No pellet diet??

[snap]

I posted in the infirmary about my baby Toshi who had((hopefully 'had', and not still 'has'!)) what was supposedly a 'hairball'. I couldn't take him to the vet because I had to leave to go out of town, so I did some super-fast research on what I should have him eat.

Supposedly, in my not-so-thorough research, whatever binds pellets to keep them together can also bind to things in the digestive system to keep THAT together-forming the ball of 'stuff' referred to as a hairball, to keep this simple. Well I thought that didn't sound very good, so I dropped his pellets completely and he is on free choice hay and veggies twice a day. Parsley, cilantro, romaine lettuce, mustard greens and broccoli (not all at the same time).

Heeeres the question(s)!
If all he gets is hay and veggies, how much veggies should he really be getting? I /thought/ I was giving half a cup total((he is about 3-4 pounds)) but I was measuring this morning and had an overflowing cup(just for breakfast!)! I'll be cutting down, but is the guide still half a cup a day when there is no pellets? He eats it all (duh), so he doesn't mind.
Is this even okay for him to eat? He is 10x better now that he's been off pellets for a week, very perky and active. C: But I don't know how well it fits his nutritional needs.
If there is a way to get him his balanced diet with just hay and veggies, are there certain veggies I should feed?

I keep finding conflicting answers, or very vague answers that don't help.

 

[majorv]

I can't help with the veggie/hay diet, but it's important to provide a balanced diet or you'll be setting yourself up for other problems. All of our rabbits get pellets as part of their diet and we haven't had a problem with hairballs. A friend had recommended giving them papaya tablets during molting season and it seems to work.

 

[hillrise]

Pineapples another good thing to give to prevent hairballs.

If you want to go with a no pellet diet, though, make sure you provide a salt/mineral lick, since they won't get that from fresh food (most wild animals can't resist salt licks because their fresh diet is deficient).

Also, every fresh feeding recommendation I've seen recommends two whole cups of vegetables every day for 5 lbs (so for a 3-4 lb rabbit, you'd want to do 1-1/2 cups). I would also recommend adding a little bit of oats to the diet as well, as grains are still important to their health.

 

[snap]

majorv- Well I'm really doubting the hairball diagnoses, as he had been acting strange on and off since about April, even when we moved inside away from the heat. Whatever it was it's either gone now or was fixed by removing pellets, and I'm not too willing to test and see which one it was!

hillrise- Yep, my buns get a bit of fresh pineapple twice a week or so, whenever we actually have pineapple. I will be sure to get a mineral lick though, that makes sense. I'll also push his feeding amount back up to what it was((about 1 1/2 cups)) because that seems to be what the majority are saying now that I look into it more.