Rabbit diets advice (1st time owner)

[jazzybeaar]

Hello all, I'm new to owning a pet rabbit and would love some advice/tips! My bunny just turned 7 weeks old, she has been with me for about a week & a half. She's getting quite comfy being in my home & warming up to me 😁so it makes me happy.

I want some advice on what her diet should be please. For the past week I've only given her unlimited pellets, alfalfa hay & sprinkle of oats from time to time. I heard its good to begin introducing bunnies to vegetables from 7 weeks to older so I purchased some celery (only the leaves), Romaine lettuce, watercress & green leaf lettuce. I've heard to give them little by little to get them use to it but I gave her 1 cup of celery leaves for breakfast and lettuce for dinner to see if she'd like them and she loved them! Finished the whole plate! Should I continue to give her veggies or slow it down? She didn't get an upset tummy so that's a good sign right?

I'm weaning her off pellets too, just 1/2cup a day and unlimited hay of course. She loves her alfalfa hay. I also gave her Timothy hay & she seems fine eating that up too but is it okay since timothy hay is meant for adult rabbits?

I also feel really happy today because she let me pet her for at least half an hour & she dozed off while grinding her teeth. Usually she'd run away after petting her for 5 seconds. I lay outside her cage & let her roam around while I read so she can explore and get use to me. She occasionally sniffs me and puts her paws on me to stand then hopmaway to other curiosities. I also read out loud and talk to her so she would get use to my voice. Any tips to get her to warm up to me?

I've also tried to pick her up a couple of times ( I know bunnies don't like it) I was doing it to see if I can calm her so I can trim her nails but she hates it, she kicks out of my hold and hops away 😅😓so I'm thinking of trying again when she likes me a little better..

Also, what treats do you recommend? I heard apples are good! I've tried giving her strawberries and found she's okay with it but I don't think I'll give her that a lot. I heard bananas are too sugary & yogurt drops are no-nos. Carrot tops? Oats? Rose petals?

😅 I appreciate any advice you can provide me!

 

[whitelop]

Thats a little early to start so many veggies! They say 12 weeks at the youngest and some people still say 6 months.
Since your rabbit isn't with its mother anymore, its not nibbling on her greens or veggies, so just adding stuff like that can mess up gut flora.

WHEN you do add veggies into her diet, you'll want to go slowly. Like a pinch of lettuce at a time, to make sure that she doesn't get any soft poop. If she does well, then you could add more. You keep with the same green for a week or so and see how she does. You don't want to introduce multiple things at a time, because if she does have an upset you wouldn't know which thing it was that was causing the issue. Ya know? A cup at a time, is a HUGE amount of greens. They say a cup at a minimum per 6 lbs of adult rabbit. Your rabbit can't weigh over a pound at 7 weeks old.
Celery leaves are okay, but the celery itself should be cut into small pieces since they can choke on the strings.
Also when you start, green leaf lettuce, cilantro are good ones to start with. They don't seem to cause many problems with tummies. But SLOWLY!

I would keep her pellets unlimited for now. A lot of people say unlimited pellets until they're fully grown, or about 6 months for regular sized and small rabbits. 9 months or so for giants. At about 6 months, you'll wean her down to about 1/4-1/2 a cup depending on how big she is.
The alfalfa hay is fine. You're already adding timothy hay to it which is good. Sometimes it can be hard to transition them to timothy when they're adults.
She also probably need the oats because shes getting alfalfa hay and unlimited pellets. Oats help put weight on and she won't need that since she's getting higher protein hay/pellets.

As for treats, just hand feeding her pellets will be treat enough for her. She's still too young to start with fruit. Like with greens, she would wait until 12 weeks at the earliest. The sugar in the fruit would probably cause an issue with her being so young. With fruit, you also want to start slowly and just a little pinch at a time. But when she's ready for fruit, they tend to love bananas, apples, strawberries, blueberries. Carrots should be treated like fruit because they're high in sugar. Again, oats aren't really necessary unless you're trying to put weight on. And still oats are one of those things in the 'gray' area because you're really not supposed to give them starches like that. But a lot of people feed some rolled oats with no issues at all.
Rose petals are a good treat too. My bun loves them. But make sure they're not florist roses, make sure they're from your yard or somewhere where they aren't treated with pesticides.
Carrot tops are really high in calcium. I would say that they would be better to feed as a baby when you can give just a little more calcium. But I could be wrong and I'm sure people feed carrot tops to adults.

