What EXACTLY is a good/healthy/balanced diet?

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Tbgb1912

Tbgb1912

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My doe has popped out five kits today, and I'm wondering what food I should be feeding her and quantities. Also advice on a steady diet for my buck and other doe would be great.

Currently I feed them NRM pellets (http://www.petswonderland.co.nz/nrm-rabbit-pellets/) and a mix of fruit and vege every morning (handful for each bunny) Vege's are usually cabbage, carrot tops, beans, spinach, peas/pea leaves/pods - basically every part of a pea plant - bak choy or bok choy, dandelion, strawberry leaves, etc. with broccoli leaf, kale and half a fresh corn cob once or twice a week. Fruit is mainly Apple and pear, and the odd grape. Hay is always on supply also.

Am I feeding them too much?
Now that winter is coming in, what sort of vegetables would I be able to feed them?
What kind of 'ideal' quantity should I be feeding them daily? I think my doe who has recently kindled was over weight before her first litter, which consisted of two kits, whereas breeding her again two weeks into her first kindling, resulted in 5 kits this litter. I'm assuming this is due to losing weight?

Any help would be appreciated!
 
Well, you don't mention what breed of rabbit or their weights, but in general, your diet looks fine, except for the daily fruit. You might want to consider fruit more of a treat than a daily supplement. Maybe an apple slice once a week or so.

You can have two rabbits of the same breed and about the same weight that need different amounts of food. The best way I have found to determine feed amounts is to check the rabbits. Run your hand along their spine. If you feel nothing but skin (no bumps), they are overweight. If you feel soft bumps, they are fine. If you feel spiky bumpy bumps, they are underweight. It's not easy to feel the differences at first, but if you do it on a regular basis, it will become easier and you will be able to feel changes quickly and can adjust your feeding.

I am assuming you're feeding from your garden. Over the winter, I feed dried apple leaves/branches, dried blackberry leaves/canes, and whatever I can find in the yard that's safe. Basically, their non-pellet food gets cuts down a lot. And they're fine with just pellets and hay. Other folks grow fodder, and I may do that this year.
 
Marinea":1cizxwmh said:
Well, you don't mention what breed of rabbit or their weights, but in general, your diet looks fine, except for the daily fruit. You might want to consider fruit more of a treat than a daily supplement. Maybe an apple slice once a week or so.

You can have two rabbits of the same breed and about the same weight that need different amounts of food. The best way I have found to determine feed amounts is to check the rabbits. Run your hand along their spine. If you feel nothing but skin (no bumps), they are overweight. If you feel soft bumps, they are fine. If you feel spiky bumpy bumps, they are underweight. It's not easy to feel the differences at first, but if you do it on a regular basis, it will become easier and you will be able to feel changes quickly and can adjust your feeding.

I am assuming you're feeding from your garden. Over the winter, I feed dried apple leaves/branches, dried blackberry leaves/canes, and whatever I can find in the yard that's safe. Basically, their non-pellet food gets cuts down a lot. And they're fine with just pellets and hay. Other folks grow fodder, and I may do that this year.
Click to expand...

Sorry, they are mini lops. I don't currently know their weights, but can find that out.
So cut down on fruit, okay. That goes for carrot too I believe? I read somewhere that an inch of carrot once a week is enough due to the sugar content?
Should I be supplementing my doe with extra food, or anything else since she's feeding 5 kits?

Thank you for the heads up!
 
I only feed fruit as a treat mostly in the fall when there are lots of apples and berries to harvest. Cranberries can be a good fruit that is lower in sugar than most. I just slip a bag in the fridge door and pull out a few berries at a time. They stay good for a lot longer than any other fruit.

I would reduce or eliminate cabbage and be cautious with the bok choy and spinach. The cruciferous vegetables ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables ) can lead to excess gas production that risks slowing the intestines and causing bloat. Bloat is often fatal if not caught immediately and treated aggressively. Spinach is very high in oxalic acid which reduces calcium absorption making it's high calcium unavailable and actually a health risk in some cases. Far more common of a problem with guinea pigs than rabbits but the large amounts of oxalic acid and calcium can lead to urinary tract stones. More herbs would be a good idea. Nothing in the onion or garlic family which includes chives but cilantro(coriander), parsley, fennel tops, mint species which also includes catnip and several other commonly planted herbs and flowers, and most other herbs eaten by people are good rabbit forage but do check specific herbs just in case since too much of some herbs could cause a health problem. If you are picking a variety of plants you probably won't feed too much of any one thing.

