What do you feed your rabbits and why?

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Hi all,
I was getting off topic in my previous thread so I decided to start this one. I am very curious what you guys feed your rabbits on a daily basis, how much according to weight and most importantly, WHY do you feed what you do(your knowledge/experience or the science behind it). There seems to be much controversy on types of hay, types of veggies and types of pellets to feed. Or if you should feed hay at all, grains and seeds and fruit. I am very much trying to give Sophie a healthy and enriching life and I want to learn as much as I can for her I realise I asked this question when I first joined but a few things have changed and I would like more details

This is what I'm following at the moment but I'm open to advice! Sophie is 4.5 pounds and gets lots of exercise.

Unlimited timothy hay

Filtered water

Organic greens rotated:MAIN:romaine, red leaf lettuce, frisée lettuce, cilantro, arugula, basil, mint

OCCASIONAL: dandelion, kale, parsley, carrot tops, wheat grass

TREAT(2-3 times per week):Either 2 small slivers of carrot, or 1 dried currant, or a couple dandelion flowers.

I give her approx 2.5 cups packed greens per day. I have fed her other greens before but the ones I listed are the ones readily available and organic.

Oxbow adult basic T pellet: 1/8 cup. I'm taking her next week for a weigh in at the vet to see if her weight is maintaining. If she's lost weight, the vet says to increase the pellets.

Some people feed grains and seeds. Would this benefit Sophie? Why or why not?

She also browses the wooden logs and sea grass in her condo.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Korr and Amelia get 1/4 cup of timothy pellets each per day. Unlimited Timothy hay. Filtered water. Korr gets a joint supplement and Amelia get a treat as well in the morning. Both are around 4 pounds

Gizmo and Nala get 1/4 cup of timothy pellets each per day as well as unlimited timothy hay and filtered water. They get treats once in a while. They won't eat veggies (I have tried, but they won't eat anything other than carrot and fresh grass). Gizmo is about 2.5 pounds and Nala is around 4.5 pounds.

Tesla gets 1/4 cup of timothy pellets and a 1/4 cup of alfalfa pellets pet day. He is high energy and this is what is needed to maintain his weight. He gets filtered water. He's not much of a hay eater, but still has some timothy and orchard grass available. He gets a joint supplement in the morning. He weights about 4.1 pounds.

Kraken gets 1/4 cup of timothy pellets and 1/4 cup of alfalfa pellets per day, again this is needed to maintain his weight. He gets filtered water. He doens't eat much hay, so I give a small dish of orchard grass or meadow hay which he does eat. He gets a joint supplement in the morning and other treats on occasion. He is about 4.1 pounds.

Felix gets 1/4 cup of timothy pellets and 3/8 cup of alfalfa pellets per day along with lots of timothy hay and filtered water He gets a joint supplement each day. He weights about 8 pounds.

Brandywine is new, so I still have to see how her diet works, she is an angora so that may make a difference. Right now she gets 1/4 cup of timothy pellets and 1/8 cup of alfalfa pellets per day. She gets lots of hay as well and filtered water. She gets treats on occasion, but likes pretty much anything. She weights about 6 pounds.

All the rabbits execpt Gizmo and Nala get a mix of veggies. Veggies include romaine lettuce, parsley, cilantro, spinach (occasionally), other lettuces, carrot top (not too often), carrots (maybe once a week). I mix it up and give according to what each will eat. Most get at least a handful per day but some get a bit more.

The pellets I feed are all Oxbow. I find that it works well for my rabbits, they all have nice coats and lots of energy. The amounts given are what works for each rabbit.

 

[Kipcha]

My buns get 1/4 cup of Oxbow Timothy pellets a day (Although our bigger ones such as Jabberwocky and Peace get 1/2 cup) and unlimited Timothy hay.

I stand behind Oxbow and will now only feed it, although it DID take a long while for me to be completely converted. But we get so many bunnies through the rescue that come with low energy, dull coats, low weight, etc. After a few weeks on Oxbow, their coats start to shine and they get a more healthy weight on them. Just seeing the improvement is enough, I should probably do a diary on here for some of our more unhealthy ones and show the difference it makes.

