What Does Your Rabbit Eat?

My Elop buck "Pie" loves to eat! I have had him nearly a month now (he will be 7months old on Nov 3rd). I started him on 1/2 cup pellets in the morning & another 1/2 cup at night, with unlimited Timothy (and of course a few inches of carrot everyday for a sweet snack). I slowly started to introduce greens to him the past couple weeks and he has done very well with it...he loves flat italian parsley (he doesnt seem to like anything else yet) and now gets some with breakfast and dinner. He was always so hungry though and would throw lil' "bunny fits" (its soo cute) when he wanted more parsley, carrot or pellets. Due to this, the past couple weeks his feed was increased to 2/3rd cup pellets in the morning with parsley & carrot, and then at night he gets the same thing (2/3rd cup pellet, parsley & carrot)- also, unlimited timothy hay throughout the day. This seems to be a good amount. I know that it is more than most people feed their rabbits, but he seems to really need/want it. He is a very robust, active & healthy boy... over 9 pounds now. He spends a good deal of time out of his cage, running, hopping, and binky-ing about (and he is at that active stage in his development)and because of that he needs more food.
My husband says that Pie is just manipulating me and he is the most spoiled rabbit ever, but I dont buy it. Pie really has needed the extra food right now. Obviously, I am going to slowly ween his pellet intake back to 1/2 cup in the morn & 1/2 cup in the eve after his 1st birthday or so when his metabolism starts to slow a bit, but for now I feel it is proper.

Was curious what food regimen other members here have their rabbits on?

Lucky Pie! I think my English Lops are a little bit on the spoiled side, too. I have to keep my other breeds on a measured feed regiment, but at the moment my Elops are being pretty much free-fed Manna Pro PRO formula pellets and get grass hay every day like usual. I find that they eat a bit less in the summer and then start eating more in autumn to make up for it, so I let them regulate themselves for the most part as long as they are doing a good job of it. I also give them a tidbit daily of something like a corner of a multi-grain bread slice, carrot tops, a yellow pear tomato (I am overrun with tomatoes still right now), dandelion leaves, a little bit of oats, parsley, basil, raspberry leaves, etc. I have found this breed is a bit more difficult to get into show-shape with weight and coat (they just don't flesh out like the commercial types do), but also they just love the extra attention. I try to run my hand over their back/hips/HQ every day to check condition also because it helps tell me if my does are getting a little too much or if a buck needs a little bit more, for example. Then I can just adjust their diet accordingly if need be.

So I guess what I am trying to say is that Pie might always need a cup of food 2X a day as an adult to maintain good weight and flesh, OR he might only need a 1/2 cup AM and PM depending on his metabolism/activity level/etc. My Mini Lops would turn into little roly-poly blobs if I let them eat what they wanted, but the long-ears are little bit funky like that. Acorn, Pie's Mom, is a piggie and I suspect that I will need to start regulating her feed again soon to make sure she doesn't get a bunch of internal fat for breeding purposes, but for now I am letting her chow to get into perfect condition for the upcoming show. ET, on the other hand, will likely be free-fed as long as he is with us and will never be fat.

Thanks!

Lauren

ooo. Good question. let's see here...

My kits stay with mom until 3 or 4 months old, so I keep the doe on almost freechoice 17% pellets, but they ALSO get huge loads of timothy hay, and greens (mulberry, grasses, apple leaves, dandelions, plantain) every other day.

The angoras get 1 day of pellets, 1 day of greens (usually mulberry branches along with apple leaves, dandelions, plantain), and free choice hay. Sometimes it's timothy hay, sometimes Alfalfa. If they've been getting a lot of alfalfa, they don't get pellets for a few days. I'll mix it up with grains instead of the pellets. (oats/barley/wheat)

Since most of the rabbits are in colony settings, I'm fine with a free choice feeding..they only eat when hungry, and don't put on fat. The buns in cages (bucks) are on stricter control. Free choice timothy, but depending on the buck, 2/3cup pellets or grains, along with greens every other day. (huge double handful )

Glad to know I have Pie on a healthy track.

Ann, Would love to give him Dandelion but its hard to find around here this time of year... a few months back it was everywhere. He seems to like the crunchy, dead maple leaves that fall on our deck- eats 'em up like potato chips!

Lauren, I was wondering about the bread... Id always thought rabbits couldnt have bread? Clearly thats not true because you raise Amazing rabbits, but is it because it is a multi-grain?
Also, can anyone help... What is the "nutritional" difference between Timothy, Orchard & Alfalfa Hay? I heard that Timothy is best of the three, is that true?

Wholegrain bread is definitely preferable to white bread. I give it to my rabbits air dried to crunchiness as a treat from time to time, especially in the winter when they can do with a few extra calories and appreciate the interest it adds to their diet. They get maybe 1/6 of a slice each.

