How much should I be feeding my rabbit?

Question

He has unlimited timothy hay, and I can been giving him 3/4 to 1 Cup timothy based pellets daily. Along with carrots, apples, and greens as treats. Is this right? He looks like he is putting on weight and I don't want him to be unhealthy. He is nuetered about 1 year old and about 6-7 pounds.

Also...... If I give him unlimited food he will seriously not stop eating.... he will stuff himself eating for hours. Is this normal?

Answer 1

You are doing ok, so far. -Especially with the unlimited timothy hay part. We have a male mini-lop and recently had him neutered. The vet there told us to try and decrease the amount of pellets to about 2 tablespoons per day and increase the fresh greens as much as possible.
To about 2 large dinner plates per day. They say that today's rabbit pellets are so very nutritional that they can cause caged rabbits to grow too quickly and put on the pounds if not exercised daily. They also gave me a list of several greens to go for and the vitamin contents of each of them. A nice salt and mineral wheel can also help give your bun-bun some helpful added nutrients.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How much should I be feeding my rabbit?
He has unlimited timothy hay, and I can been giving him 3/4 to 1 Cup timothy based pellets daily. Along with carrots, apples, and greens as treats. Is this right? He looks like he is putting on weight and I don't want him to be unhealthy. He is nuetered about 1 year old and about 6-7 pounds.

Answer 3

Good that he has unlimited timothy hay - you might want to try other grass hays, like broome or orchard grass.
Many rabbits willl eat all the food you put in front of them which is why it is a good idea to limit their pellets. From the House Rabbit Society site they suggest for a mature bunny (over 1 year old) "1/4 to 1/2 cup pellets per 6 lbs. body weight (depending on metabolism and/or proportionate to veggies) "
I like to feed ours greens, but I consider carrots and apples as a treat and in total ours get no more than 1 T/day of a treat.
Sounds like your bunny might be getting too many pellets and I would gradually cut the amount back - say start with 1/3 c morning and 1/3 c at night. Don't be too drastic and limit the treats like carrots and fruit. And encourage him to run around and get exercise.

Answer 4

Rabbits are known for eating so much that they die... this is a reason why you don't give a bunny a whole cabbage - just a few leaves.

My vet said to thing about it like this:
What do rabbits eat in the wild?
Sticks, grass and hay... So you should make the rabbit eat as much sticks grass and hay as it wants. They only 1/4 cup of pallets and only a few things like apples and carrots as that is not what a wild rabbit would eat

Answer 5

I raise a small breed of rabbit called the Jersey Wooly they weigh around 3 lbs. I usually feed them 1/3 cups of pellets daily. Rabbits that are around 6 lbs should be fed about a cup of food daily, if you can fell it's ribs or spine when you rub your hand over its body then you might want to increase the feed. Feeding hay and other supplements are good for rabbits also. Your crude protein percent should also be around 16% to 18%. Females are generally larger and tend to go overweight easier. Most rabbits like to eat so if your rabbit is overweight excercise is the best thing for it. Mine like to run around in the kitchen ( with a litter pan of course!)

Answer 6

Good except too much pellets. After 1 year, they only need 1/4 cup of pellets per 5 pounds of body weight daily. Just make sure he has all the timothy hay he can eat. Oxbow makes the best hays - my buns gobble it down! Also don't give too many carrots and fruits - they have a lot of sugar in them and can contribute to weight gain. Buns have super sensitive digestive tracts, so their diets need to be really healthy. I give mine 1 tsp. of pellets 2 times a day (they are around 2-4 lbs each), plus all the hay they want, and greens (dandelion greens, romaine, parsley, cilantro, etc) and one baby carrot at night, and another baby carrot (I usually even cut the baby carrots in half) in the morning. My rabbit vet told me about the sugar in carrots - that's how I found out how my first bunny got so fat! Good luck and lots of bunny love!

Answer 7

Don't let him eat what ever he wants as one person suggested. Being lean does not make for an unhealthy bunny and does not make them difficult to handle. (?!) Hope she figures that out before she has children. :P

Keep measuring out his pellets. Cut it down to no more than 3/4 cup. That's a decent amount. Don't let him eat unlimited hay and give treats only 3 times per week and then only one serving One serving is: 1 small/med dark green lettuce leaf, 1 baby carrot, 1 slice of apple, 1-2 carrot tops or equal amount of parsley sprigs, etc. but NOT all those at once. Of course, keep the fresh water always available.

I'll just tell you what I do to feed my herd. Morning: give one small handful of hay and any treats or natural supplements. IN the evening we give them their pellets - measured out.

We are using oat hay for our breed because they are doing very well on it. Each different hay will have different nutritional values and will be better for some breeds than another breed but it's not rocket science so just get a good hay from a feed store. They'll be able to tell you a lot about it and recommend one to try. Btw, I hate Oxbow anything. I can get the exact same stuff at my feed store and pay about 7 times less AND its local. LOL.

So, keep measuring out the food - just give fewer pellets and cut down on the hay and be reasonable with the greens so he doesn't fill up on the "candy" and is getting most of his nutrients from the pellets. Give him toys to play with and play with him yourself to keep his mind busy.

You'll know if your rabbit is a good weight if you can feel his ribs when you try to feel them but cannot feel the vertebrae in his spine.

Answer 8

If you think he is putting on weight, then reduce pellets. Maybe 1/2 cup or less. Also limit carrots and apples to treats. Leafy green veggies are good for everyday. He probably needs about 1 1/2 cups of greens a day.
I have 3 bunnies that are about 3 1/2 -4 pounds each and they only get 1/4 cup of pellets a day each.

Answer 9

Think of it this way.

Would you rather have a skinny, unhealthy rabbit that is hard to handle?

OR

Would you rather have a chubby, healthy rabbit that is cuddly and loveable.

Just go by how much he can eat. I have a mini rex and Californian and one eats a half a cup and the other can eat 2 cups!!

Just use your judgement!

Answer 10

I try to keep all my rabbits bowls full, so i just top them up each day