Timothy hay because it is pretty widely agreed upon that hay is the most important part of a rabbits diet. It provides them with tons of fiber and keeps their gut healthy and moving, not to mention the added benefits for their teeth and chewing in the right motion. As I said before, rabbits chew in a figure 8 motion that hay encourages, something that pellets do not give as they make the rabbit chew up and down like people do. They are also too ground up to provide the fiber that really get the gut working.

Ours also occasionally get Orchard Grass and Meadow grass. Just for a bit of variety. They do not get alfalfa after they are 6 months unless they are extremely underweight, since it is just too rich for them.

For veggies, during the summer I grow some of my own stuff and when I don't have enough from what I grow, they get store bought stuff as well. Ours get veggies daily and a mixture between,

Cilantro
Parsley
Spinach (Minimal, too high in calcium)
Basil
Watercress
Romaine, Greenleaf and Redleaf Lettuce
Carrot and Carrot Tops
Mint
Beet tops
Dill
Dandelion
Wheat Grass

I don't honestly measure veggies too much, it changes day to day but normally it works out to be around a handful.

They do get a piece of fruit every few days, whether it be fresh or freeze-dried. They get,
Papaya
Pineapple
Apple
Orange
Banana
Raspberry
Blueberry
Strawberry
Peach
Mango

Ours also get, as a treat, a mixture of dried herbs that I made, so they are all dehydrated and it's just half a teaspoon they get maybe once a week. It's a mix of
Rosebuds
Lavendar
Cilantro
Parsley
Dandelion
Chamomile

And of course, they always have access to water.

I have never been a fan of grains, I don't give them to my bunnies or my horses. Grain is difficult for them to digest and it tends to upset some tummies in rabbits. I guess it isn't a bad thing to give, I just don't really recommend it unless they have problems with being underweight. Then you can feed them rolled oats or barley.

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Thank you both so much for taking the time to reply

 

[whitelop]

I feed Ellie around 1/2 cup of pellets a day, split into 2-3 feedings. She gets unlimited timothy hay, around 4 huge handfuls that she eats in a day. Unlimited water, one big bowl a day.
As for her greens, she usually gets; romaine, cilantro, rosemary, flat leaf parsley, greek basil and 1 baby spinach leaf. Sometimes she gets different things depending on what I have on hand. She gets rose petals, one grape, and a bite of banana as a treat. She doesn't eat carrots.
She's younger so she gets more pellets, plus she's pretty high energy and burns all those pellets off in no time. She weighs about 2lbs.

 

[BriarBun]

For pellets I feed 1/4-1/2 cup of the "Martin" brand here..sometimes I mix with Oxbow but none of my buns really like the Oxbow. They get a mixture of timothy hay and meadow hay from my friend's horse farm.

Right now, and through the Summer/Fall I am lucky enough to be around tons of wild fields/forage, so I replace most of their winter veggies with that. I go out with a bag every day and pick a bag of meadow grass/fresh timothy grass, wild raspberries, yarrow, vetch, burdock, plaintain, clover (small amounts), coltsfoot, wild ground strawberries, flowers, "wild" apple branches, etc. They do amazing on this and LOVE it! In the winter I feed a variety of the usual lettuces/herbs. I do occasionally give them very small amounts of grains/dry bread, I don't think it does any harm. :rabbithop

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Right now, and through the Summer/Fall I am lucky enough to be around tons of wild fields/forage, so I replace most of their winter veggies with that. I go out with a bag every day and pick a bag of meadow grass/fresh timothy grass, wild raspberries, yarrow, vetch, burdock, plaintain, clover (small amounts), coltsfoot, wild ground strawberries, flowers, "wild" apple branches, etc. They do amazing on this and LOVE it!

Oh wow that's pretty cool, lucky bunny!

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

I feed both of my two Oxbow pellets as well as hay. Ripley and Taffy both get 1/4 cup per day, but I spilt Ripley's into 1/8 c. two times a day. In addition, they get unlimted Oxbow Timothy hay. I like to give them a mixture as it encourages them to eat more of it. They only sell the Timothy hay in a big bag though, so they don't get as much Botanical hay.

As for veggies, I don't give many. When I do though, it is Romaine, Kale, Cilantro, and baby carrots. Also, I give Applesauce to Ripley (1 tsp. per day) because I give him HealX Booster and Sunshine factor and he takes it very well mixed in applesauce.