I know you want to feed her all kinds of stuff to see if she likes it or whatever. But being patient and waiting until she's older is for the best, for her. It sounds like she got weaned a little early as is, so I would take it easy on the weird stuff! Just hay and pellets and water for a while will be just fine, she'll be perfectly happy with that. Hand feeding her pellets will work as treats and help you two bond. Once she gets older though, you can try to feed her greens and stuff, but just take it slow. I know its exciting to feed them that stuff, but its even more exciting when they don't get stomach issues from us trying to go to fast!

Hope that helps!

 

[Blue eyes]

TYPO: I believe whitelop meant to say that your rabbit "probably doesn't need the oats..." (You can tell from the next sentence)

I would agree with all that she advised. Be patient with foods. Introducing the extras like greens or treats can cause tummy trouble for baby rabbits. There's no harm in waiting even until 6 months, but there is potential for harm if introduced too early.

 

[whitelop]

Thanks! I did mean, she doesn't need oats. I thought I proof-read, but I guess not well enough!

 

[jazzybeaar]

Thank you for all the advices! I'll slow it down with the food �� , I've been giving her just pellets & her hay. Do you have any pellet brand to recommend for baby bunnies btw?

 

[jazzybeaar]

I notice that sometimes her eyes are red. Not the actual eye but the rims around it would get pink from time to time. I'm thinking she might be allergic to something? I clean her cage daily, change the bedding & all and I clean out her litter box twice a day. She sometimes gets it too when she's out of her cage waking up from a nap. Should I be worried?

 

[Zaiya]

What bedding do you use?

 

[jazzybeaar]

I use care fresh bedding

 

[jazzybeaar]

What bedding do you use?

I use care fresh bedding. There's no discharge from her eyes and her nose is fine too

 

[hannaroo]

http://www.binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/2/PID/940/Default.aspx

This is the feeding guide I used and its worked very well. My bunnies are happy and healthy and my vet is very pleased with their diet.
The veggie section also has a clear guide to the best veggies to feed and the amounts!

Good luck with your new bun! You should have plenty of happy memories!!!

Xxx

 

[Blue eyes]

Thank you for all the advices! I'll slow it down with the food �� , I've been giving her just pellets & her hay. Do you have any pellet brand to recommend for baby bunnies btw?

Oxbow Essentials for juveniles is a good brand. They also have an adult version that she can be switched over to around 6-7 months of age.
But, if your girl is just 7 weeks, it's probably not a good idea to be switching her diet right now. Their tummies are just so delicate when they are this young. I'm assuming the pellets you are feeding right now are plain pellets and don't have the colorful bits and junk mixed in?
If it's the mixed kind, then pick out the colorful crap that is, well... just crap.
Maybe wait til she' closer to 12 weeks before gradually switching her to Oxbow (if you decide to do so).
Just remember that when you do make the switch, it needs to be done gradually over a week or two. You mix 3 parts old food to 1 part new and let her have that for a few days. Then mix it half and half for a few days. Then 1 part old food to 3 parts new brand - again for a few days. By then she will be ready to have just the new brand.

 

[Blue eyes]

I noticed in your avatar that your girl is sitting on a wire-bottomed cage. Do you have something like a board or tile somewhere in there so that she can rest on a solid surface when she desires?
I like to be sure to have at least 2 flooring options in any cage so bunnies have a choice and variety. It's also better for their hocks to have different resting options.

 

[warminwisco]

We have wire and Comfort Mats to go over the wire. No bedding needed to dirty up their paws. Thanks for the tip though we will get some carpet remnents for a second material.

 

[jazzybeaar]

I noticed in your avatar that your girl is sitting on a wire-bottomed cage. Do you have something like a board or tile somewhere in there so that she can rest on a solid surface when she desires?
I like to be sure to have at least 2 flooring options in any cage so bunnies have a choice and variety. It's also better for their hocks to have different resting options.

