What to feed a wild born feral domestic bunny?

[MauiWaui]

I'm on Vancouver Island, BC Canada and rabbits are not native here and are considered an invasive species. Every single rabbit is a domesticated feral rabbit that people got bored of and abandoned. I just found a bunny on the side of the road that almost got hit by a car several times. He is safe and uninjured. He is surprisingly friendly and a couple hours after bringing him home he was running around doing binkys. So anyways I found him and since he's lived his whole life outside I don't want to make a sudden switch to Pellets. He looks a little younger than 8 weeks. He wont eat hay. I've been feeding him lots of grass and the tall kind of grass (orchard) as well as dandelions and clovers and a small amount of carrots. I'm not sure what else to feed him at this point. Is grass and random extras going to be enough for him (nutrient and fiber wise)? I'm able to find a lot of things outside right now such as fennel, blackberry bushes, plantain etc....
How much of this should he be getting everyday? Anything extra that I can give him?
TIA

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

You can offer some pellets, but he might not eat them. Rabbits born in the 'wild' don't usually recognize pellets as food. They will usually eat them eventually though. I would have a small amount in the cage for him to eat if he wants.

As far as other foods, some veggies can be given. Feral rabbits tend to eat a bit more variety with the plants they eat, so veggies don't cause as many problems. However, you don't want to give too much as he is still young. Lettuce, parsley and cilantro as usually well tolerated. A spring mix can also be given. I would hold off on fruit, berries and carrots as they are higher in sugar and not really good for rabbits.

It can take a couple weeks for a feral rabbit to eat a more normal diet. Offering foods like hay and pellets does help as they may try it if they get hungry or bored. Veggies and grass will provide some nutrition and gets them eating something.

Feed the veggies and such in small amounts more often so it stays more fresh.

 

[MatherRabbit]

Wild bunnies can eat anything their houserabbit cousins eat. You are on the right track. Watch to see how much he eats when he does his main meal and then give him just a little bit more in case he wants a "midnight snack." Slowly, start replacing the fresh spring grasses with a bit of hay. After several days, increase the percentage of hay and decrease the percentage of fresh food. After you get the hay going well, you can follow the same pattern with pellets. If he has tons of fresh food, he will probably not be interested in the "old dried out stuff." I wouldn't be anyway. When he is growing quickly, he will eat more than when he is not growing. As long as you keep the high calorie stuff (bananas, alfalfa, etc) to a minimum, and keep his diet varied, he will do fine. My rabbits all have different tastes. One loves carrots, one won't touch them. My youngest bun (18 months?) won't eat fruit of any kind at all. My oldest bun - and he is a wild-born Eastern Cottentail - will eat the greens from the top of a strawberry, but won't eat the berry. And that's great! We share! Good luck to you! Again - change his diet slowly. If he seems to have watery nasty poops, you may be rushing the change. Just back off a bit. There is no set diet for a rabbit, just as there is no single diet for a person. Just keep the treats small and the healthy food fresh. Oh - all my rabbits prefer to drink from a crock. If they have both a crock and a bottle, they use the crock exclusively.

Oh - rabbits are pretty easy to potty-train. Just watch where he does his business and put the littler box there. If he has accidents, pick up the "rabbit eggs" and put them in the little box. He should be totally trained in a few days. If you are still having problems after that, you may need multiple litter boxes in the room.

OK guys - did I mess anything up? Corrections and other opinions always welcome!

 

[JBun]

I would say just keep on feeding him what you already have. You may not want to introduce too much to him, that wouldn't have already been in the area he was at. So the grass, dandelions, and clover is perfect. You could even go back to where you found him, and see what kind of edible plants are in the area. Other plants that you aren't sure if he would have had before, or even veggies, you could introduce one at a time, in small amounts at first, and then gradually increase the amount as long as there aren't any mushy poops. You have to really feed a lot of greens to make up for not eating pellets or grass hay, but you also don't want to feed him so much that he doesn't get hungry enough to try the hay, because it's something he is going to need to start eating as a domestic rabbit. So you'll always want to keep a little bit of grass hay in there, and eventually he should get curious about it and start eating it. But if you plan on keeping him, you may also want to gradually get him used to things that you would normally feed a rabbit. Eventually nutrition wise, he will either need a limited amount of pellets each day, or a good variety of veggies and a lot of them, so that he is getting the proper nutrition, and unlimited grass hay. I agree to hold off on the pellets and only start introducing them to him once he's been with you a week or two and doesn't have digestive or poop problems, and is eating a bunch of hay. When you do start pellets, make sure to introduce them gradually and start with small amounts(just like with new veggies). Then gradually increase the amount each day and spread it out over 2-3 weeks, to give his digestive system time to get used to the new food. Make sure to keep an eye out for changes in his poop. I agree to hold off on anything sugary for now, as it can cause digestive problems. And if you introduce alfalfa, do so gradually, as it can cause digestive problems as well, if introduced too quickly.

Here are some veggie lists you can reference when you start him on them, just always keep an eye out for any digestive problems and soft poop. If you only introduce one thing at a time, if it causes digestive upset, then it makes it easy to know what is causing the problem, so you can stop feeding it for the time being. Also just be aware that cruciferous veggies can cause gas and digestive upset with some rabbits. If you haven't already, he'll also need a water dish.

http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#top
http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html

Good luck I can't wait to hear how he does in his new home. It sounds like he is already adjusting really well.

 

[MauiWaui]

Thanks for your replies everyone I have put some hay in his cage so he gets used to it. He hasn't started eating it yet though. I'll hold off on the pellets for at least a week then just to make sure his tummy is alright. He LOVES his tall grasses and such and there's lots around outside for him to eat so it wont be a problem for now. I was wondering if its possible to grab extra grass and greens and place it in a Ziploc bag in the fridge? Will it still be alright? The looks I get from people when I go outside every couple hours and grab handfuls of grass are hilarious lol

 

[JBun]

Ok, that totally made me laugh I can't see why you couldn't just get a bunch for the day and put it in a plastic bag in the fridge. It would be a bit like having lettuce or other leafy veggies.