As for why I feed what I do, here it is:

Why I feed Oxbow pellets:
I've been through many brands, anywhere from Kaytee fiesta (junk, I know), to Nutrena, off brand ones from the feed store, and through various types of Purina, and more. I like Oxbow because it is timothy hay based which is much healthier for adult buns. I have seen such a huge difference in their fur that I also like it better. It is so much softer since they've been on this! Plus, they do really like it which always is a good thing. Ripley gets one Oxbow Papya tablet before bed every night.

Why I feed Oxbow hay:
I've also tried many types of hay. We've gone through the All Living things, Kaytee, and bought bales from various feed stores. None of these are as fresh or well eaten by our bunnies. When I compare other types next to Oxbow, the others look like straw in comparison.

Why I feed HealX Booster and Sunshine Factor:
The vet recomended it for our buns as it's a natural way to boost their immune system and I figure it can't hurt. I havne't seen any one big thing I know it's helped, but I figure it can't hurt.

Why I give Oxbow Papaya Tablets:
Ok, the vet did tell me theirs no place it says for sure that papaya helps them that much with digesting fur. But, I've read enoguh things saying it does help, that I give them. Ripley has been through a serious bought of stasis, and I want to do anythign I can to prevent that from happening again.

Why I give the fruit and veggies I do:
I follow the Oxbow guidelines of the 70:25:5 ratio. 70% hay, 25% pellets, and only 5% veggies and fruit. Some of my buns in the past have had serious digestional issues and it has been true that when they eat less veggies and so much more hay they do much better. I also have found that they don't always eat as much hay as they should. So, that's when I try for multiple types of hay.

 

[mimosa]

Harriet is an 9lb mini-lop (ha). She gets:

Daily she gets: heaping 1/4 scoop of Oxbow Adult Rabbit Pellets, unlimited Oxbow Timothy Hay, and 4ish cups of greens always including some sort of herb (a bit a spring mix with a combination of whatever was on sale and green in the produce selection). She also gets one or two Craisins in the morning when she cuddles with me.

Occasionally she gets other varieties of Oxbow hay and fruits (usually a small piece of fruit every 3-4 days).

Even more rarely I'll give her couple Cheerios, which she goes mad over.

I've been feeding her Oxbow since her vet recommended it, but also because she now refuses any other brand of hay. Only two stores in my city sale the brand and I've had to rush somewhere closer when she was out and I didn't have time to run across town. She wouldn't eat it. Two days ago I got a box of Dunlea Tidy Box timothy hay. She doesn't appear to have eaten any of it. Which is a shame, the Tidy Box would have changed my life.

I always try to include her one of her favorites in her nightly dinner. She's crazy about herbs, so that's why she always gets some. Usually parsley or basil.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Harriet is an 9lb mini-lop (ha). She gets:

Daily she gets: heaping 1/4 scoop of Oxbow Adult Rabbit Pellets, unlimited Oxbow Timothy Hay, and 4ish cups of greens always including some sort of herb (a bit a spring mix with a combination of whatever was on sale and green in the produce selection). She also gets one or two Craisins in the morning when she cuddles with me.

Occasionally she gets other varieties of Oxbow hay and fruits (usually a small piece of fruit every 3-4 days).

Even more rarely I'll give her couple Cheerios, which she goes mad over.

I've been feeding her Oxbow since her vet recommended it, but also because she now refuses any other brand of hay. Only two stores in my city sale the brand and I've had to rush somewhere closer when she was out and I didn't have time to run across town. She wouldn't eat it. Two days ago I got a box of Dunlea Tidy Box timothy hay. She doesn't appear to have eaten any of it. Which is a shame, the Tidy Box would have changed my life.

I always try to include her one of her favorites in her nightly dinner. She's crazy about herbs, so that's why she always gets some. Usually parsley or basil.

I know this is off topic, but Harriet is simply adorable and reminds me so much of my Ripley

 

[Ape337]

Hello,
Two of my buns get Oxbow Bene Terra Organic rabbit pellets. Faith 1/8c a day, Humma 1/4c a day. Reason: IMO this is the best rabbit food on the market. My opinion is based on researching many labels and ingredients. And from having a bunny with major GI issues (Freckles). That prompted me to start looking at ingredients, mainly sugar sources. This food has no added sugar. The sugar comes from fruit, which is acceptable to me because it's low down on the label. I also never feed my bunnies fruit or high carb veggies like carrots which is also sugar. This is how I offset the sugar in the food. They do well.