Timothy hay is high in fibre and low in protein (about 7% if memory serves.) It is great for GI health and to provide healthy nibbling food for rabbits.

Alfalfa hay is high in protein (about 17% depending on when it is harvested) and is too rich to be fed routinely to rabbits also getting alfalfa based pellets. The combination could lead to obesity. It is very useful as part of a natural pellet-free diet for rabbits, although I still believe they benefit from some grass or timothy hay for digestion as well.

I'm not certain what is meant by orchard hay... perhaps someone else will chime in on this.

Timothy is mainly fiber...think "grass with a little grain". Yes, there are some nutrients, but it's mainly filler for most species. Alfalfa is high in protein. The leaves contain the protein, the stems are extremely fibrous. Woody. Good source of fiber as well as protein. However, it CAN put weight on a rabbit fairly easily. Most, if not all, pellets are based on alfalfa meal (meal is the ground dried leaves)

Orchard grass is...grasses. Some places have "marsh hay" instead of orchard grass.

Right now I have him on a Timothy Hay based Pellet food (I specifically bought this because I believed that Alfalfa wasnt good for his GI) and he also gets Timothy hay as well. Is this an overload? His Timothy hay pellet feed is only 13% protein should I change to an Alfalfa based pellet with a higher protein percentage? How else can I bring protein into the diet?
I dont want my bun to get obese, but at the same time I want him to stay thick & robust as he ages.

Hi again,

Next year you can snag all of the dandelion you can find and can air-dry it like hay for winter if you like. I love picking dandelions leaves and flowers for the buns when fresh (and it is technically weeding my yard, though it doesn't feel like work when it is for them) and then drying what I don't use because it is free and organic (yay!). As far as bread, I have never heard a reason why it wouldn't be safe, but everything in moderation of course. I don't give them a whole slice of bread, just a corner or two of a piece as a treat. I don't eat white bread, so I have never offered it, but I have never had any kind of tummy upset or illness from giving bread to the gang. They LOVE it, too. They also love cheerios, but just a little bit at a time of course.

I know it is probably hard this time of year with all the leaves coming down, but I would be careful with letting Pie eat maple leaves. It may be fine, but I have read and heard conflicting reports about maple leaves causing cyanide poisoning and it has been linked in horses with damaging or destroying their red blood cells, which causes acute hemolytic anemia. I have never been able to find any definitive information pertaining to rabbits, but I have never offered them just to be on the safe side.

Here is a nutritional analysis I found on hay if it is helpful:

http://www.russiantortoise.org/hay.htm

Timothy and orchard are both grass hays and are fine to feed, but I personally wouldn't feed straight alfalfa as it isn't grass hay, but legume. Keep in mind that hay nutritional percentages range considerably depending on which cut it is during the year and I have read that protein goes up considerably just before bloom. So if timothy on the low range is 4-6%, the high range can go as far as 16+% potentially, but is usually somewhere in between in reality like Maggie said. I usually rotate my hay depending on what is seasonally available and that looks and smells the fresh. I have been feeding great timothy, but the previous cut was coastal Bermuda and it worked fine, too.

I have feed pellets ranging from 16%-18%, but I would probably try to stay above 14-15% if possible or supplement with higher protein items since Pie is still growing right now.

Thanks!

Lauren

Thanks for the heads up about the Maple leaves. They were on an "OK" list on another rabbit forum so I never worried (he's been nibbling on them for the entire month I have had him- he loves 'em). The wild rabbits that hop in our yard love them, too (but we all know that just because we love something doesnt mean its good for us- lol). Im gonna do a little research on it before I let him have anymore... youre right, its better to be on the safe side.

For treats, parsley, shredded beat pulp, beat tops, carrot tops, raddish tops. Anything edible from the gardens. Mulberry leaves, willow branches. They get timothy hay, and are fed a 17% feed daily.

and on occasion...chicken nuggets :lol: I honest to goodness have a house rabbit who will purposefully trip me when I have chicken nuggets on my plate. Vegetable crackers are another thing I cannot bring into my room or I'll be under siege for them. Oh jeez this list will go on forever, basically if I'm trying to eat something my house rabbits will find a way to get some.

DevonW":3sou2jne said:

and on occasion...chicken nuggets :lol: I honest to goodness have a house rabbit who will purposefully trip me when I have chicken nuggets on my plate.

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LOL! :lol:

Mine get 1/2 to 1 cup of pellets once daily and then a large bunny-sized pile of green stuff. Lately it has been corn stalks, bean leaves, dandelions, comfrey, something we call pigweed, mizuna(a mustard relative), clover, nasturtiums, thistles, hedge bindweed, bolting radishes, and broccoli leaves.

I shoot for the amount that has a them mostly cleaning it up but leaving a few leaves/stalks over until the next day. That way I figure the have enough, if they are willing to leave the less choice items, and those vary from rabbit to rabbit and day to day.

