Polish nutrition needs

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Oglie2000

Oglie2000

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My friends just got me a a new bunny after my bunny tragically died last week. I looked up the breed and don't see much on the nutritional needs for them. I am assuming he just needs smaller amounts of what I gave my previous bunny.

Fresh green (low to no oxylates in it)
Pellets
lots of hay

Is there any thing I should change for a polish bunny?

He is a black, 8 week to 6 month old Polish bunny. They got him from a fair so they just know he was entered as a Jr and when they asked the people there said he was any where from 8 weeks to 6 months.
 
Polish are fairly small, so should not need a lot of pellets. 1/4 cup or less per day should be enough. Since he is younger, you could give more, but not too much.

He might not eat as much hay or veggies as a larger rabbit, but each rabbit is different. Don't give too much veggies right away as he is not used them.
 
generally if at a fair he'll be 4-6 months old.

I breed polish so here's a general rule of thumb.

PELLETS FIRST. Polish have small stomachs and don't have room for a lot of food so focus on pellets first (1/3-1/2 cup depending on energy levels). Once your bunny has eaten it's pellets, then offer a small handful of hay... please don't do unlimited as a bunny will tend to fill up on hay and leave the pellets. Pellets are like the meat and potatoes... a more balanced diet, hay though helpful is more like the bran flakes sprinkled on top. So pellets first, then hay, then consider what else you want to give.

I'd start him (if you are going to feed greens) on parsley, cilantro, dandelion.

But remember.. show quality polish generally weigh around 2.5 lbs. They don't tend to eat a whole lot so you want to make sure that what you are feeding them is what they really need.
 
I generally start showing my Polish juniors at around 3 to 3 1/2 months, after they make minimum show weight. So, his age could be as young as 3 months. I don't feed any of my Polish unlimited pellets because some of them don't know when to stop eating. Polish have a lower metabolism and will become overweight if fed too much. It's a balance between giving them the nutrition they need without making them overweight.
 
Alfalfa should be the base of the pellets, so it's typically best to counter that with timothy or grass hay, especially for a small breed rabbit. Too much alfalfa can cause them to gain too much weight (even as a young baby) or it can be a catalyst for digestive trouble. Especially when they're young, a grass hay is good for adding fiber without the worry of a diet too high in protein.

Like mentioned, about 1/4 cup of pellets is enough for a Polish. You can adjust that amount as needed.
 
I'm guessing by looking at the little guy he is about 3 months. I have had him 2 day so far. I have given him 1/4 cup and he has eaten about half of that amount a day. He has eaten the hay which is in a hopper, however he hasn't eaten that much hay. He drank 16oz of water in one night and after that he drank about 2oz. I'm not sure if he is just adjusting or if he was dehydrated from the fair. Nothing abnormal about the poop or pee.

Should I adjust his food based on what I have found in 2 days?

Thanks for the help
 
I would give him a bit more time to adjust. When they first come, rabbits might eat more or less than normal.

Since he doens't seem to be eating a lot, don't give him too much. I do like to measure out food so I can monitor what they are eating.

He probably was dehydrated. Rabbits tend to not eat or drink as much when they are stresses. Some people are not as diligent about making sure rabbits have water at a fair, so he might not have had much. 16oz is a lot for such a small bun, so he might not drink that much on a normal basis.
 
majorv said:
I generally start showing my Polish juniors at around 3 to 3 1/2 months, after they make minimum show weight. So, his age could be as young as 3 months. I don't feed any of my Polish unlimited pellets because some of them don't know when to stop eating. Polish have a lower metabolism and will become overweight if fed too much. It's a balance between giving them the nutrition they need without making them overweight.
Click to expand...

Korr_and_Sophie said:
Polish are fairly small, so should not need a lot of pellets. 1/4 cup or less per day should be enough. Since he is younger, you could give more, but not too much.

He might not eat as much hay or veggies as a larger rabbit, but each rabbit is different. Don't give too much veggies right away as he is not used them.
Click to expand...

OakRidgeRabbits said:
Alfalfa should be the base of the pellets, so it's typically best to counter that with timothy or grass hay, especially for a small breed rabbit. Too much alfalfa can cause them to gain too much weight (even as a young baby) or it can be a catalyst for digestive trouble. Especially when they're young, a grass hay is good for adding fiber without the worry of a diet too high in protein.

Like mentioned, about 1/4 cup of pellets is enough for a Polish. You can adjust that amount as needed.
Click to expand...


You've been given some great advice here. Limit the pellets and get that hay in there. 1/4 is more then enough. :) Best of luck
 
ladysown said:
generally if at a fair he'll be 4-6 months old.

I breed polish so here's a general rule of thumb.

PELLETS FIRST. Polish have small stomachs and don't have room for a lot of food so focus on pellets first (1/3-1/2 cup depending on energy levels). Once your bunny has eaten it's pellets, then offer a small handful of hay... please don't do unlimited as a bunny will tend to fill up on hay and leave the pellets. Pellets are like the meat and potatoes... a more balanced diet, hay though helpful is more like the bran flakes sprinkled on top. So pellets first, then hay, then consider what else you want to give.

I'd start him (if you are going to feed greens) on parsley, cilantro, dandelion.

But remember.. show quality polish generally weigh around 2.5 lbs. They don't tend to eat a whole lot so you want to make sure that what you are feeding them is what they really need.
Click to expand...

This is very good information and I would follow this except it is one ounce of feed per pound of rabbit (My 4 pound hollands get 1/2 cup of feed so a 2 pound polish would get 1/4 cup of feed)
 
Just an update on this little guy. I have had him 10 days now and he is adjusting well. He seems to be doing well on pellets with 18-20% fiber, 2% fat, and 17% protein. I bought him the young rabbit pellets so it has more protein in it than the regular pellets. He gets about a teaspoon of greens every other day for now. When he gets older I will give him them every day. I have a hopper that came with the cage that attaches to the outside and he eats about 1/4 of the hay in hopper every night. He is really active and hyper every day, and every thing seems ok in his cage.
 
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