How to get my rabbit to lose weight??

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We have two neutered does that tend to get a bit overweight. I completely stopped feeding pellets to one of them and have severely cut back on the other. I made no other changes to their feed which consists of unlimited hay, willow leaves (in season) willow twigs, and greens, such as parsley and kale. Now they've slimmed down, nicely.

The only diet change was to either eliminate or reduce the alfalfa-based pellets.
 
I just don’t have the money for these expensive kinds of pellets. Is this kind okay if I make sure my bun gets more exercise? Also I can give her less of an amount then what she weighs.

Thanks so much!! - Kaylor

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/producers-pride-rabbit-feed-50-lb?cm_vc=-10005

It’s okay if you don’t have the money for those pellets (they can be really pricey). There are many fairly cheap, good quality Timothy hay pellets, I’m sure you could find one within your budget that are good.

I checked that website but I couldn’t find what the ingredients are. Also they are 15% protein so they could make a gain weight (I think).
You could decided to not feed too much of it (or no pellets at all!) if you give a variety of veggies- although I know you mention that your local supermarkets don’t have too many varieties of lettuces. If anything spring/lettuce mixes are quite good. Since she’s quite young, I know she hasn’t been introduced to that veggies yet but if you slowly start to add more veggies and herbs into her diet, you could remove pellets
I’m just looking to see if I can find some pellets on that website that could help your bunny (and stay within price)
 
It’s okay if you don’t have the money for those pellets (they can be really pricey). There are many fairly cheap, good quality Timothy hay pellets, I’m sure you could find one within your budget that are good.

I checked that website but I couldn’t find what the ingredients are. Also they are 15% protein so they could make a gain weight (I think).
You could decided to not feed too much of it (or no pellets at all!) if you give a variety of veggies- although I know you mention that your local supermarkets don’t have too many varieties of lettuces. If anything spring/lettuce mixes are quite good. Since she’s quite young, I know she hasn’t been introduced to that veggies yet but if you slowly start to add more veggies and herbs into her diet, you could remove pellets
I’m just looking to see if I can find some pellets on that website that could help your bunny (and stay within price)
Thank you so much!
 
In all honesty, I have never in my life, heard of the first brand. But I have checked the ingredients and the protein and fiber levels and they seem fine. The rest are from amazon because I couldn’t find pellets that I know about properly. I’m not too sure if you can order those pellets but I hope you can: they are quite good brands

1) https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/mazuri-rabbit-diet-with-timothy-hay-5-lb?cm_vc=-10005

first ingredient is Timothy hay,
protein level is 14%

2)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Supreme-Sc...89HP89ZTK3Z&psc=1&refRID=42Y8RRYWG89HP89ZTK3Z
I have absolutely no idea if this is an English brand:
First ingredient: Timothy hay
Protein level: 14%

3)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Excel-Burg...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
Also, i think this is an English Brand:
First ingredient: Grass...
Protein level: 13%
 
This is one of the many reasons I strongly prefer feeding a complete pellet-based diet; if a rabbit needs to lose or gain weight you can just increase or decrease the amount of pellets, without worrying about ratios of pellets to veggies to hay, etc. All my rabbits are at perfect weight with minimal effort.

I've fed Mazuri before (but to cavies, not rabbits), I like the brand well enough if you were looking for a timothy based pellet as a supplement to other food.
 
This is one of the many reasons I strongly prefer feeding a complete pellet-based diet; if a rabbit needs to lose or gain weight you can just increase or decrease the amount of pellets, without worrying about ratios of pellets to veggies to hay, etc. All my rabbits are at perfect weight with minimal effort.

I've fed Mazuri before (but to cavies, not rabbits), I like the brand well enough if you were looking for a timothy based pellet as a supplement to other food.

When you say complete pellet-based diet, do you mean no hay?
 
When you say complete pellet-based diet, do you mean no hay?

When I say complete pellet based diet, I don't necessarily mean no hay. Some pellets are labelled as a 'complete diet', such as Purina, Manna Pro, etc. They have all the protein, energy, vitamins and everything that a rabbit needs. You can feed grass hay with them if you want to give your rabbit more fiber (especially for rabbits prone to GI issues) and/or something to chew on. The complete diet should have enough fiber and hay material ground up in it to cover most rabbits' nutritional needs, but those needs vary between breed and between rabbit. (If I was feeding a holland lop, for example, which tend to be more prone to diarrhea and digestive issues, I'd almost certainly supplement these pellets with a grass hay).

Personally I rarely feed hay and my rabbits do great (although they are intact, breeding rabbits, so their nutritional needs are quite different from spayed, pet rabbits which tend to have lower protein and energy needs). I haven't had GI issues, teeth issues or other diet related issues on my current feeding plan and I've been feeding it since 2012. (no "GI stasis" - that doesn't have to

When pellets get a bad reputation, it's often because of the low quality pellets sold at most pet stores (especially muesli) which is marketed towards uninformed consumers and usually not meant to be a complete diet, so they lack many key nutrients. It can be hard to find a pellet that actually covers a specific rabbits nutritional needs, and the quality and freshness of pellets varies so much by location that finding information online isn't very useful. That's something best asked of a local rabbit expert.

Not to say pellets are the only way to feed a rabbit. There are many correct ways to feed a rabbit, as long as they get all the nutrition they need. It's just the one I personally find easiest and most consistent, especially as its difficult to find good quality greens & vegetables around where I live.
 
When I say complete pellet based diet, I don't necessarily mean no hay. Some pellets are labelled as a 'complete diet', such as Purina, Manna Pro, etc. They have all the protein, energy, vitamins and everything that a rabbit needs. You can feed grass hay with them if you want to give your rabbit more fiber (especially for rabbits prone to GI issues) and/or something to chew on. The complete diet should have enough fiber and hay material ground up in it to cover most rabbits' nutritional needs, but those needs vary between breed and between rabbit. (If I was feeding a holland lop, for example, which tend to be more prone to diarrhea and digestive issues, I'd almost certainly supplement these pellets with a grass hay).

Personally I rarely feed hay and my rabbits do great (although they are intact, breeding rabbits, so their nutritional needs are quite different from spayed, pet rabbits which tend to have lower protein and energy needs). I haven't had GI issues, teeth issues or other diet related issues on my current feeding plan and I've been feeding it since 2012.

When pellets get a bad reputation, it's often because of the low quality pellets sold at most pet stores (especially muesli) which is marketed towards uninformed consumers and usually not meant to be a complete diet, so they lack many key nutrients. It can be hard to find a pellet that actually covers a specific rabbits nutritional needs, and the quality and freshness of pellets varies so much by location that finding information online isn't very useful. That's something best asked of a local rabbit expert.

That’s honestly so cool! I personally, only feed the smallest amount of pellets because Apollo can often ignore veggies or sometimes even hay if he has a ‘regular amount’ (1/4 cup) of pellets. Which I don’t really like. But the fact that you could feed pellets as a consistent meal fascinates me.
Sorry, I’m a bit easy to amuse :p
 

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