Root vegetables often store well in a cool, dark area. There are a variety of ways explained online for storing carrots, radishes, potatos, etc... Many root vegetables can also be frozen. Usually they are blanched first to reduce bacteria and help preserve them longer but I found this was an unnecessary step just for using them over early-mid winter. Be careful of sugar or starch content in root vegetables. You will not be able to feed the same quantity of fresh food. Some squashes will last for awhile after fall harvest to provide some variety while things are starting to die off around here. I would make off with pumpkins after halloween and smash them open in the colonies for all the rabbits to swarm. Overall though rabbits will do fine through the winter without fresh food. Make sure to adjust them back to fresh food carefully if you take a break from it or they risk diarrhea and bloat.
 
Hi, Tbgb1912 I'm in New Zealand too and also feed the NRM pellets. I have jersey woolies, nethies, and a cashmere Lop. The cashie eats the most and seems to need more pellets than the others.

For adults I feed lots of hay and fresh grass. I basically I feed a huge ball of Hay to each rabbit, almost he size of the rabbit, 1/8 cup of NRM pellets (maybe a little more depending on the size of the rabbit) and a big handful of fresh grass everyday. I do believe to keep them healthy hay should be close to 75% to 80% of their diet. Along with the big portion of grass they also get a smaller portion of greens too, like dandelions, nasturtiums (which are everywhere around my house) and maybe a few chunks of carrots or apples. I like to feed them willow too, they love it.

I agree with what Akane said about the cabbage being risky/gassy, and oxalates in spinach. Silver beat is also really high in oxalates so wouldn't feed too much of that either.

New Zealand is a great country for growing grass so I take advantage of that :) and just feeding nice fresh grass is very good for rabbits. Grass isn't high in oxalates, has lots of fibre and is very good for their teeth.

One thing about being in New Zealand though is, you have to be careful about where you get your greens and hay is supposed to be aged 3 months, because of Calici virus/RHD.
 
akane":11wdlryo said:
I only feed fruit as a treat mostly in the fall when there are lots of apples and berries to harvest. Cranberries can be a good fruit that is lower in sugar than most. I just slip a bag in the fridge door and pull out a few berries at a time. They stay good for a lot longer than any other fruit.

I would reduce or eliminate cabbage and be cautious with the bok choy and spinach. The cruciferous vegetables ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables ) can lead to excess gas production that risks slowing the intestines and causing bloat. Bloat is often fatal if not caught immediately and treated aggressively. Spinach is very high in oxalic acid which reduces calcium absorption making it's high calcium unavailable and actually a health risk in some cases. Far more common of a problem with guinea pigs than rabbits but the large amounts of oxalic acid and calcium can lead to urinary tract stones. More herbs would be a good idea. Nothing in the onion or garlic family which includes chives but cilantro(coriander), parsley, fennel tops, mint species which also includes catnip and several other commonly planted herbs and flowers, and most other herbs eaten by people are good rabbit forage but do check specific herbs just in case since too much of some herbs could cause a health problem. If you are picking a variety of plants you probably won't feed too much of any one thing.

Root vegetables often store well in a cool, dark area. There are a variety of ways explained online for storing carrots, radishes, potatos, etc... Many root vegetables can also be frozen. Usually they are blanched first to reduce bacteria and help preserve them longer but I found this was an unnecessary step just for using them over early-mid winter. Be careful of sugar or starch content in root vegetables. You will not be able to feed the same quantity of fresh food. Some squashes will last for awhile after fall harvest to provide some variety while things are starting to die off around here. I would make off with pumpkins after halloween and smash them open in the colonies for all the rabbits to swarm. Overall though rabbits will do fine through the winter without fresh food. Make sure to adjust them back to fresh food carefully if you take a break from it or they risk diarrhea and bloat.
Click to expand...


Thank you so much! That's been super helpful. I'll have to reasses foods to feed them, especially my lactating doe.

Really, they eat pumpkin? Interesting, I'd never thought it would be something they'd eat.

-- Wed May 06, 2015 6:45 pm --

squidpop":11wdlryo said:
Hi, Tbgb1912 I'm in New Zealand too and also feed the NRM pellets. I have jersey woolies, nethies, and a cashmere Lop. The cashie eats the most and seems to need more pellets than the others.

