What should I feed?

[RescueMe]

Ok, I've been reading through the posts in this section and now I'm not sure I'm giving my bunnies the best diet I could.

I was always under the impression that vegetables were to be given more as a treat...but it seems like many people feed them as part of a regular diet.

Can someone tell me what a good diet consists of?

I have 2 rabbits - 1yr old lionhead (Ponyboy)that I just got yesterday and an unknown breed/age male (Thumper)that is at least a year.

I feed them mainly pellets. I've tried giving Thumper hay and alfalfa cubes when I first got him but he would never eat it. He loves all kinds of vegetables - carrots, lettuce, parsley, cucumber, etc. He will pretty much eat any fruit/vegetable you put in his cage. He loves this stuff...to the point that he often throws a fit with his pellets (picks up his dish and will throw it around) apparentley in objection to them.

I did recently buy him a different bag of pellets that he seemed to like better- it had pellets, sunflower seeds, some dried fruit/veggies, and some kind of "kibble". So I will probably get him some more of this as he seemed to like it.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Some people feed their rabbits a veggie diet and supplement it with pellets.

Personally, this is what I feed my herd of 16 rabbits. They eat mainly a pellet diet with ample hay (I put the hay in toilet paper tubes, it makes the hay more compact and they love to chew on the cardboard tube) supplemented with veggies. Very few carrots as they are high in sugar, no corn as rabbits can't digest it. Sunflower seeds are ok. I also give them a treat of oatmeal (not instant) and they love it.

I hope this helps, feel free to pm me if you have any questions.

Dave

 

[naturestee]

Welcome to the forum!

I highly recommend reading this (of course, cause I wrote it lol!)
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=16340&forum_id=48

First, please don't feed the pellets with all the treats mixed in. They're really unhealthy and likely to cause poop problems and obesity. And if you just fill up a bowl and let him eat all he wants, many rabbits will eat all the treat bits instead of the pellets and this has been shown to cause serious vitamin deficiencies. Plain pellets are the way to go, and if your bun is done growing now then the pellets should be limited.

Also, definitely feed hay! Otherwise you can run the risk of dental problems in your rabbit. Also it's a good way to prevent poo problems and GI stasis. It's not unusual for rabbits to need to learn to eat hay if they haven't had it before. I've had to teach several rescue rabbits to eat hay. Also, it helps if you limit the pellets. Anyway, here's a thread with tips on how to get rabbits to eat hay.
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=9995&forum_id=1

Some people feed veggies as a treat, others as a big part of the diet. Part of that is preference, although some rabbits need it. For example, I have a rabbit that gets diarrhea easily from pellets (any type, although timothy pellets work best for her) but can eat huge amounts of veggies with no problems. So her diet is mostly veggies and hay with a tiny bit of pellets. I also have a bun with molar spurs that need to be ground down by a vet every few months. Pellets do nothing for teeth, but a variety of veggies encourages him to chew in more normal ways, plus tons of hay of course.

My personal preference is limited pellets + at least some veggies+ lots of grass hay. Your mileage may differ but I highly stress feeding hay and limiting pellets for adult rabbits.