more questions

[mnyablonski2796]

I have been reading that some people don't feed pellets (along with hay and veggies). Is it still okay to feed pellets along with those things? My last rabbit loved his pellets and would go crazy for them. If so what kinds are best?
What is the best bedding to be used? I have been told tile type bottoms would be good is there anything else? Is a 2x6 base for a c&c cage big enough? I also have found a rescue about 3 hours away that I was think about but was wondering if anyone has had any experience with them. It is the House Rabbit Society at Kansas City?

 

[Azerane]

It is perfectly ok to feed pellets along with hay and veggies Most vets will recommend it because it ensures that your rabbit is getting all the vitamins and minerals they needs. I'm not familiar with all the american brands of pellets, the only one I'm really familiar with is oxbow, which is considered a good brand. I'm sure others will have plenty of more and probably better suggestions.

You don't need bedding in a cage, it's good to have a soft place for them to lie on, like a fleece blanket, but using bedding such as carefresh throughout the whole cage is only going to confuse your rabbit as to where he's supposed to go to the toilet and probably will make it difficult for him to be consistent with using the litter tray. 2x6 is a great size for a cage

I'm not familiar with that rescue, but the House Rabbit Society is generally well regarded.

 

[Aki]

I agree with what was said and second the oxbow recommandation. Should give quite a bit (with alfafa) if you got a baby, then sans alfafa no more than 2-3% of the weight of your rabbit everyday for an adult.

When you chose pellets that's what you should look for on the box :

Rabbits under 6 months / Adults
Proteins 15-16 % / 13-14 %
Fibers 20-25 % / 25-29 %
Fat 3 % / 2 %
Calcium 1% / 0.5-0.9 %

 

[mnyablonski2796]

I have read that parsley I believe is very high in calcium so should that be limited or not given to adults?

 

[Azerane]

Yes, there are several herbs and greens that are high in calcium, there are also greens that are high in oxalic acid that should be limited as well and not fed daily. Both of these websites list foods high in oxalic acid http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/ and http://www.binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx however you'll also need to look into greens that are high in calcium and limit those. I believe spinach, parsley, sage, rocket are just a few. My rule of thumb was, leafy greens every day including 3 varieties low in both calcium and oxalic and one green high in either calcium or oxalic. The next day, 3 leafy greens again plus one high in whatever you didn't feed the previous day. If that makes sense.

 

[mnyablonski2796]

what about using wood pellets in the litter box? Would that be okay?

 

[Blue eyes]

Wood pellets work great for a litter box and are used by many here on RO. Just remember they e x p a n d much so you don't need to put very much in the litter box.

I top mine with hay and then refresh the hay twice per day.

 

[flemishwhite]

Our two flemmish babies are thriving well. The get a lot of green leafy veggies. Sometimes we spend about $20 a week on their veggies and we'd be spending more if it were not for getting about 2 shopping bags full of carrot tops for free at the farmers market. They just love carrot tops. We do feed them romaine lettuce leaves..I think it's the only lettuce that's recommended for bunnies. For bok choy, the family shares. The bunnies get the green leafy parts, and the stalks which the bunnies don't really want go in our soup. They have all the pellets they want to eat. We do buy pellets that don't have sugar/molasses/etc in them...these pellets have too high a calorie content. ....And we give them treats, banana slice every morning, pieces of apple, guava. When in season, bing cherries. This morning we found a well nibbled on apple in the corner of the dining room. One of the rabbits, unknown to us, must have jumped on top of the table and carried off the apple to dine one. At four months old we don't leave them in the house by themselves since they get into too much mischief.

 

[flemishwhite]

Because we have baby bunnies, we have four litter boxes in the house. They have free run of the living room, dining room, kitchen, and bedroom hallway. They are doing just really well with litter boxes. The litter boxes are lined with newspaper and then topped with oat hay. They really love to chomp away on the oat hay. We buy the oat hay from a feed and grain store that sells feed for horses.

Our first rabbit was a rescue rabbit....she was abandoned in a city park in September which means she was likely a Easter bunny baby that grew into an adult and was abandoned when the children went back to school after the summer vacation. Very nice rabbit. I'm sure she had been severely caged during her previous life. We let her run loose in the house, she got hysterical if we ever caged her. She had excellent litter box manners...probably as a result of being caged. She lived pretty much of 11 years as an uncaged house rabbit.