One little old buck eats very little. He gets the lower ration. He is...maybe 5-6 lbs? The others, the NZ's, either are or will be over 9 lbs. Cinnabun is getting pudgy on this! Well, fair sized dewlap anyway.

Depends on the kind of maple. I feed silver maple or sugar maple but would avoid red maple because of the issues stated. It is very hard to get definitive information for RABBITS on this subject.

I have fed my rabbits on red maple all summer and have had no issues.

My buns get prob too much pellets (high quality 16 and 18%), but they don't seem to overdo it. Right now, I've mixed in a little black oil sunflower seeds. They also get lots of hay. I have two different kinds bailed and loose rolled grass hay i get locally.

my buns get apple, kale, dandelions, bean leaves, maple branches, chickweed, pigweed, ay kind of edible weed I can get my hands on, carrot tops, anything in the garden that's bolted that I don't want for seed, raspberry, all kinds of herbs, etc.

I don't have any overweight rabbits and all seem very healthy and happy

Oh, almost forgot. The non-angora rabbits also get rose canes/branches. They LOVE those. Mulberry they eat the outer bark and leaves...the roses they eat down to nothing. Once they're out at the farm, they'll get a LOT of raspberry canes, too. I don't have any raspberry here in town, tho

Normally I mix about 1 scoop of sunflower seeds for every 3-4 scoops of pellets. A scoop is probably between 1-2 cups. The mini rex I feed right about the amount they will eat in 24hours. They much prefer hay so mine don't really over eat their pellets. They get mostly unlimited grass hay with a little clover in it. The haylofts only hold so much though so occasionally they run out and then actually finish their pellets before I get there to feed them that day. The champagne d'argent looooove our pellets and knocked the bucket down one day and ate about a pound of feed out of it. Luckily it did them no harm but I make sure to keep pellet bags or buckets out of their reach. I dump 3 scoops in the feeder for the 2 champagne with one pregnant and 2 mini rex does that share the horse stalls. I throw entire slices of hay down on an extra cage pan. The pellets go quickly but everyone seems to be getting some before they have to eat hay.

Everyone then gets a manna pro brand treat. They love flax snax which have a very simple ingredients list of just wheat flour, flaxseed, a little sugar, and I think the last ingredient was just something to keep it all together in cookie form. I also have a bag of peppermint nuggets which have vitamins and minerals added.

The bunnies inside get a bit of whatever the sugar gliders got that night. We always have a variety of fruits and veggies on hand because they are a daily requirement of gliders. This week it's cranberries and plumcots. Both inside and outside bunnies get some fresh mint and occasionally grass, clover, dandelions, or edible wildflowers. I haven't had much time to pick them greens lately.

My herd gets:
18% pelleted rabbit feed with sweet-feed and black oils mixed throughout.
I also occasionally add some rolled Oats to the mix.
I give grass-hay in a hay-rack at least three times per week if not more often.
Each rabbit is fed as an individual, some get more and some get less.
Does with litters are often on full-feed, but not always.
I keep an eye on things. What I am doing works well for me and my herd.
Others may have a different plan. If it works, it's a good one!
Ottersatin.

Wow... what wonderfully diverse diets these rabbits have.
I love knowing what other members feed their buns. Its giving great ideas to expanding Pie's diet.
About the Maples... I believe we have sugar Maples in our yard (no Red Maples)... he seems to do very well with the leaves, but he doesnt like them "fresh & green", he only eats them when they are dead & crunchy.

Ottersain, What pellets are 18%?

Pickles":1hupu80f said:

Right now I have him on a Timothy Hay based Pellet food (I specifically bought this because I believed that Alfalfa wasnt good for his GI) and he also gets Timothy hay as well. Is this an overload? His Timothy hay pellet feed is only 13% protein should I change to an Alfalfa based pellet with a higher protein percentage? How else can I bring protein into the diet?
I dont want my bun to get obese, but at the same time I want him to stay thick & robust as he ages.

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Alfalfa is the single best all around feed there is for a rabbit. 13% is likely too low in protein and most of the other things you are feeding will not make up for it. An overabundance of carbs is worse for a rabbit than an overabundance of protein. Extra protein is simply burned off, but extra carbs can produce fat. I would think of going to a standard 16% alfalfa pellet. You can add extra protein, with a few other things, but why, when a good alfalfa based pellet is specifically tailored to rabbits?

I am a big believer in good 16% alfalfa based rabbit pellets, hay for alimentary health, and greens for extra vitamins, minerals, and vitality. One should probably not feed alfalfa hay, if they are feeding pellets, usually grass hays are less expensive, anyway.

You can make up for the low % of protein by feeding a good alfalfa or clover hay, but that would be sort of a "double-negative" thing while feeding timothy based pellets. Those who (successfully) do not feed pellets usually feed a high quality clover or alfalfa hay.