For adults I feed lots of hay and fresh grass. I basically I feed a huge ball of Hay to each rabbit, almost he size of the rabbit, 1/8 cup of NRM pellets (maybe a little more depending on the size of the rabbit) and a big handful of fresh grass everyday. I do believe to keep them healthy hay should be close to 75% to 80% of their diet. Along with the big portion of grass they also get a smaller portion of greens too, like dandelions, nasturtiums (which are everywhere around my house) and maybe a few chunks of carrots or apples. I like to feed them willow too, they love it.

I agree with what Akane said about the cabbage being risky/gassy, and oxalates in spinach. Silver beat is also really high in oxalates so wouldn't feed too much of that either.

New Zealand is a great country for growing grass so I take advantage of that :) and just feeding nice fresh grass is very good for rabbits. Grass isn't high in oxalates, has lots of fibre and is very good for their teeth.

One thing about being in New Zealand though is, you have to be careful about where you get your greens and hay is supposed to be aged 3 months, because of Calici virus/RHD.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I should really take into appreciation our availability of grass - however if the buns hadn't been destructive and decided they'd dig tunnels in the lawn then there may have been more grass available for them over winter :lol: I'm gradually reseeding the lawn. I have family members weeding their gardens for me to feed the rabbits :lol: good ol' cheap tucker.
Hay however is harder to find where I am, unfortunately. Even looking online, postage is ridiculous. At the moment I'm paying about $3 a bag about the size of a pillow case - they go through it so fast.
My buns haven't taken much of a liking to silverbeet, so I haven't bothered with it. What easily accessible supermarket vegetables do you feed your buns? Now I'll have to reavaluate


What about fresh corn on the cob, how is that to be feeding them? Its a bit controversial on the net, so I was wondering everyone else's opinions?
 
I don't feed the corn itself, but I can tell you they love the leaves and stalks. Even dried.
 
Corn is not really all that healthy or have much variety of useful nutrients. I will give sweet corn cobs after we eat them or if we have extra we aren't going to finish but with all the animals I have it's only a few times a year anyone gets actually ears/cobs of corn. All the green part is completely edible. You might want to look through the folds of husk for any insects that love corn. Your corn is probably safer than ours. They spray gmo corn with all sorts of pesticides and herbicides that kill everything else. The only reason it doesn't kill the corn is because it's been modified to live through most anything.
 
akane":337fkk7i said:
Corn is not really all that healthy or have much variety of useful nutrients. I will give sweet corn cobs after we eat them or if we have extra we aren't going to finish but with all the animals I have it's only a few times a year anyone gets actually ears/cobs of corn. All the green part is completely edible. You might want to look through the folds of husk for any insects that love corn. Your corn is probably safer than ours. They spray gmo corn with all sorts of pesticides and herbicides that kill everything else. The only reason it doesn't kill the corn is because it's been modified to live through most anything.
Click to expand...

Crazy :eek: I guess I'm lucky living in NZ for several reasons :lol:
 
Tbgb1912":2a31ej9d said:
Thanks! I should really take into appreciation our availability of grass - however if the buns hadn't been destructive and decided they'd dig tunnels in the lawn then there may have been more grass available for them over winter :lol: I'm gradually reseeding the lawn. I have family members weeding their gardens for me to feed the rabbits :lol: good ol' cheap tucker.
Hay however is harder to find where I am, unfortunately. Even looking online, postage is ridiculous. At the moment I'm paying about $3 a bag about the size of a pillow case - they go through it so fast.
My buns haven't taken much of a liking to silverbeet, so I haven't bothered with it. What easily accessible supermarket vegetables do you feed your buns? Now I'll have to reavaluate


What about fresh corn on the cob, how is that to be feeding them? Its a bit controversial on the net, so I was wondering everyone else's opinions?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't feed fresh corn on the cob, somewhere I read someone saying it can cause blockages.

Tbgb1912, Have you tried buying bales of meadow hay from people on trademe? That is really the only affordable way to get your hay. Also, you might want to join this New Zealand Facebook page so then you can ask people in your area if they know the best place to buy hay, or make friends with someone and share bales of hay. Also, its a great place to ask people about anything New Zealand based info about where to get medicines, or how to find a good vet in your area etc... https://www.facebook.com/groups/229696453878310/ also https://www.facebook.com/groups/rabbitcouncilnz/

I have 12 rabbits and the last time I fed them all veggies from the grocery store I bought a bag of baby carrots, 4 bunches of curly leaf lettuce, a bag of spinach and a bundle of parsley, it cost about $22 for all of them to have some and lasted for about two days. But usually I don't buy much from the grocery store. You may have less rabbits so it may be more affordable for you to get veg at the grocery, but I really can't afford $22 every two days. So, on a regular basis the only thing I buy is 4 dollar packages of baby carrots and they only get one or two baby carrots the size of my thumb on a regular basis and maybe one bunch of curly lettuce for one of mine who is really picky and doesn't eat his grass. I live next to a big park that is beside a river and along the bank of the river there is lots of tall grass, the park people don't mow it, so its so easy to just go down there and cut off big handfuls of grass with a sharp craft knife or even scissors- I can do it so fast it only takes 10 minutes to get a giant bag of it. Then there's also wild nasturtiums, plantain, growing everywhere and dandelions, so I pick those as well. Also, there are lots of Willows at the park and I pick some of the willow wisps to feed them which they really love.

