New Owner- Appetite?

[hiraeth.21]

How much should bunnies be eating? I put a handful of food into his bowl and change it once in the morning and once later in the afternoon. But it doesn't seem like he's eating it much. I also have hay in his enclosure for him. He is pooping and peeing, it's not alot of poops but I have been cleaning it out two-three times a day.

*edit* Also, he does eat his treats. He's young (but not a baby) so I only gave him a little bit because I wasn't sure if it's okay.

 

[helena]

He should be eating (per day)
1/4 cup of pellets (not a mix with treats, just plain pellets)
1-2 cups of veggies (depending on size, large rabbit should have 2 while smaller ones maybe 1-1 1/2)
Unlimited timothy hay or if its not an adult rabbit it gets unlimited alfalfa
Also (no need to say) unlimited water

 

[hiraeth.21]

Thank you. Should he be finishing the 1/4 cup each day? I feel like he's not eating that amount. It's new pellets out of convenience from the nearest pet store, could that be the problem?

 

[zuppa]

How much should bunnies be eating? I put a handful of food into his bowl and change it once in the morning and once later in the afternoon. But it doesn't seem like he's eating it much. I also have hay in his enclosure for him. He is pooping and peeing, it's not alot of poops but I have been cleaning it out two-three times a day.

*edit* Also, he does eat his treats. He's young (but not a baby) so I only gave him a little bit because I wasn't sure if it's okay.

Hi, can you post a pic of his bowl with food, how big is it comparing to your rabbit?
Also we'd need to know some info about your rabbit (age, breed/size, is he neutered, how long is he with you)
and some info about food (name, brand, ingredients, protein and calcium percentage).
How long he is on that food or if there were recent changes in his diet?

It would be easier for us if you could post a pic of his setup, cage or if he's free roaming does he have his homebase/hiding place where you keep his toilet, water, hay and food, his bed etc

 

[zuppa]

When you changing pellets to new type you'd need to do it gradually, mixing old pellets with new for a few days (it is suggested that min 1-2 weeks) gradually increasing amount of new and decreasing old.

Pellets are only complementary, it is most important that he eats hay, as much as possible, hay is 80% of his diet and if there's no pellets it's okay

What treats you give him? Ingredients, any grain, dairy products, seeds, sweets etc

 

[hiraeth.21]

Hi, can you post a pic of his bowl with food, how big is it comparing to your rabbit?
Also we'd need to know some info about your rabbit (age, breed/size, is he neutered, how long is he with you)
and some info about food (name, brand, ingredients, protein and calcium percentage).
How long he is on that food or if there were recent changes in his diet?

It would be easier for us if you could post a pic of his setup, cage or if he's free roaming does he have his homebase/hiding place where you keep his toilet, water, hay and food, his bed etc

I can't take a picture right now but I just bought him a day ago. Its a regular cat bowl size until his kennel arrives. He's not neutered, and he's a Holland lop. He's two months I think. He's in a medium-large size dog carrier. I bought him a large dog kennel set to arrive tomorrow or Thursday, the rest of his supplies are set to arrive around the same time including the litter box. But he's been roaming the house, with the door open to his bed. I bought oxbows essentials for young rabbits, and I have grain cookies that I break into tiny pieces and let him have a piece when I'm holding him. And I let him have a couple pieces of cilantro. I wasn't able to buy what he was on yet, but I'm going to make a trip out today to buy it.

 

[zuppa]

If it's just first days for him in his new home it can be stress, also it's new type of pellets for him. If you can't get his old pellets maybe just feed him hay for a few days and then try to give a few pellets one by one as a treat. I personally don't use any treats containing grain, seed or dairy products or chocolates etc, and in general if you feed treats he won't eat his normal food maybe so treats must be very limited. It is best to use natural treats like a small piece of carrot or apple or banana like one inch sized. Cilantro is fine but depending on his age as well.

 

[Blue eyes]

At 8 weeks, skip any greens. Wait another month before introducing greens. At this young age, unless you know for certain that he had been regularly fed greens before, giving them now could cause serious tummy troubles.

As zuppa said, pellet changes should be done gradually by mixing the old with the new. If there is any way to get some of what he was eating before, that would be best. It is customary for a rabbit to go to a new home with some of the pellets he was used to. Typically a rabbit should have no changes to his diet for several days (minimally) or up to a couple weeks in a new home. The young oxbow is a fine pellet feed. I'd save it to transition him to it in a few days or so.

No treats either -- not for several weeks. Rabbits have so-very-sensitive digestive systems -- even moreso when young. Improper feeding is a major cause of health issues in pet rabbits.

The following link might help with sorting out his diet. (special note at bottom concerning young rabbits)
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/feeding.html