Eating more hay than pellets

[minipudge18]

One of my dwarf hotots eat more timothy hay than pellets. Is this just ok?
It seems that he prefers hay over the pellets. I give the same alfalfa based pellets eversince I got them. Now they are both 6months old, i will swith them soon to timothy based pellets.

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

Personally, I would cut back the hay and up the pellets. But I strongly rely on pellets. They are nutrtion packed. Most people I know who do feed hay, its not ment to be their entire diet.

Others on here will disagree, some will agree. All the years I've had rabbits, hay is a treat, not their sole diet.

 

[jcottonl02]

It's FANTASTIC that he is eating lots of hay. His diet should include lots of hay daily. He is going to have happy teeth and a happy gut.
As long as he is not LOSING weight then eating lots of hay and not as many pellets is probably the best diet he could be on! In my opinion.
If he doesn't like his pellets that much then why not introduce him to veggies? My rabbits adore veggies and get lots every day. Remember when you introduce any new food do it one at a time, and slowly, so u can monitor how it affects them.


Jen

 

[maxysmummy]

a rabbits diet should be 80 to 90% hay... so its a good thing

 

[Nancy McClelland]

The figures above are the ideal to shoot for. Our Vet feels that you shouldn't give a rabbit any pellets--only hay and fresh vegetable. Others say pellets by themselves are just fine. Most, however from our investigation prefer the bulk being hay with pellet and fresh vegetables to supplement.

 

[BettyJackPenny]

Nancy McClelland wrote:

The figures above are the ideal to shoot for. Our Vet feels that you shouldn't give a rabbit any pellets--only hay and fresh vegetable. Others say pellets by themselves are just fine. Most, however from our investigation prefer the bulk being hay with pellet and fresh vegetables to supplement.

Hi, I have come on this forum searching for this imformation and can't believe I've found it this quickly.
Soon after getting my 3rd rabbit I have stopped giving her pellets completly. To start with I was just doing it because they gave her dierea but 2 days has ran into 2weeks!

But she seems so happy and has gone from 1.25 kilo at 7 weeks to 1.4 at 9 weeks.
So i'm guessing her diet is good as it is.
She is have lots of hay, lots! about 4-5 carrots and 2 wheatabix a day. Plus she has fruit twigs and a little dried out bread for a treat.

One thing I have noticed is that the poo of my other two pellet eating rabbits is almost black and there urine is stinky yet my bun not on pellets has very light brown poos and you can't smell the urine.

Any help or suggestion welcome

 

[Sweetie]

Joseph: Do not cut back on the hay at all. A rabbits diet is about 90% hay. In the wild they eat mostly grasses, veggies and fruit. Their main diet is HAY.

I think that a lot of us on here will diagree with you AndersonsRabbits, that hay is not the main diet of rabbits. Rabbits need more fiber in their diet to help them stay healthy.

A rabbits diet is: mainly hay, limited pellets(if any), water, veggies, and fruit. I feed my two rabbits hay and water and they are doing wonderfully. They rarely get sick because of their diet. On a very seldom ocassion I give them some veggies and fruit, this is only when I can afford them. The hay also keeps the rabbits teeth at proper length. Pellets in my opinion are only to keep the weight on the rabbit.

 

[tamsin]

Hay is just dried grass and grass is what rabbits are designed to eat. You can't get more natural and therefore healthy than a diet that is mostly hay.

Pellets are useful in that the contain an artificially balanced source of vitamins, which a wild rabbit would get by munching on a few other plants in addition to hay. You can achieve the same thing by feeding a good range of fresh plants/veg but pellets are more convenient.

Pellets need to be moderated. Pellets are useful for breeders because their rabbits use more resources. Wild rabbits would only breed when grass and plants are at their most nutrient rich, and can therefore support pregnancy and milk production. For a pet rabbit (particularly one that is neutered) the same level of calories a high pellet diet provides would be too rich and create a high risk of obesity. An average pet rabbit only needs a small quantity of pellets and only as a back up source of vitamins, not for the calories.

 

[maxysmummy]

BettyJackPenny wrote:

Nancy McClelland wrote:

The figures above are the ideal to shoot for. Our Vet feels that you shouldn't give a rabbit any pellets--only hay and fresh vegetable. Others say pellets by themselves are just fine. Most, however from our investigation prefer the bulk being hay with pellet and fresh vegetables to supplement.

