Vet said no pellets at all?

[jerseywool704]

Hey everyone!
So I took my jersey wooly girl to the vets today for her pre-spay appointment. The vet weighed her and saw she was 4 Lunda, she's supposed to be around 3.5.. Anyways he asked how much pellets I am feeding her per day... 1/4 cup. He wants me to stop feeding her any pellets and just feed her hay. Have any of you experienced this before?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Our vet says that hay and fresh vegetables are all that our bunnies need, but, we still feed a small amount of pellets anyway.

 

[Runestonez]

My vet is the same way with pellets.
He likes hay and veg...with no pellets.

What type of pellets are you feeding? Are they alfalfa or timothy based?
How old is your bunn?

If your bunn is eating alfalfa and is over 6 months...try changing over to timothy pellets...once they are between 6-9 months they no longer need alfalfa pellets or the extra calories and protein they have!

If your bunn is over a year old...try cutting her pellets back a bit at a time.
Unless there is a serious health issue I wouldn't go "cold turkey" on pellets...you could try cutting back slowly till you get to 1/8th of a cup.

Take a look at your bunns activity level and exercise time too...Is she getting enough exercise to burn off extra weight?!

Danielle

 

[plasticbunny]

My vet recommends 1/8 cup for my Flemish, and barely anything for my Holland Lop. But I wouldn't say just feed hay - I think some veggies should be fed as well. Right now, I feed about 1 cup fresh veggies per day per 5 lbs of rabbit, and a handful of pellets every other day, plus unlimited hay.

 

[SOOOSKA]

Mine get veggies for breakfast & dinner, a variety of 4 to 5 at a time. They get pellets morning and evening and unlimited hay. Buttercup gets Alfalfa and Timothy pellets mixed as he is under weight. It was my very Rabbit Savvy vet that told me to feed them veggies twice a day.

None of mine are over weight. They get treats either the Oxbow ones or something I dehydrated quite frequently.
To me its just like humans everything in moderation.

I thought Jersey Wooly bunnies tended to be a bigger breed.

Susan

 

[Runestonez]

Hey Susan!

JW tend to about the size of a Lionhead...but fuzzier!
We had two gorgeous JW girls at the All About Pets Show this year!
Mocha colouring...<sigh> (down girl...put the bunny down and back away slowly!):biggrin2:

 

[majorv]

Maybe the vet meantto just feed her hay temporarily tohelp her lose weight for the surgery? Feeding pellets, in and ofthemselves, shouldn't cause a rabbit to be overweight. The amount of exercise and thetype of pellet being fed might need adjusting. Like someone said, alfalfa based would be more fattening. Pellets with a low protein% wouldalso be more fattening.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

jerseywool704 wrote:

Hey everyone!
So I took my jersey wooly girl to the vets today for her pre-spay appointment. The vet weighed her and saw she was 4 Lunda, she's supposed to be around 3.5.. Anyways he asked how much pellets I am feeding her per day... 1/4 cup. He wants me to stop feeding her any pellets and just feed her hay. Have any of you experienced this before?

Thanks for any advice!

i disagree,,a small amount daily is the requirement,-and- if the diet is 70% timothy/orchard grasses than this will keep your little herbivores teeth and digestive tract worling well-,,as you can see this seems to be very controversial,,--it should not be --here is the rule of thumb,-a rabbit requires a high fiber diet-(non-digestible)--and only a small amount of digestible foods-ie.vegys,etc.--when well intended people reverse this formula it will impair the well being of the rabbit,,-you can obtain safe lists of foods for rabbits at http://www.medirabbit .com --sincerely james waller:big wink:
you can also purchase oxbow timothy pellets which serve as jenny craig--for a little weight reduction..:lookaround

 

[jerseywool704]

Thanks for all the replies. My bunny is about 2 years old. I never fed her more than the 1/4 cup of pellets, hay and veggies. However I do recall feeding her treat foods over the winter and I'm thinking that is where the weight piled on. She's a very active bunny, always out of the cage, and when she is in the cage, its one of the 4 level c&c cages. So she is active! My guess is the treats, I think shell drop the weight soon. So I will take some of your advice and give her an 1/8 of a cup of food..

Thanks everyone for responding with such good info!!

 

[golfdiva]

Just my quick two cents worth. I believe it's the HRS that says one should think of pellets not as food, but as a vitamin pill! So, a very small amount.