Freckles gets no pellets at all or I'd be back in the vet hospital with him.

All 3 get unlimited H2O, Timothy and orchard hay. Oat, botanical hay as treats.

Spring mix lettuces, romaine, and now that spring is here I'm growing cilantro, parsley, basil, and I'll start whatever else I get in to, lol! I pick weeds too, mostly dandelion, tiny amounts of clover (white), lavender, strawberry leaves, and whatever else is coming up that's safe. I'm really careful testing new foods with freckles as he can get gas very easily. The bulk of his diet is hay. And he is doing so well with that.

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Thank you all for the info. I see many similarities in the responses. I'm curious about something and hopefully I can get some opinions on it- if I've given Sophie all sorts of herbs and greens and there's been no negative response, would it be fairly safe to assume that she doesn't have a sensitive digestive system, like many rabbits? I was worried about this when I got her because I read they were really sensitive with change in diet. She came from a shelter where she was fed garbage food in my opinion and her old owners that surrendered her didn't even tell the shelter what she was eating so I just fed her oxbow from the start. She was also originally found outside as a stray so who knows what she was eating!

 

[cac]

...if I've given Sophie all sorts of herbs and greens and there's been no negative response, would it be fairly safe to assume that she doesn't have a sensitive digestive system, like many rabbits?...

I'd have to say, YES, she's probably fine. Now that it's spring, ours get a mix of homegrown lettuce, collard greens, sometimes kale, basil, parsley and so on. I'll throw in dandelions, violet leaves, a bit of clover, some fresh grass, etc every couple days. Winter is usually romaine or leaf lettuce, cilantro, collards or chard or bok choy, carrot tops, a good range.

Our older bun, Rascal, is 8. He has had GI slowdown issues a few times and used to get pellets but the vet said to cut those out several years ago and he's still doing fine on unlimited Timothy hay and a large double handful of greens twice a day, plus water of course.

I know Oxbow is a great brand but honestly, he does better with other brands that seem to have more fiber. Right now I like All Living Things. Kaytee is even more straw-like and they don't eat half of it.

Our newer one, Moira, is only 8 months old and gets 1/4 cup of Timothy pellets a day, in addition to the same food as him. He gets some of her pellets as a treat every few days.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Having had quite a few fosters come through and most on crappy diets, they have done well switching to Oxbow. The only trouble I have really had is that some don't like it and are more resistant to change, but they do get over it. As far as new foods and veggies, they seem to tolerate it well. I have had to switch some cold turkey due to not getting any of the previous food and they have done well.
I do think that you should be cautious with new foods just to be safe. Some rabbits don't tolerate the change as well as others.

 

[sparkly]

hi all,
i used to feed my baby cino and his guinea pig gf hay til spotless lost her hair. i read it was hay mites, so i treated her with neem oil and withdrew the hay. which i'm not sure they ate anyway. she passed away last year aged 4-5, so i got cino a bunny mate i called benjamin. cino got jaw cancer, so we gave him loving release 2/22/13, aged 7.5. he was mad on parsley (wouldn't touch it fom a shop), nasturtiums, dandelions, roses, clover, and really loved a bit of muesli. benjamin got seeds or pellets and these greens from the garden, as well as maybe some lettuce, cabbage, carrot or apple and just any fruit practically. i now read cabbage and lettuce can be a problem, so he gets bok choy. i tend to grow the coz for him, and he loves a leaf or two (maybe more, but the plants might die). i discovered he was highly allergic to mint after a trip to the vet (thought it was mites from some hay i bought this summer) and some cortisone injection cream, ran out of mint, all going well, --> more mint, flare up red ears and head! but he loves ll the same things cino did, maybe not as much, but i reckon parsley, he would eat a ton, if he could! silverbeet he likes, and grasses. when he first arrived he would only eat grasses! lucky it was winter. he didn't like any of the hay much, i got lucerne, meadow, and now oaten (we don't have timothy in aus). all green and beautiful, but he wasn't interested. he seems to like the meadow hay now, 3 months later, but i wouldn't rest my case on it. variety i think, fresh, dried (pellets and seeds), fruit and veg. better that they eat! how do you people wean off/ on food? i'm terrified of stasis, because cino had it a couple of times really badly (looking around for poos and wees, never been so excited to see excretia! and will never take it for granted again). i've switched through different seeds and grains with hay in and ben generally prefers pellets, but i have 3 types to break the monotony. i don't like the same thing, and animals don't seem to either. as long as they eat (a variety) i have quit worrying. hope this helps.

