Alfalfa?

[KittyKatMe]

My babies are on a diet of
Unlimited Timothy, Orchard, Oat, and Meadow grass hays
Unlimited Oxbow Young Rabbit pellets
I have always thought it was a good diet, but many people lately have been telling me to switch to Alfalfa. They are on Alfalfa pellets, and I thought it was enough. Does anyone else feed babies grass hays? They have always been on grass, but now I am wondering if I should switch?:?

 

[JBun]

I give my babies timothy and unlimited alfalfa pellets, and they're doing just fine. On some sites they recommend giving alfalfa hay too, but as long as they are getting unlimited alfalfa pellets, I don't know that it really matters all that much. Maybe if you have a larger breed rabbit it might be more beneficial. I have smaller ones myself.

 

[Imbrium]

I feed my babies alfalfa hay... extra protein and calcium are good for them and pellets may not be balanced to give them enough of that stuff without the hay. I suppose it depends on how the pellets are balanced. I feed adult food, since the sherwood food baby formula is only for 12 weeks and younger.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I raise all of my babies, juniors and seniors on grass hay and alfalfa pellets. Younger rabbits (until weaning age) are offered a greater amount of pellets. After weaning, every rabbit basically gets 1/2 cup pellets per day and a hay rack full of grass hay.

I don't push alfalfa hay for young babies, personally. In my experience, it was difficult to transition them to grass hays and the rabbits didn't grow up to be big hay eaters later in life. After the first litter or two I ever had here, I just started with grass hay for all ages. The babies have done well, I notice significantly less cases of "poopy butt" and all my rabbits LOVE their hay!

It's not wrong to feed alfalfa to babies, but it's also fine to raise them on grass hays.

 

[majorv]

Agree with Julie, we give alfalfa based pellets and coastal or timothy hay (grass hay). We've had no problems either. I do have some alfalfa on hand and have given it to youngsters as a treat. We also have one doe who stays thinner thanour others so I give her alfalfa once in a while.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We always gave alfalfa hay and pellet till six months and then transitioned to timothy pellet and orchard grass. Was told by the vet they need the extra protein and calcium while in growth phase.

 

[KittyKatMe]

Thanks! I think I'll stick to the diet I'm on until they are about 7 months old. Also, is it OK to give them papaya tablets? The 'maned' ones shed a lot and occasionally have furry poop. I don't usually give them to my buns until 3 months, but they seem like they would benefit from them. Only the ones with the fur issues. I already give them to my adults, including their mother. Their new owners said they would continue on the papaya tablets if I advised them to, so that's not an issue.

 

[majorv]

We don't usually give the young ones papaya tablets. I've noticed that the adults like them but not so much the younger ones (< 5 months). It shouldn't hurt them if they eat one though. Do you keep the younger ones groomed?

 

[KittyKatMe]

Oh yes...they get groomed daily or every other day. But it still happens. I may just crush one up and put it in their pellets.

 

[lauratunes12]

We were giving Faith Timothy hay, because we didn't know it mattered, but when we just recently found out, we switched her to alfalfa for a while. We'll probably let the bag run out then put her back on Timothy. She likes both, so whatever.