Yes, I have a flat board on the other side of the cage. Oddly she usually likes to lay with half her body on the wire & half on the board hahah. I plan on getting a comfort mat or some carpet for her soon and making her cage bigger

 

[jazzybeaar]

Oxbow Essentials for juveniles is a good brand. They also have an adult version that she can be switched over to around 6-7 months of age.
But, if your girl is just 7 weeks, it's probably not a good idea to be switching her diet right now. Their tummies are just so delicate when they are this young. I'm assuming the pellets you are feeding right now are plain pellets and don't have the colorful bits and junk mixed in?
If it's the mixed kind, then pick out the colorful crap that is, well... just crap.
Maybe wait til she' closer to 12 weeks before gradually switching her to Oxbow (if you decide to do so).
Just remember that when you do make the switch, it needs to be done gradually over a week or two. You mix 3 parts old food to 1 part new and let her have that for a few days. Then mix it half and half for a few days. Then 1 part old food to 3 parts new brand - again for a few days. By then she will be ready to have just the new brand.

Right now I am feeding her Kaytee Forti-Diet for juveniles because a friend recommended it to me. I pick out the little treats they include in there since I know its just unhealthy crap. I see that oxbow is a good popular brand so I plan to gradually switch to it.

 

[nora123]

Hi not sure how to use this site yet but could anyone tell me if oxbow bunny basics is a good choice of feed for my 17 rescue rabbits at the minute they are on science selective but it is alfalfa based and I have heard this is not good for adult rabbits but it does have an prebiotic in it and I noticed oxbow does not do rabbits need a prebiotic in there food is oxbow a better choice for adult rabbits grateful for any advice.

 

[RabbitGirl101]

introducing bunnies to vegetables from 7 weeks to older

You should NEVER feed a rabbit vegetables under the age of 6 months, under that age their digestive system isn't fully developed and you can give them bloat, GI stasis and problems for when they are older. At this age they should get unlimited pellets (At the age of 6 months they can begin to get cut down) hay (alfalfa, or timothy this is a preference) and a lot of Fresh Water.

With the vegetables I have plenty of experience with kits getting veggies too young. First I should say I am a breeder so my feeding is completely different, however at one point I too started with a house rabbit, so I understand how people with pets feed their buns. (The only thing really different with a breeders feeding schedule is they cut out the veggies and increase the pellet intake, unlimited hay is still given, along with fresh water, usually I give mine extra vitamins in the water and to the side, their treat is called mint conditioner.)

7 weeks old...1 cup of celery leaves...lettuce for dinner

So this is something that happened to me that I think you should be aware of, because there is a risk in feeding veggie at such a young age. One day I decided to give my rabbit dandelion leaves because it is said to help clear their bodies of bad things, and help increase milk production in doe's. Well when I was giving it to one of my doe's, her litter ended up nibbling on it (they were around 61/2 weeks old as I wean around 7 weeks of age) They ended up getting very, very bad gas. We lost one of the kits and I spent the rest of the night massaging the gas out of the bellies(you could really hear it popping inside of them) I woke up every 30 minutes to massage their bellies and they stayed in my room so I could easily access them. They were grinding their teeth very badly, which means that it was painful for them. So even though they just nibbled a little bit of dandelion leaves it cause a fatal end for my beloved Mercutio and the other two ended up with bad gas.

It is safer to wait until the rabbit is 6 months to start introducing the veggies to them. I have known many people who have house rabbits who said their rabbits got sick, because they started feeding them vegetables way to early.

is it okay since timothy hay is meant for adult rabbits?

timothy hay is not just for adult rabbits, I feed my kits timothy because I personally feel there is no difference between the hay. They still grow just as fast as other kits on alfalfa so I see no need to give them alfalfa. I also feed them timothy because my rabbits over 6 months of age can not have the alfalfa, so I find it easier to maintain one hay bale rather than two.