Also, I actually like this video on feeding rabbits, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io7uaZ_m6As

Also, I should add, on all the American sites they always say feed timothy hay but in NZ people usually feed meadow hay.
 
Any grass hay should be fine if it's good quality with few weeds, low dust, and no mold. I also don't use hay past 1 year old. Grass hays are usually so similar that they vary more between fields or cuttings than between species. Timothy is just the easiest to find in the US but many don't use it because it's one of the hays most likely to cause allergies. I don't know what is available there but grain hay can also work if it is truly hay which means it's cut green with immature or no grain heads yet. After the grain is mature and harvested what is left is your typical golden straw with no nutrition.
 
squidpop":1ao3xjd8 said:
Tbgb1912":1ao3xjd8 said:
Thanks! I should really take into appreciation our availability of grass - however if the buns hadn't been destructive and decided they'd dig tunnels in the lawn then there may have been more grass available for them over winter :lol: I'm gradually reseeding the lawn. I have family members weeding their gardens for me to feed the rabbits :lol: good ol' cheap tucker.
Hay however is harder to find where I am, unfortunately. Even looking online, postage is ridiculous. At the moment I'm paying about $3 a bag about the size of a pillow case - they go through it so fast.
My buns haven't taken much of a liking to silverbeet, so I haven't bothered with it. What easily accessible supermarket vegetables do you feed your buns? Now I'll have to reavaluate


What about fresh corn on the cob, how is that to be feeding them? Its a bit controversial on the net, so I was wondering everyone else's opinions?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't feed fresh corn on the cob, somewhere I read someone saying it can cause blockages.

Tbgb1912, Have you tried buying bales of meadow hay from people on trademe? That is really the only affordable way to get your hay. Also, you might want to join this New Zealand Facebook page so then you can ask people in your area if they know the best place to buy hay, or make friends with someone and share bales of hay. Also, its a great place to ask people about anything New Zealand based info about where to get medicines, or how to find a good vet in your area etc... https://www.facebook.com/groups/229696453878310/ also https://www.facebook.com/groups/rabbitcouncilnz/

I have 12 rabbits and the last time I fed them all veggies from the grocery store I bought a bag of baby carrots, 4 bunches of curly leaf lettuce, a bag of spinach and a bundle of parsley, it cost about $22 for all of them to have some and lasted for about two days. But usually I don't buy much from the grocery store. You may have less rabbits so it may be more affordable for you to get veg at the grocery, but I really can't afford $22 every two days. So, on a regular basis the only thing I buy is 4 dollar packages of baby carrots and they only get one or two baby carrots the size of my thumb on a regular basis and maybe one bunch of curly lettuce for one of mine who is really picky and doesn't eat his grass. I live next to a big park that is beside a river and along the bank of the river there is lots of tall grass, the park people don't mow it, so its so easy to just go down there and cut off big handfuls of grass with a sharp craft knife or even scissors- I can do it so fast it only takes 10 minutes to get a giant bag of it. Then there's also wild nasturtiums, plantain, growing everywhere and dandelions, so I pick those as well. Also, there are lots of Willows at the park and I pick some of the willow wisps to feed them which they really love.

Also, I actually like this video on feeding rabbits, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io7uaZ_m6As

Also, I should add, on all the American sites they always say feed timothy hay but in NZ people usually feed meadow hay.
Click to expand...

You've been super helpful! I'll have to look into growing more herbs in the garden, along with weeds.

As for buying meadow hay off trademe, I can't seem to find any in my area, and so shipping would be super expensive. Most auctions are up north too, unfortunately.
I wish I had a park so readily available with rabbit food as you have :lol:
 
Tbgb1912 You must live somewhere really remote :? It must be somewhere really far north or really far south. I'm so curious, where do you live? I'm in Wanganui, which is such a small town, but theres lots of pasture land, so can always find hay although sometimes I have to drive an hour to get it.

