my rabbit takes 3 hours just to eat a single stalk. i've had her for only a week now and only been feeding her pellets because i haven't gotten hay yet. i'm worried she's not getting enough to reduce blockage or obesity from feeding her pelletes this whole time. what should i do?
2007-06-02 08:06:04 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
It is important to note that pellets were originally intended for creating fatter meat rabbits - they are far from an ideal food for a pet rabbit, and should only be fed in limited quantities.
Do not get the pellets with seeds and banana chips and such in it - it is a treat to the bunnies but it isn't healthy and can cause stomach problems.
Pellets can go stale just like bread and become unappealing to the bunny's pallate, so store unused pellets in an air-tight container, preferably in the refrigerator.
If you get a large quantity of pellets, the best way to store it is to separate it into smaller sealed containers (ie, ziplock bags) and store them all in the refrigerator, and only open one at a time to get food from. The unopened ones will stay fresh much longer.
Typically you can allow a healthy growing bunny to free-feed on pellets (he can eat as much as he wants).
The most common recommendation we hear for healthy adult rabbits (that do not need to gain weight) is that they should only have about 1/4 cup of timthy pellets per 5 pounds of bunny.
If your rabbit shows any signs of stomach problems, such as runny stool, take away the pellets and veggies and feed plenty of timothy hay and contact your vet!
Some recommended pellets:
Blue Seal
Oxbow *especially Bunny Basics/T for adult rabbits!!*
Purina Rabbit Chow
Martin Rabbit Pellets
The uncontrolled feeding of a pelleted diet to a house rabbit can lead to obesity, heart and liver disease, chronic diarrhea, and kidney disease as a result of the high concentration of calories, low fiber, and high calcium levels in the pellets, so hay, as you know, is very important!!
Feeding orchard or meadow grass, rye grass, Timothy hay, Bermuda grass or oat hay for best results. Alfalfa does not contain enough fiber to produce the desired large, light-colored droppings that indicate optimum digestive health. A "mix" of these recommended hays provides the healthiest diet for your bunny.
About her slow hay eating habit... try to break the hay stalks into smaller pieces for easier (and faster!!) ingestion!
Hope this helps!!
2007-06-02 08:55:20 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
I don't recommend listening to the vet tech and some of the others. Rabbit pellets are specifically formulated to meet the rabbit's nutritional needs. Many people think that they need to add this or that to keep their rabbit healthy and by doing so they only do just the opposite.
If you are worried about fur blockage, give your rabbit one papaya tablet a day. That will help prevent fur blockage.
What makes a rabbit fat is high energy food. High energy food comes from many of the snacks that people give their rabbits. If you stick to just the pellets and water you will be fine. If you want, giving your rabbit a small handful of timothy hay will be totally fine. It's not necessarily needed but it doesn't hurt either. Timothy hay adds fiber and roughage that helps fight diahrrea.
If your rabbit has a straw bedding or such it may be filling up some on the bedding, which would work pretty much the same as the timothy hay would.
Also, a good thing to remember is that rabbits will only eat a certain amount of feed then quit. Always try keeping the total weight of feed you give them about the same. So if you want your rabbit to eat the hay a little better, cut back the pellets a little. I'd recommend not to make the hay over about one quarter of the rabbit's diet though.
Like I said, the rabbit feed should be formulated to meet the rabbit's nutritional needs already. Change it too much and you'll be messing up their diet.
Some good rabbit feeds are:
1.) Heinolds
2.) Purina
3.) Buckeye
4.) Show Rite
5.) Nutritional
6.) Manna Pro
These are some of the top brands that many of the top rabbit breeders that show rabbits feed their rabbits. The top brand is probably Heinolds and second would probably be Purina.
Heinold's was formulated by Dr. Terry E. Reed who was an expert on rabbit nutrition. Purina also puts a lot of research into their rabbit feed. Those two brands would be my top choices.
Yes, sometimes you can add certain things to make the feed perform better, but normally this is done by rabbit breeders who have had years of experience at raising rabbits.
If you have any rabbit nutrition questions, feel free to ask.
2007-06-04 06:44:13 · answer #2 · answered by devilishblueyes 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You can buy alfalfa hay. My step dad grows alfalfa and Bermuda grass and bales it and sells it to farmers. But a bale of hay is pretty big so I don't think it would stay fresh enough. Maybe a local rancher or farmer would sell you a quarter or half a bale.
2016-04-01 11:55:27 · answer #3 · answered by Regenna 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try going to www.rabbit.org
Read up on the appropriate diet for a rabbit. Then you will feel better about what you are feeding him.
2007-06-02 08:50:39 · answer #4 · answered by Jocelyn7777 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
buy a speical rebbit food and varitery (if thats how u spell it) there is food that you can buy and its for rabbits, hamsters, and gunnie pigs. i use that for my rabbit and my hamster. and if your rabbits eats hay that will just fine GOOD LUCK! =)
2007-06-02 08:12:55 · answer #5 · answered by so simple minded. 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