introducing hay to pellet only rabbits

[beccasev]

I am getting my first rabbits tomorrow! Assuming the ice storm blows over. Anyway, I am getting 3 does and 1 buck. They are from a nzr breeder. The buck is pure bred. The does are all products of the breeder introducing white lines in to improve his quality. These will be just meat producers but good stock to start. Anyway, the breeder only feeds pellets. I eventually plan to transition to a natural diet with no pellets. How do I introduce hay? I know with other foods, you should go slow. Is it the same with hay? I picked up some orchard/brome grass hay today for them. I will add alfalfa once the pellets are out.

 

[akane]

Hay doesn't usually cause problems especially if it's grass hay. You can usually just dump all you want in the hay feeders. Frequently pellet only rabbits won't eat much hay for months anyway. They don't understand it's good food and just pick at it here and there until they convert. Effectively adjusting themselves to the new food.

 

[beccasev]

Thank you.
Also, I can't get the same pellets the breeder gets. Should I switch to a new brand, then slowly introduce the whole grains and then just wean them off pellets onto a whole grain mix or can I just wean them from the breeders pellets to grains? I'm not sure how much food he will give me. How fast or slow should I transition to whole grains?

 

[dayna]

When bringing them home, the transition will be stressful. I would try to keep as much the same for at least a couple weeks. If they are used to eating pellets, I would slowly move them over to the new kind. Then after a while start changing the diet slowly.

But grass hay should be no problem to offer right away.

 

[akane]

I wouldn't bother with an inbetween pellet if you are never going to use it again. It's even suggested to cold switch them to a grain, generally oatmeal/rolled oats, and grass hay if they have an upset stomach. I would add one grain as 25-50% of the feed mix depending how much of the old pellets you get and then introduce each grain you want in your final mix one by one.

 

[Ramjet]

Give them their pellet ration and toss in some hay , they'll know what to do with it , then gradually you can wean them off of pellets so long as you give them proper fodder.

 

[beccasev]

Thanks everyone! We got them home today and I put then in their temporary homes. The hay mangers were filled and there was a little spilled on the floor. They went right to town on the hay. For never seeing hay in their lives', they sure knew what it was for. I'm still torn on the pellets. He gave me three days worth of pellets. If I could find a smaller bag, I would switch to the inbetween bag and then go to grains. But all I could find was a 50 lb bag. How long will that last with 4 young rabbits getting a cup each daily? Guess I should weigh it and then I can do some math to figure it out.

 

[Ivory]

Hopefully, you won't have a problem transitioning these rabbits from one feed to another.

I've never had a problem changing feeds except with one rabbit, my Beveran buck. I bought him as an adult and he had never been fed anything but pellets. I have had him two years now and no matter what I offer him he would rather starve than eat anything but pellets.

I hope your NZs won't be so fussy.

 

[beccasev]

Me too! They are pretty young though. The buck is about 6 months and the girls are 2-3 months old. So far, they are adjusting well.
I did weigh the food. The 50 pound bag I bought should lastt a little over a month, so it actually won't be that long at all before I can switch to grains. I would feed pellets, but I can't find any without soy, and it's something I feel strongly about. I don't want my meat animals eating soy. So grains it is, which is fine with me. I've been feeding my chickens whole grains for almost a yyear now, so it won't be too big of a deal.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I think-- you can't switch them over too slowly, you can only switch too fast, -so start introducing the grain a little at a time-- and start to back off on pellets / grain ratio a little at a time till you get the feed where you want it. Some rabbits switch just fine-- and some don't like the "fast switch" at all, -- but-- the hay you are giving them will help a lot with the transition, and fiber ratios in the feed can be adjusted by the rabbits to suit them. - as they eat more grain [and less pellets], they will eat more hay to keep the fiber ratio in their "happy zone"