I'm worried that you can't get enough hay :( You really need to feed hay to keep your rabbits healthy, their whole digestive tract relies on the long stringy fiber in grass to keep things healthy in their intestines and also, the sandpapery roughness of grass is what keeps their back teeth ground down and healthy.

Also, your babies are really going to need to eat hay to keep them healthy, they start nibbling hay in the nest before they start eating anything else, at around 12 days, and you aren't really supposed to give babies fresh greens until 4-6 weeks, or they get enteritis, diarrhoea. Hay keeps the from getting mushy poo and diarrhoea.

Also, mini-lops in New Zealand are prone to malocclusion, teeth problems, it runs in a lot of the lines here, people are always posting on the NZ rabbit Facebook pages there mini-lops with teeth problems. So, hay is especially recommended for them to keep their teeth worn down.

Don't mean to keep harping on and on about hay, but its a really important part of their diet—
Its fully explained in this article here.
http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/grass-hay.asp
The main component of every rabbit's diet should be fresh grass or hay (dried grass). Its high fibre content is the single most important thing in maintaining good dental and intestinal health. Without fibre, the digestive system cannot move food through the gut and your rabbit's teeth, which grow continually, will not wear down and could grow painfully long.
Click to expand...
 
alforddm":2627q4ji said:
Can you save grass from your lawn and dry it? Many people in the US do that to avoid buying hay.
Click to expand...


Unfortunately we don't have enough grass on our lawn at the moment, the buns got too excited one day when I let them out for a couple of hours unsupervised and absolutely rooted the lawn, digging tunnels everywhere. I was not impressed :lol: we've reseeded the lawn and are waiting for it to grow back, but it's not handling too well with the winter weather coming in.
How long would it take to dry it anyway? What is the method? <br /><br /> -- Sun May 10, 2015 8:45 pm -- <br /><br /> Update: I found a willow tree out walking, and decided I'd sneak some branches home and the buns love them! Wish I could grow a willow in the back yard :lol:
 
Grass from a lawn mower shouldn't be used. Over and over again people have reported sick or dead animals from using mown grass. Initial everyone was saying the lawn mowers were getting things like oil and gas on the grass but it happened with electric mowers. The best explanation so far is that the tiny pieces ferment too easy. There are some push cutters on the market that cut the grass in one long strand and collect it. Most who want to dry hay let a section of yard/field grow tall and cut with a scythe like people did hay many years ago.
 
squidpop":nkuik09e said:
Tbgb1912 You must live somewhere really remote :? It must be somewhere really far north or really far south. I'm so curious, where do you live? I'm in Wanganui, which is such a small town, but theres lots of pasture land, so can always find hay although sometimes I have to drive an hour to get it.

I'm worried that you can't get enough hay :( You really need to feed hay to keep your rabbits healthy, their whole digestive tract relies on the long stringy fiber in grass to keep things healthy in their intestines and also, the sandpapery roughness of grass is what keeps their back teeth ground down and healthy.

Also, your babies are really going to need to eat hay to keep them healthy, they start nibbling hay in the nest before they start eating anything else, at around 12 days, and you aren't really supposed to give babies fresh greens until 4-6 weeks, or they get enteritis, diarrhoea. Hay keeps the from getting mushy poo and diarrhoea.

Also, mini-lops in New Zealand are prone to malocclusion, teeth problems, it runs in a lot of the lines here, people are always posting on the NZ rabbit Facebook pages there mini-lops with teeth problems. So, hay is especially recommended for them to keep their teeth worn down.

Don't mean to keep harping on and on about hay, but its a really important part of their diet—
Its fully explained in this article here.
http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/grass-hay.asp
The main component of every rabbit's diet should be fresh grass or hay (dried grass). Its high fibre content is the single most important thing in maintaining good dental and intestinal health. Without fibre, the digestive system cannot move food through the gut and your rabbit's teeth, which grow continually, will not wear down and could grow painfully long.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I'm in Blenheim where all our land is vineyards :lol: we have a great supply of straw, but it's so much harder to find and more expensive when it comes to hay. I do have some, but like I said, it's $3 for a pillow case size full, which lasts about 2-3 days, whereas a whole bale of straw here is $8.50 - crazy right? I do realise the importance of both hay and grass, and my buns aren't going without - I go out of my way to find grass :lol:
Looking on Trademe, I found an auction - however it also contains clover and the grasses - would this be okay for them to be eating daily? Bonus free postage ;D https://touch.trademe.co.nz/listing/view/885315977
 

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