Straight Veggies N' Hay

[CanadianBunBun]

I'm taking pellets out of my rabbits diet and I was wondering if anybody knew the correct amount of vegetables to give each of my rabbits each day.

They all are small to medium build and their ages are
11 months going on 12 months and 8 months going on 9 months

Thanks

 

[Bluesmaven]

I do that with my old man King from time to time, I have to limit his pellets the rest of the time, he's prone to poopybutt. I think you have to also make sure they have plenty of hard veggies like carrots and celery so they wear down the teeth some.

 

[missyscove]

Eliminating pellets is really tricky because pellets provide the necessary vitamins and minerals and it's much more difficult to get the right balance with vegetables. Personally, I like to think of pellets as a sort of multivitamin. My Timmy gets about 1/4 cup a day in addition to all the hay he can eat and 2 cups of various vegetables.

Carrots actually have a really high sugar content and I don't recommend feeding them on a regular basis but rather as a treat. The green carrot tops though, are fine as a regular veggie.
Celery also has a very low nutritional value and the strings can be dangerous if not cut up or cut out.
Most of the wearing down of teeth can be accomplished with hay.

 

[CanadianBunBun]

Hmmm do you think 1/4 cup of kibble and 2 cups of vegetables would work for my rabbits? I honestly have no idea how much they each weigh and I don't have a scale.. they are younger so maybe 1 cup of vegetables?? :S

 

[itsazoo]

depends on the size and activity level of the rabbit really, I feed 2 cups to Peepers an active 8 month old Dwarf Hotot(2Lbs) and 3-4 cups to Jenny, an active 4.6lbs mixed breed. and it is NOT that hard to feed pellet free, I highly reccomend it if you can afford the amount of veggies you'll o through lol

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I would highly recommend looking more into the nutritional needs of rabbits. Feeding a veggie diet is not as simple as offering a certain volume of veggies daily. Each veggie provides different vitamins and nutrients, all of which you must be aware of if you plan to switch over completely.

I don't know enough about these areas to completely formulate a rabbit's diet, which is why I use and highly recommend a pellet diet.

 

[avarocks]

Milo receives a handful of pellets every morning, a good sized bowl of veggies in the evening and then another handful of pellets at night. He eats hay throughout the day. I try to vary the vegetables. My guinea pigs eat carrots daily and Milo enjoys them. Because of the high sugar content and the high vitamin A content, Milo gets one or two baby carrots every third day as a treat. He also receives craisins as a treat.

 

[RandomWiktor]

I personally agree with some of the other posters and think a high quality pellet fed in moderation is good "insurance" against nutritional deficiencies, while the rest of the diet should be hays and vegetables. I don't have a set ammount of veg that I feed my bunnies daily; I get a large ammount of leafy green veggies for free from the local grocery, and also buy a number of herbs, so I pretty much just throw a generous handful in daily. However, one thing that they love that is a great way to give them nutrition (if you can do it safely) is to allow them supervised outdoor grazing on fresh grasses, weeds, etc. It is closer to the vegetation needs of rabbits than leafy greens, and also a fun way for your rabbits to get exercise and mental simtulation. Just be sure to avoid grassy areas that have been exposed to pesticides and herbicides.

 

[Nela]

I love a highly natural diet and I am in the process of working with my rabbits on returning to it. In the past, I had rabbits with that sort of diet because I could not find pellets I was satisfied with and they were very very expensive. I did buy small bags and used the pellets as a supplement though, just to be sure that they had access to anything I might have had missed out. They only got a very small amount of it but it made me feel better about their diet. Lol. I fed them lots of herbs and leafy things mainly. Fruit were their treats and I stuckprimarily to those they would eat in the wild. The others were used as the special treats. They only real commercial thing I was getting was hay. I think it's a nice way to go but that's my opinion. Good luck with it! :biggrin2:

 

[Violet Crumbles]

If you go off pellets don't go gung ho on vegetables that are traditional for humans to eat. When you keep in mind that rabbits are an animal does not naturally compete with humans for food, you'll see how giving them "vegetation" rather than vegetables is a more appropriate diet for them . In other words, the best non-pelleted diet for them will not necessarily come from your refrigerator or farmers market.

Many people outside North American do not have access to pelleted food. They feed their rabbits local foods that gives us a better idea of what a "natural" rabbit diet really looks like - dried sweet potato vine (one of the most nutritious rabbits food available, I'm told), banana leaf, local grasses, and garden trimmings including weeds (not the roots, fruits, and herbs except in very small amounts). Those are natural, nutritious, foods for rabbits.

Drying grassy or leafy vegetation reduces the risk of digestive issues that can cause runny stools in rabbits. High water/high sugar content is one reason root vegetables and fruits should be avoided.

Examples of "natural" rabbit foods readily available in North America are...
Grassy vegetation: timothy grass, oat grass, and orchard grass hays
Leafy vegetation: alfalfa hay, dandelions, raspberry leaves, some weeds, and other leafy garden trimmings
Other: apple bark, willow bark (and leaves), grains (unprocessed or processed - such as oats and other cereals)

As far as the ammount that should be given? It's not like having the convenience of a stable formula pellet that you can count on the nutritional value and variety contained within a certain measurement being virtually constant. You'll need to "eye" it. Keep close tabs and good records on the weights, condition, and general health of your rabbits. Know what a healthy rabbit looks and feels like so you'll know how their new diet is effecting them. I've seen enough "all veggie" rabbits that were obese to know veggies can make your rabbits fat so do watch them on it just as you would on any other diet. Make adjustments as needed and as available resources change.