Should a rabbit have at least some say in what they eat?

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MnCanary

MnCanary

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central Kentucky USA
I have a Silver Marten doe, about 1 year old and due in 14 days. I've owned her for about 1 month. She is eating hay to the exclusion of her pellets. The other rabbits come running for their pellets, and she passes on the pellets and dives into her handful of hay instead. I measure pellets for each rabbit (by weight) and she is eating 1/2 to 1 oz less pellets than she did 10 days ago. Her normal pellet ration had been 4 ounces, so a 1 oz decrease is a big change.

I could withhold the hay and force her to eat pellets. I don't do that, though. She is fed in the evening, pellets and hay, and the hay is gone in the morning and her feeder still has pellets. And she's pacing for another handful of hay. I go ahead and give her another handful. She thinks I'm a great guy.

At least she won't get fat. Am I taking the right course here?

Should a rabbit have at least some say in what they eat?
 
is she maintaining weight (by feeling her back)?
If so I'd worry not on her.

BUT if she's losing weight I'd encourage her to eat more pellets...or consider supplementing with some oats to give her some energy as well.
 
I would keep pellets available but not force her to eat them.
Hay keeps the gut moving and teeth worn down and prevents wool block. She may need hay more right now.
 
Within reason, I let the rabbits decide. I have some that eat more hay and greens and hardly touch their grain. I have others (our buck in particular) that is a grain piggie and I have to watch doesn't get too fat. As long as the rabbits are healthy and not overweight/underweight, I let them adjust the proportions of their diet.
 
What kind of hay is it? If it has a decent percent of alfalfa in it, she may not NEED the pellets. And as others said...if she's not losing weight...probably no worries.

You might want to offer her some oats or wheat if you have any. Maybe she just doesn't like the taste of the pellets. We just brought home a doe who won't eat the pellets I have...oats and barley and wheat and hay..but she leaves the pellets.
 
If she's due in 14 days that would make her around 14 days pregnant, the time you can positively palpate. She may not be eating as much because there is more pressure on her stomach now from the babies. There is just not enough room for her usual amount of food, which is why a lot of people give pregnant and nursing does a higher protein feed.
 
Thanks to all of you for your replies. Every bit helps!
This doe is active and looks good and feels good, just on a hay kick I guess. The hay is grass hay, not alfalfa hay. I'll just reduce the hay a bit and thus encourage her to get going on the pellets.
 
MnCanary":339zj5i4 said:
The hay is grass hay, not alfalfa hay.
Click to expand...
Any reason you're not giving her alfalfa hay? She'll need the extra calcium when she starts nursing.
 
I've read quite often that if rabbits are on pellets, the hay they get shouldn't be alfalfa. I've read that pellets + alfalfa hay = too much calcium. My goal is for my rabbits to be on pellets with some hay as a supplement. This Silver Marten doe just read the menu backwards. I'd rather she ate the pellets because of the balanced protein, vitamins etc. I'm afraid if I encourage her to not eat pellets, than I'll be encouraging a natural feeding program with just this one rabbit. That would be interesting but not how I planned on spending the summer.
 
I agree with your thinking on this, Dave. I wouldn't limit the hay too much though. Could be this particular rabbit just doesn't need the quantity of pellets that you think is necessary. She may have a temporary need for more roughage... and therefore eats the hay first.
 
Hi All,

just to follow up on this Silver Marten doe that was eating a lot of hay... She kindled this week (7 kits) and since then she has been not eating much hay and eating a lot of pellets. I'd guess she knows what she's doing. She made a nice nest and the kits are well fed.

I did notice that there were some cecotropes (sp?) in the dropping pan a few times in the last week. Is that a result of her kindling and her system has changed?
 
If a rabbit is getting more protein than it needs, it sometimes does not eat all the cecotropes. In this case, however, I suspect she was so full of babies that she was having trouble reaching back there. They generally eat them directly from the anus.
 

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