 

[Stormlark]

I feed my rabbits ten pounds of carrots each day and 42 pints of ice cream.... kidding of course. I give them all the timothy hay they can eat and about 1/4 cup of pellets a day. Every night, they get a small amount of green leaf lettuce and some other vegetable like broccoli or cucumber. As a treat, they occasionally get pieces of apple, nectarine, plum, or a grape.

 

[tqhx]

I have an 8lb Rex thats about 2. I give her 1/4 cup Oxbow twice a day, and unlimited timothy hay which is usually Kaytee. I usually treat her once or twice a day which a few banana chips/almonds/dandelions. I use Rainbow Os when i cut her nails as they are small and she will ignore my clipping and happily accept treats.

She will not eat fruits and veggies other than kale that ive been able to find. I give it to her when its in season in my garden sometimes too

I think i overfeed, i believe she is overweight. I was initially giving her about 3/4 cup a day. A few months about i cut it back to a 1/2 cup. I know it can take a while for a rabbit to lose weight, and she has stopped gaining for the time being. I may have to cut more to slim her up a bit and i feel terrible about doing it. She always mows the entire amount of food i give her, then proceeds to beg ALL DAY =(

 

[Peepers]

Jenny gets about 3 cups of leafy greens a day and unlimited hay. I do not feed pellets. Jen is 4.5lbs. Peepers is 2lbs she gets about 1.5 cups of mixed leafy greens and unlimited hay. both are very active, mostly free run. I choose this way after my last rabbit got very ill and eventually died at 6 towards the end, her vet told me to drop the pellets, she did so well that I carried it on when I got Jen. Jen and Peepers do amazing on this diet, I am unlikely to ever go back.

 

[napagirl]

Hi there!

Dimi used to get Orchard Grass by Oxbow, romaine lettuce, arugula, kale, and alfalfa pellets. I had allowed my husband and 9y/o daughter to be in charge of feeding in the morning since I have to leave an hour before them. Big mistake. Hubby has a tendency to nurture with food, and between the two of them, she was getting WAY too much pellets and fruit. I also found out later that they were feeding her the occasional cheerio and cornflake :-( She suffered major gastric stasis on 5/12/13, and my husband had her in the ER from midnight to 6am. She recovered with my acute attention, and a MAJOR diet change. Hubby is totally on board now after no sleep and ~$600. Daughter is too, as she loves Dimi.

Now, Dimi gets NO pellets, but I do keep a bag of Oxbow timothy pellets on hand for small doses when we have to go on vacation. She doesn't like Oxbow Orchard Grass as much as Oxbow Timothy, but I am very allergic to Timothy. But now she gets Timothy- but someone else has to handle it in the garage to place in her box. Right now, my biggest confusion is amounts of greens. She is ALWAYS hungry- I give kale mostly, as my vet does not think it causes problems like thought in the past. I also give arugula, romaine, swiss chard, mustard greens, etc. I also have been giving her a TBS of canned pumpkin a day, since she was molting and having hairy poops. I have created a monster, as she loves pumpkin! So my only confusion is if I am feeding her too much greens. She is 5.2lbs, and is ~1yr old. I would estimate that I give her ~ 4 cups of greens a day, plus the pumpkin. She eats most, but not all of her hay. She seems hungry all the time and pees a lot. Her water is filtered, reverse osmosis, and in a crock.

 

[oreotak]

Hi i have a 8 lb lop and a 3 lb dwarf
they eat extrusion pellets unlimited timothy hay and
spring garden mix from the store I have tried other pellets but they dump the bowl and get the runs. They eat some romaine and parsley but they
love the spring garden mix. And unlimited water of course
Used to give them the odd grape or piece of banana but my big guy is
occasionaly peeing white sludge so have cut out all treats for now.