Rabbit Food

[Nyboy]

My bunny came with a big bag of pellets. I want to feed him a mix of fresh greens. Some sites says very little greens mostly pellets, some say greens, all they will eat. He has only eaten pellets.

 

[Smart Red]

I have no idea. I am not a rabbit professional.

I fed Rusty fruits, veggies, and other flora which he preferred to the pelleted rabbit foods. The Vet said it was important to his gut/health that he ate mostly the pellets. Eventually we found a pellet mixed with dried veggies that Rusty would eat. Of course, not the cheapest stuff.

Still gave him alfalfa and other fresh foods, just not in the same volume. I also gave Rusty branches from fruit tree prunings as gnawing is important to tooth health. My rabbit did not like/eat hay of any kind although past rabbits did.

Never saw a neighborhood rabbit opening a bag of pellets. . . just saying. . .

 

[ninnymary]

We need @hoodat! Hoodat hope you see this thread and come to the rescue.

Mary

 

[Kassaundra]

If the rabbit has only ever eaten pellets you need to start w/ veggies and weeds slowly. They need the right microbes in their guts to digest properly, a rapid change in diet can give them bloat and kill them. But if you gradually add over several weeks a rabbit can manage even w/o pellets at all if you have enough variety of fodder year round, but even w/o that you can only supplement w/ pellets.

 

[journey11]

I had my pet bunny to the vet recently because he wasn't eating well. He has pasteurella, but in addition to that, she said his back teeth were a little too long because he was eating too many pellets and should eat mostly hay. She told me to only give him 1/4th to 1/3rd cup of pellets a day, and the rest is timothy hay. And they've got to have a stick or piece of wood to chew on available too. Fresh fruit and veggies are good for them, but you don't want to give too much. Here's a good article with a list of what's ok to give. Watch his stools and make sure they aren't getting runny or compacted. With a young bunny under 6 months you have to introduce veggies slowly. I'm sure the other bunny people on here will weigh in too.

 

[bobm]

I have raised thousands of rabbits at a University Vet. Med. Teaching Hospital for research. All were raised on pellets only as they are formulated to be a complete feed ( alfalfa) and compressed to be very hard which helps to keep their teeth at a normal size. With NO health issues. ( Journey11... me thinks that your vet is out to empty your pocketbook) I have had people bring in their pet rabbits fed on soft foods with teeth that reached way out of thier mouths with a few where their teeth reached past their nose ... one can use your own nail clippers to trim the teeth to a more normal size. Be sure to wrap the rabbit in a large towell while trimming if you value your arms , body, face , etc. as some rabbits will scratch you severely. People causing health issues ... as in killing their rabbit or other "pets". with " kindness".

 

[Beekissed]

NY, good advice from those saying to introduce greens slowly, but once they acclimatize to the change in diet, you can make greens and hay more the bulk of the diet. As was said, good hay on hand at all times is a great idea ...they love browse, so giving them stemmy things to nibble on helps.

I made little hay nets out of chicken wire and wired it up in the top of a corner to stuff their hay into. That way they have to pull it out strand by strand and it doesn't get all over the floor of the cage and get soiled with pee. You could do the same thing with greens to keep them from getting peed on.

A nice old piece of hardened out barn board in the floor of the cage so they can nibble on it and also use it as a place to get off the wire....try to see what part of the cage they go to urinate(usually the same area all the time) and place the board in the other side of the cage.

A mineral wheel is another great addition to the cage, they love those.

We'll need pics, you know.....

 

[journey11]

I have raised thousands of rabbits at a University Vet. Med. Teaching Hospital for research. All were raised on pellets only as they are formulated to be a complete feed ( alfalfa) and compressed to be very hard which helps to keep their teeth at a normal size. With NO health issues. ( Journey11... me thinks that your vet is out to empty your pocketbook) I have had people bring in their pet rabbits fed on soft foods with teeth that reached way out of thier mouths with a few where their teeth reached past their nose ... one can use your own nail clippers to trim the teeth to a more normal size. Be sure to wrap the rabbit in a large towell while trimming if you value your arms , body, face , etc. as some rabbits will scratch you severely. People causing health issues ... as in killing their rabbit or other "pets". with " kindness".

I was also told by bunny breeder we bought him from not to feed alfalfa past 6 months, but to transition to timothy hay because alfalfa is too high in calcium and can cause painful urinary stones. I'm sure as with most things, the recommendations have changed over time. Since you were breeding bunnies for research, Bob, I'd assume most of them did not live a long life anyway?

Beyond the checkup and some antibiotics for the snuffles (which he'll carry forever, highly contagious, many rabbits have/carry it), and a dose of Revolution for ear mites the vet didn't do anything else. His teeth didn't require a trim. Sent me home with a booklet on bunny care.

Just found out the other day about cleaning out their scent glands. Some bunnies don't groom themselves well. There is a lot more to raising bunnies than one would think. It would be good to research online from reputable sources or buy a book on the subject.

 

[Nyboy]

Wow @journey11 nice to know you can use Revolution on rabbits. He was a pet who was held a lot, so is very calm when picked up.

 

[bobm]

I was also told by bunny breeder we bought him from not to feed alfalfa past 6 months, but to transition to timothy hay because alfalfa is too high in calcium and can cause painful urinary stones. I'm sure as with most things, the recommendations have changed over time. Since you were breeding bunnies for research, Bob, I'd assume most of them did not live a long life anyway?

Beyond the checkup and some antibiotics for the snuffles (which he'll carry forever, highly contagious, many rabbits have/carry it), and a dose of Revolution for ear mites the vet didn't do anything else. His teeth didn't require a trim. Sent me home with a booklet on bunny care.

Just found out the other day about cleaning out their scent glands. Some bunnies don't groom themselves well. There is a lot more to raising bunnies than one would think. It would be good to research online from reputable sources or buy a book on the subject.

Most pet rabbits don't have very long lifespans, due to owner neglect, owner becomes bored with them and given away, killed by family dog, escapes their housing and killed by car or soemeone's dog, desease, parasites, die of fright, or die from heat, etc.. Some of the breeding rabbits were over 5 years old or were culled whenever they were no longer producing / fertile. With limited research funds, cage space is always prime real estate ( I castrated all male littermate rabbits as they become very docile so that we could house 3 to a cage) so an infertile rabbit as well as antibody producers that were no longer needed was put down to feed research dogs/ cats or zoo animals. Most of the offspring whent to long term ( 1-2 + years) antibody production for Genetic Marker production. We also had chickens by the hundreds, about a 100 sheep, 20 cattle, 10 horses, and a donkey as antibody producers. This research eventually went on to DNA testing first in registered sheep, followed by cattle, horses and eventually led to human DNA testing.