my rabbit eats more then it shoud is this safe?

Question

my rabbit eats over acsesivly i have talked to a vet but she said that is normal is that true

Answer 1

I have always heard they should be put on an eating schedule just like any other mammal..any animal can over eat...but that doesn't' mean it is good for them..if it doesn't kill them or make them just sick, once they get to over weight they won't be as active as they should and will not have as long of a lifespan that it could have..think about it...if you can't get up and exercise and all you do is eat...what does it do?...cause nothing but health problems, so if you love your little guy think what's best for him..good luck hope he stays healthy for ya

Answer 2

Kimbee, some lettuce is fine. It's not bad for the rabbit, just not high in nutritional value. Things like green pepper or parsley are much better though.

And I dont understand how you could say that rabbits shouldn't be housed together. Rabbit pairs bond for life. Separating them would harm them in many ways. And the House Rabbit Society bonds and watches rabbits live very long and happy lives without separation.

They also advise that a rabbit's diet should depend on its breed and weight, and should be given a set amount of fresh vegetables a day, too.

Answer 3

I've been raising rabbits for 24 years and show them competitively at a national level. I raise New Zealand Whites. It is critical for New Zealands to feed them properly to compete with the top breeders in the nation. I also studied animal nutrition in college and want to provide a little insight to not only the asker but everyone that provided answers.

The amount you should feed your rabbit will depend upon the breed of rabbit and the bloodline of that rabbit. A rabbit should get fed just what it eats in 24 hours. Meaning, the rabbit should just barely clean up the bowl or feeder in that time period. The reason for this is not so much to keep the rabbit from over-eating, but to keep the rabbit pellets from getting stale. Rabbits only need fed once a day, with the exceptions of litters of rabbits (they need fed twice a day). The time of day that you feed them needs to be consistent. You don't want to feed them at 6pm one day then 10pm the next day.

Here's a VERY important point. What makes a rabbit fat isn't really HOW MUCH you feed them but WHAT you feed them. When you feed a rabbit it is best to stick to just the rabbit pellets and water. Some breeders if they have a poor quality feed will "side dress" the feed, meaning they add stuff like oats or timothy hay, etc., depending on what the feed is lacking. That can be complicated and it's better to just buy a good quality rabbit pellet and stick to just it. Those of you feeding them vegetables and fruit not only run the risk of giving your rabbit diahrrea, but of throwing off their diet. This can potentially cause the rabbit to become fat, molt more, and even chew the fur off their body.

Here's what you need to look for when comparing feeds:

First, you don't want a lot of fat in the feed. Feed companies use fat to help make it easier to hold the pellet together, but fat goes to fat. Secondly, you don't want a feed with a lot of crude protein. Crude protein means that the protein isn't utilized by the rabbit's body, meaning they used something cheap to put in there to lower the cost of making it. Third is protein. You want about 15-17% protein in the feed unless your rabbit is an Angora. Fourth is fiber. You want about 17-20% fiber in the feed. All of this info will either be listed on the back of the bag or on a tag on the bottom of the feed sack.

The ingredients will be listed in order from the ingredient that composes that largest percentage of the feed content to the smallest. You don't want corn very close close to the beginning of the list. The farther down on the list it is, the better. A few feeds won't even add it.

When buying feed. Don't buy over a month's worth, especially during the summer. The feed will tend to want to mold in the summer and the mold can cause the rabbit to get diahrrea.

One other thing that everyone should know regarding rabbit feeds is that it is common practice among feed companies to change the formula of the feed based upon the price of the ingredients and how those prices rise and fall. If the price of an ingredient goes up, they may substitute another ingredient to replace it while keeping the percentages of protein and fiber the same. You want to find a feed company that doesn't do this. Here's why: One day you'll be feeding your rabbits and all of a sudden the entire herd doesn't eat as well or you notice that they all start getting fat easier and the fur quality goes down. These are things that happens when a company changes the formula even though they keep the percentages the same.

For growing rabbits you usually want a higher percentage protein: around 17%. Once you get the rabbit in fur, if you want to try getting the rabbit to hold its fur longer and not molt it out as quick, you can normally switch to the Show formula of the same feed which is a lower percentage protein of about 15% and a higher percentage fiber of about 20%. More protein encourages hair growth. The more hair growth you have, the more it pushes out the old fur causing the rabbit to molt quicker. If however the rabbit is already in a molt, you may want to increase the protein to speed up the replacement of the old hairs with new ones.

Two feeds that I highly recommend are Purina Feeds and Heinold Feeds.

When asking about how to feed your rabbits, ask a professional breeder and not someone who raises them just as pets. If you were raising dogs, who would you rather ask, someone that has 2 pet dogs or some one that has a professional kennel and is one of the top breeders at the National AKC Dog Show? I doubt any of the pet breeders could tell you what percentages of protein or fiber the rabbit needs. And I also doubt they know all of the things that could result from feeding the rabbit lettuce, cabbage, and carrots or how they affect the rabbit's digestive system.

Answer 4

Why are you feeding it too much is my question? Depending on the size of the rabbit it should be only getting a 1/4 of pellets a day and unlimited timothy hay. Rabbits if they are bored will just continuely eat or because of a natural instinct they will continue to eat for fear that the food might run out like in the wild.

Answer 5

Rabbits should always have free access to hay, but preferably Timothy over Alfalfa. As for food, how much you feed it each day should depend on it's breed and weight. There are many books and websites with a conversion chart. This should be fed in the form of a simple pellet, not a food with seeds or corn. It should also be supplemented with a few fresh vegetables. They should not have constant access to pellets as they're grazing animals and instinctively continuously eat. This leads to obesity which can lead to the same things as it does in humans- heart problems, joint problems, etc.

Answer 6

The main diet for rabbits should be a good quality hay, like coastal or mixed timothy hay. NOT alfalfa (too high in calcium). They cannot overeat hay. They should only have a few spoonfuls of pellets a day, and plenty of fresh cool water. No lettuce. A little piece of apple or carrot occasionally as a treat. BTW, rabbits should never be housed together as most of them will fight as they get older.

Answer 7

I have a tendency to over feed my bunnies too, but I've been told that they should only get a portion the size of a small tuna can per day. I think that's too little, especially for my Flemmish Giants!

Answer 8

most animals will over-eat if you let them. But it's not good. They eat in the wild what they can find and are VERY active doing it. As a pet, they are lazy and far more inactive and if they over-eat they will become fat and unhealthy. Just feed him/her a bit less and give them some activity.

Answer 9

no its not it will die u should feed it the right amount im geting 2 bunnys