Young rabbit pellet amount?

[Butters]

Hi there! I have a 9 week old mini lop who LOVES pellets and eats them up so quickly! Honestly, if I gave him/her a full cup it would be gone in a day! I have been doing research and most direct to the house rabbit society which says to give young rabbits unlimited pellets but I am afraid if I do that then my bun will not eat enough hay (I'm mixing Timothy and Alfalfa hay). So my question is, what is the maximum amount of pellets to give a 9 week old bun? Also, I have been trying to slowly introduce veggies (cilantro and spinach so far) but my bun is not even nibbling. Same with fruit (tiny apple bits). He/She just loves the pellets and nothing else! And they are high quality 19% fiber alfalfa pellets - no extra bits or anything bad in there. I'll attach a photo. Hopefully it is a good brand. Thanks for your help!




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[Korr_and_Sophie]

If she is eating the pellets really fast, then limit them. 1/2 a cup or so per day should be enough. You could give a bit more, but that should be a good amount. You can also divide it into 2 feedings if you want.
You do want her to eat lots of hay, so make sure that is readily available as well. You can feed any type of hay, but will need to stop alfalfa around 6 months.

Many rabbits do prefer pellets to hay. I find it is good to get them eating hay young. As an adult, you probably will be reducing the pellets more, so you want your rabbit to be eating hay.

 

[majorv]

Nine weeks is pretty young to be introducing veggies and fruit. If she isn't interested then wait. The pellets are more important for providing the nutrients she needs right now, and her digestive system is still developing and maturing. Is your bunny actually not eating the hay or are you just concerned she won't because of all the pellets she eats? Since she is getting alfalfa pellets then try different types of grass hay and see what she likes. I wouldn't limit the pellets unless she starts getting overweight or refuses to eat any hay.

 

[Blue eyes]

Yes, it's important for her to be getting her hay. If you've seen the House Rabbit Society recommendations, then you'll want to wait until at least 12 weeks of age before attempting to offer greens.

My thought is to avoid fruits or carrots completely until a rabbit is already adjusted to and used to regular greens. Once the greens become a daily part of her diet, only then try the sugary stuff (fruits and carrots). Their tummies are just so sensitive when they're little.

If she's gorging on pellets, you can cut back enough so that she is eating her hay too. Get her steady on hay and pellets first. Then when she's older, you can try some greens.

 

[Butters]

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful responses. I will take your advice and wait a while on the greens and fruit. My bun seems to like alfalfa more than Timothy, which I hear is good for a growing bun, but still definitely enjoys the pellets more. Not sure on the exact amount eaten daily as it varies from nothing to munch fests of a 1/2 cup a day (this is rare). I think part of the problem could be that the hay is in one of those trays that connect to the side of a cage and it has to be pulled out to eat it. When I push some through the cage it's magically more appetizing! I know that it's best to line the top of the litter box with hay but I don't want my bun peeing all over it then eating it. I would send a pic of the setup but am a little ashamed at the size of the cage. I am currently designing a big indoor hutch (lots of ventilation, don't worry!) that I will probably be posting to get advice for as well. Oh, I do love having a bunny! Thank you all again for your advice, much appreciated!


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[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Try putting the hay on one end of the litter pan and have the litter on the other end. That way they sit with their bum in the litter and they eat the hay. For me so far this method is working and Sophie will only occasionally pee in the hay. I found that my rabbit didn't eat as much hay when it was in the hay rack but when I put it in the litter pan she devoured it!

 

[Blue eyes]

Bunnies won't eat soiled hay (at least I've never seen it). I put fresh hay on top a couple times a day and Beverly is correct -- they seem to eat way more hay that way.

 

[PaGal]

It may help to find a different item to use as a hay rack. I did not like the thought either of just putting hay in the litter box and I didn't like hay racks sold for buns. Thumper has a hard plastic storage type box that looks like a crate. I cut part of one side off and used files to make sure the cut areas were not sharp to avoid cuts. It is hung on his cage with zip ties right above his litter box. It works like a charm.

Laverne and Shirley have a hard plastic bin with rounded ends. It was sold for hanging in a shower to hold your soap and other items. It came with two large rubber suction cups that I easily pulled out so the would not chew them. I then used two inexpensive shower curtain hooks to attach it to the cage. With their litter box and them being smaller I hung it so that it hangs in their litter box but does not touch the litter and it works great.

The one tip though I have is to make sure what you use is not big enough for the bun to get into or your bun may very well just jump into it and pee and poo on the hay while eating as I have learned through experience. Thumpers I bought at the dollar store and the other at Wal Mart.

One thing I did for Thumper when he was younger was to fill toilet paper rolls with hay and place them around his room. He often would eat the hay as he came across it. Whereas he wouldn't go out of his way to go into his cage to eat hay.

 

[Butters]

Thank you for all your ideas! I'm going to try the hanging hay rack idea since I have some extra shower hangers. I do also have the toilet paper roll stuffed with hay and Butters is starting to like that more and more. This is giving me great ideas for the hutch I am designing as well! I'm hoping to take every rabbit owners' frustrations and design a hutch that solves these issues. Thanks again!


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