I've also tried to pick her up a couple of times ( I know bunnies don't like it)

This is also not really true. People believe that because rabbits are prey animals they don't like to be picked up. I can tell you that my rabbits literally jump in my arms wanting me to hold them. If you socialize with your rabbit enough they should be fine with you picking them up for a good cuddle, then after a few minutes they may want down again to run around again. You just have to handle your rabbit and they will get use to you. Granted there may be a few buns out there who prefer to run rather than be picked up but its still good to train your bunny that being picked up isnt a bad thing. I have some rabbits who only tolerate a few minutes of being held. Other rabbits of mine refuse to run around; only wanting me to hold them.

I also read out loud and talk to her so she would get use to my voice. Any tips to get her to warm up to me?

Just spending time out with your bunny will make them get use to you. When I purchase a new rabbit for my barn, I spend hours, holding them, talking to them and just being around them, they warm up to me very quickly and are always very sweet. I never let them run around me until they are use to me because then they may get the impression that they are over me and that they can do what they want, thats a big no no. They need to know that I'm in control but at the same time I make a good snuggle buddy. I have a rabbit named Beauty and she is a drama queen and she does what she wants when she wants, however whenever I take her out in the run, she never runs around; she follows me around until I sit down, hold her, and give her plenty of kisses and i pet her until my arms tire. When I first got her she tried to bite and would lunge at me. Everyday I just took her out put her on my grooming table (with a rug on it) and just pet her, talking to her and saying her name. Within a few days she was warmed up to me and I moved her out to the pen and since then she is my big fluffy,teddy bear although she only weighs 3.5lbs

I can trim her nails

For this I would learn how to properly flip your rabbit. Some people say this will put your rabbit into shock, once again I am disagreeing. When you take your rabbit to the vet you will see them flipping your rabbit to examine them. Being in 4-H and participating in showmanship I have been fortunate enough to learn how to properly examine a rabbit myself, this includes flipping a rabbit upside down. After you learned that, have someone help you, it may take up to three people at first, one holding a flashlight to see the quick, another cutting the nail, and the third holding the rabbit in place. Once you gain experience you should be able to do it yourself, I usually clip my rabbits nails once a month (Every 4 weeks).

My bunny just turned 7 weeks old

Are you sure she just turned 7 weeks old? Where did you buy her from? Rabbits should be with their mom until 6 weeks of age, they have a week or two to get use to their new surroundings and then are sold at 8 weeks of age, Rabbits should not be sold unless they are 8 weeks of age or older, it can be problematic as she is so young.

I notice that sometimes her eyes are red. Not the actual eye but the rims around it would get pink from time to time. I'm thinking she might be allergic to something? I clean her cage daily, change the bedding & all and I clean out her litter box twice a day.

I have some rabbits that just have a pinker rim around their eye, it could be because of your rabbits colors, or maybe some fur was poking in her eye and irritating it, not really that big of a health concern as long as it doesn't get worse. Just keep an eye out for weepy eye ( no pun intended) As for the cleaning there is no need to clean that much a day it just waste the extra bedding, cleaning the cage every 2-3 days should be good and the litter box if you feel its dirty every other day, the expenses will add up fast so just keep that in mind.

Do you have any pellet brand to recommend for baby bunnies btw?

I feed mine kent (top show professional), but Purina, or Manno Pro is also a very good pellet, Really the pellets for babies is the same for adults, you want the highest quality pellet you can afford.

Other than that congratulations on your first bun! Your first year or so will be filled with tons of learning (you never really stop learning though lol) If she is the bun in the picture, she looks very adorable! Is she an orange Holland lop? I raise Hollands lops and that is what she reminded me of lol (in addition to my lionheads of course) I like that you have her on a flooring that will keep her very clean and it will be sanitary for her The wire doesn't bother Holland lops because their feet have such thick furring on the hocks. My Hollands actually prefer the wire to the nice resting mats I give them to lay on lol Welcome to the rabbit world, its the best of all the animals worlds you could possibly be in haha

 

[RabbitGirl101]

Kaytee Forti-Diet for juveniles

With the pellets like stated before you should just feed them the pellet that you would give an adult, usually a good quality pellet comes in a 25lbs or 50lbs bag.

It's also better for their hocks to have different resting options.

While this can be true, just keep in mind it also depends on the breed like I said my Holland lops prefer the wire to the mats I have in the cage.

 

[jemm]

Jazzy she looks lovely anymore photos