new dwarf lops

[chloe77]

hi everyone
i have recently adopted two 8 week dwarf lop boys...i am a new rabbit owner and would love a bit of advice

i am feeding them pellets at the moment with loads of hay but i was wondering when i can introduce them to grass and vegetables.

i have a large run and would like to know if it is safe to put them in it on the grass or would it be better to move it onto concrete....i dont know if they can eat grass yet.

how do i give them vegetables and how many pellets should i give them....

i have a sack of plain brown pellets but i also have a large box of mixed rabbit food..the stuff with pellets and other things mixed into it (coloured stuff,dried banana etc)...should i give them this or stick to plain pellets....if i want to change their pellets how should i do this

can i keep them living together or should i separate them....

is it good to put a probiotic in their water...

sorry for all the questions but i want to get this right:?

 

[ellissian]

Hi welcome to the forum.

What make of pellets are you feeding them? The best pellets I can find in the UK are Burgess rabbit Excel for Dwarf and Junior. As far as I know you are supposed to feed them free pellets until they hit around 6 months. Along with free unlimited hay.

With regards to feeding vegtables some members don't start feeding until around 6 months, but some introduce them earlier. As with any new food the key is to indroduce it slowly and gradually otherwise it would upset the buns GI system.

There is no reason to seperate them unless they begin to fight, which may happen when they reach maturity.

I don't think you need to use the probiotic unless they had tummy problems. The Burgess Rabbit Excel contains probiotic anyway.

 

[chloe77]

thats the pellets i am using

so should i forget about the other stuff i have...the mixed stuff:?

can i put them on the grass yet....:?

 

[ellissian]

I would just use the Rabbit Excel.

I think they would be ok with grass, but I would'nt give them too much at first. Maybe someone else will tell you otherwise cause I'm a big wuss feeding babies new things! lol I've had to much trouble in the past with gassey babies.

 

[jcottonl02]

Hey and welcome to the forum!

8 weeks should be fine to introduce them to grass. Just make sure that, becuase they probably haven't been on grass before, you only leave them out there for half an hour a day for a few days, and slowly increase, otherwise they may gorge themselves on grass and make themselves sick.

I think maybe wait until they are a little older for vegetables regularly, but I'm sure a piece of carrot or apple would be absolutely fine now and then.