picky rabbit !!

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showrabbittjrhett

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my rabbit has been fed commercial pellets for his entire life but recently i have noticed that he will tip over his little crock, so i have bought a hanging feeder and am no seeing how little he is eating. it has now started to worry me. he picks out the little orange pieces in the food. so yesterday i gave him a few carrots and he scarfed all of it down but it was in his crock again so today i gave him carrots in the hanging bowl with no orange pieces and shreded carrots and he picked out just the carrots! is it just me being over protective or should i try changing food or even switching to a home made food? thanks for the help
 
Are you feeding him one of the pet food brands that has different pellets mixed together? If so, this may account for his pickiness... He is eating only those that he likes, like a kid eating one vegetable only out of a mixed vegetable dish. A pelleted ration that is all the same would keep him from doing this.

I do not recommend too many carrots. Carrots are useful in winter as part of a natural hay-based diet, but they are quite sweet and are best considered a treat.

I'm not quite sure why you posted this in the Natural Feeding forum, since it pertains to a pellet-fed rabbit. It's okay for it to be here, but you might receive more replies in the Rabbit Care forum. Would you like me to move it for you?
 
Thumper did this when we were using a food like that. It had pellets as well as green, pink, and yellow pieces that were different. He picked out those colored pieces and ate the pellets only when he was hungry after that.

If I recall correctly, you have Holland lops. They naturally won't eat very much. Thumper is a minilop, and he eats probably 2 ounces of food a day. He eats so little, I worry and have him on free feed, and I'm happy when he eats 3-4 ounces instead. :roll: But he's fine. :D

Run your hand along his back. If his spine feels spiky, like he's a furry stegosaurus, he's not eating enough. If you feel gentle, rolling bumps, he's just right. If you can't feel his spine, he's actually fat! :lol:
 
Pellets should be plain and carrots should be a treat. If he's not used to fresh foods you should feed very limited amounts of anything at first. Hay is a good addition to the diet. The long stem fiber which can't be replicated in a pellet helps keep the digestive tract moving and I think has been the reason my rabbits survived on more than one occasion when they ate too much of something that less knowledgeable people gave them. It also keeps their teeth worn down preventing a lot of future problems.
 
rabbits are like kids they only want to eat the "good stuff" and will dig out the more nutritional stuff to get to the good stuff. If you give him a plain pellet and treats on occasion he'll be less likely to dig. As well as if you use the mixed bag of pellets you have to read the nutritional table carefully as they're usually not the greatest for a rabbit high in sugar, too low in fibre and protein.
 
ughk
from your description you aren't feeding either natural (as in mix your own or forage)
Or 'commercial pellets'

You are feeding a 'pet' mixed feed from the pet store, one I would avoid at all cost...
these do have the 'fruits and vegetable' mixed in, and don't be surprised if he just eats them and leaves the rest alone, hell would you eat the snickers bars and jolly ranchers out of a green salad, or eat the salad first.

Your best option is to buy a pelletized commercial mix like MANNA PRO or Purina, and then feed him the treats in a SEPARATE (AS IN DIFFERENT, NOT THE SAME) dish.
 

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