doing that. A healthier pellet would be one that has Timothy hay as the first ingredient. Your 3-month-old rabbit can have some alfalfa in the pellet too. There are several brands that have that including Oxbow, Kaytee, Sweet Meadow, and Sherwood Forest.

I agree with Chrisdoc that you should only give carrots as a treat and when you do just give a small amount, like 1 baby carrot or a slice of a big carrot.

I give my rabbits Sweet Meadow pellets in the morning and then a bowl of greens at dinner time. They munch on the pellets throughout the day and usually only have a little left by the time I give them their greens. Then of course they have hay in their hutches all the time.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Looking at the pellets you're feeding they aren'tthehealthiest you can buy. They include corn which is not good but the crude fibre is quite low as well. The brands mentioned are the ones most use on here so you might consider changing. You will have to transition them over a few weeks gradually replacing the old with the new.

 

[JBun]

Thumper is almost fully mature and won't need as many pellets as Willow who should be getting close to an unlimited amount. He can be getting close to unlimited too, for another month if you want or you can reduce the amount now. I only will feed unlimited pellets to young growing buns if they are also eating a pile of grass hay(timothy, orchard, etc) each day. If not then I will limit their pellets a little so that they are eating a pile of hay the size of their body, but still they get more than a grown adult because they are young and still need the added nutrition, usually close to double the amount of a grown adult. But if you need to increase their pellet amount now, then make sure to do it gradually, just increasing a little each day. When they are 6-7 months old, reduce pellets to 1/4-1/2 cup a day per 6 lbs. of body weight. The amount varies depending on metabolism. Start at half cup and see if they maintain their weight well on that amount, along with their unlimited grass hay and veggies. If they are getting a little chunky, cut back the pellet amount a little. Feeding unlimited hay just means they have enough to last the whole day, and are at least eating a pile of hay the size of their body.
http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/

Veggie amount varies. Carrots are sugary and considered a treat food, so should be limited. You can look at this link for recommended amounts.
http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

The pellets are alfalfa based and fine for growing rabbits, just not the best quality pellet. I prefer not to feed pellets with corn because of the possibility of mycotoxins, but it's up to you if you feel ok about them. When Thumper is fully mature at 6-7 months, you can slowly transition him to a timothy pellet if you want to. Up to you.

 

[Ricki911]

My guys get retricted diet of pellets, as my one guy is a little fat (he was neglected in the past, so when I first brought him home, he would get into cupboards and eat the entire bag of pellets).

So my guys get about 1/2 cup to a cup of pellets, split between the 3 rabbits (of course the fat one gets less). They get that, and hay in the morning (so they have it while I'm at work).

I give them veggies in the PM, I split a head of lettuce between the 3 rabbits, plus a stem of celery, a couple swiss chard, collard greens, and herbs split between them. The odd time I give them carrots, or apples as a treat (as they are high in sugar).

 

[Sindri27]

I have dwarf rabbits they get a little over an 1/8 of a cup of pellets and unlimited timothy hay and orchard grass. I give them romaine lettuce pretty much every day. They both seem pretty picky I try to find something different every week to add to that say like parsley an occasional banana or apple slice they love those.

 

[@rabbitmummy]

Good diet but maybe cut down on the carrots as they're supposed to be a treat and lettuce has an acid in it which gives your bunny a tummy upset so I wouldn't recommend it😊

 

[mjpeter]

I use the following link as a guideline on what to feed Bella as far as veggies go. She usually gets 2 cups a day that are heavy on greens. She loves cilantro, basil, romaine...etc. I'm having fun tying new ones.

She is still taking of weight from her first owner, however, so we go very light on sugary veggies, and limit fruit to a bite once and a while.

http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

 

[Bobbles]

Hi I give my buuny excel food and apple snacks and 3 lots hay that are not same and veg and little fruit :energizerbunny:

 

[@rabbitmummy]

Hi I give my buuny excel food and apple snacks and 3 lots hay that are not same and veg and little fruit :energizerbunny:

This is my rabbits diet (recommended by the RSPCA)