Hi, I have come on this forum searching for this imformation and can't believe I've found it this quickly.
Soon after getting my 3rd rabbit I have stopped giving her pellets completly. To start with I was just doing it because they gave her dierea but 2 days has ran into 2weeks!

But she seems so happy and has gone from 1.25 kilo at 7 weeks to 1.4 at 9 weeks.
So i'm guessing her diet is good as it is.
She is have lots of hay, lots! about 4-5 carrots and 2 wheatabix a day. Plus she has fruit twigs and a little dried out bread for a treat.

One thing I have noticed is that the poo of my other two pellet eating rabbits is almost black and there urine is stinky yet my bun not on pellets has very light brown poos and you can't smell the urine.

Any help or suggestion welcome

Hello, from what I can see there are a few changes that need to be made

Firslt carrots should be q treat only meaning less than a tablespoon full per day. Wheatbix and bread should be cut out

Also please make sure you are feeding a good quality pellet with over 16% protei , less than 3% fat and around 25% fibre. What brand are you feeding?

 

[kirbyultra]

maxysmummy wrote:

BettyJackPenny wrote:

Nancy McClelland wrote:

The figures above are the ideal to shoot for. Our Vet feels that you shouldn't give a rabbit any pellets--only hay and fresh vegetable. Others say pellets by themselves are just fine. Most, however from our investigation prefer the bulk being hay with pellet and fresh vegetables to supplement.

Hi, I have come on this forum searching for this imformation and can't believe I've found it this quickly.
Soon after getting my 3rd rabbit I have stopped giving her pellets completly. To start with I was just doing it because they gave her dierea but 2 days has ran into 2weeks!

But she seems so happy and has gone from 1.25 kilo at 7 weeks to 1.4 at 9 weeks.
So i'm guessing her diet is good as it is.
She is have lots of hay, lots! about 4-5 carrots and 2 wheatabix a day. Plus she has fruit twigs and a little dried out bread for a treat.

One thing I have noticed is that the poo of my other two pellet eating rabbits is almost black and there urine is stinky yet my bun not on pellets has very light brown poos and you can't smell the urine.

Any help or suggestion welcome

Hello, from what I can see there are a few changes that need to be made

Firslt carrots should be q treat only meaning less than a tablespoon full per day. Wheatbix and bread should be cut out

Also please make sure you are feeding a good quality pellet with over 16% protei , less than 3% fat and around 25% fibre. What brand are you feeding?

The concerns by maxysmummy are very valid indeed. Cutting pellets out of their diet completely could be too drastic because the pellets do provide nutrients that bunnies need to stay healthy. If you are going to cut out pellets totally, make sure you feed a wide variety of greens as a source of vitamins and minerals. Hay won't be able to provide all of those things.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

BettyJackPenny wrote:

Nancy McClelland wrote:

The figures above are the ideal to shoot for. Our Vet feels that you shouldn't give a rabbit any pellets--only hay and fresh vegetable. Others say pellets by themselves are just fine. Most, however from our investigation prefer the bulk being hay with pellet and fresh vegetables to supplement.

Hi, I have come on this forum searching for this imformation and can't believe I've found it this quickly.
Soon after getting my 3rd rabbit I have stopped giving her pellets completly. To start with I was just doing it because they gave her dierea but 2 days has ran into 2weeks!

But she seems so happy and has gone from 1.25 kilo at 7 weeks to 1.4 at 9 weeks.
So i'm guessing her diet is good as it is.
She is have lots of hay, lots! about 4-5 carrots and 2 wheatabix a day. Plus she has fruit twigs and a little dried out bread for a treat.

One thing I have noticed is that the poo of my other two pellet eating rabbits is almost black and there urine is stinky yet my bun not on pellets has very light brown poos and you can't smell the urine.

Any help or suggestion welcome

I agree with the others. Fresh greens would be a better choice than carrots. And cut out the wheatabix.

I'm guessing the pellets you're feeding are alfalfa pellets. I've noticed a marked difference in the odour of Gus's urine when he's on alfalfa vs. timothy pellets. Also hay poops are lighter in colour and fluffier than pellet poops.

Hope that helps!

Rue