Feeding a pair

[Kaoticness]

So as someone with a bonded pair now, how does feeding work? They have a large bowl and I scoop in 4 tablespoons of pellets, they both don't eat it straight away they pick through it throughout the day. I didn't want to just give them 2 tablespoons and someone eats all of it and another doesn't eat at all. They still have unlimited hay at all times too.

 

[JBun]

I wouldn't worry about it if they're both grazing. It's usually only a problem if one is scarfing it down and the other isn't. I always just put my rabbits pellets in a bowl to share. Though mine usually ate theirs up in the first 20 minutes, but they only got a small portion, twice a day.

I think yours should get what they need when they want it. They don't sound like they're too worried about it. And as long as they have unlimited free fed good quality green grass hay that isn't too coarse, plus a serving of veggies each day, they should be getting most of the nutrients they need. Pellets are really mostly just a vitamin supplement.

 

[The Bunny Room]

So as someone with a bonded pair now, how does feeding work? They have a large bowl and I scoop in 4 tablespoons of pellets, they both don't eat it straight away they pick through it throughout the day. I didn't want to just give them 2 tablespoons and someone eats all of it and another doesn't eat at all. They still have unlimited hay at all times too.

I provide two separate bowls for everything. Two water bowls, two pellet bowls and two salad bowls. George can be pushier than Gracie and this way, they both can eat without competition.

When I first adopted Hazel and Maude, I didn’t know they could be competitive. They came in one small hutch with one bowl. Maude is bigger than Hazel, even today. I separated them at six months due to aggression and an injury at puberty (adopted around 5 months.) I was new to rabbits and they were rescues.

So, watch their behavior and when in doubt, create less competition by providing spacious conditions with two feeding areas. If they are bonded and spayed/neutered, they can live very happily together and be incredibly sweet.

George and Gracie are large 12 pound rabbits. They seemed frenzied when they first arrived but once they were placed into a 12 by 3 by 4 enclosure, (3 combined XL dog crates, the dominant mounting behaviors stopped and they became very sweet, calm and gentle with each other.

I hope this helps.

 

[The Bunny Room]

I provide two separate bowls for everything. Two water bowls, two pellet bowls and two salad bowls. George can be pushier than Gracie and this way, they both can eat without competition.

When I first adopted Hazel and Maude, I didn’t know they could be competitive. They came in one small hutch with one bowl. Maude is bigger than Hazel, even today. I separated them at six months due to aggression and an injury at puberty (adopted around 5 months.) I was new to rabbits and they were rescues.

So, watch their behavior and when in doubt, create less competition by providing spacious conditions with two feeding areas. If they are bonded and spayed/neutered, they can live very happily together and be incredibly sweet.

George and Gracie are large 12 pound rabbits. They seemed frenzied when they first arrived but once they were placed into a 12 by 3 by 4 enclosure, (3 combined XL dog crates, the dominant mounting behaviors stopped and they became very sweet, calm and gentle with each other.

I hope this helps.

They have one large hay bin. They seem fine with sharing the hay in one container.

 

[Catlyn]

I'd say keep their feed and things together and give as usual.
My pairs had always shared one of everything after being bonded- one big water bowl, one big litterbox, one big enclosure, one giant tunnel and one portion of the floor with cool ceramic tiles. They had no problems; they would do friendly drinking competitions- if one went to drink, the other would have to run there and also drink. Sometimes they would take turns, other times they would swig side by side. They would graze and lounge together in the litter box. Sometimes they would play "Does your straw taste better than mine? I'll take it to taste-test!" but they wouldn't fight or bicker over it.
For pellets and leafies, they were scatter fed in any case, so they couldn't really get protective of a dish or a single spot of food. I'd just add both bond members' pellet amount and scatter at once, let them have at it as they see fit.
Sometimes i would give them separate little piles or hold one back when they finished eating first and the other hadn't even touched their bit. That rarely happened though. I'd say it only happened if one was sickly or too tired to bother.

 

[Kaoticness]

I've been on radio silence as I've been dealing with a dog issue irl and still getting Starrybun use to me.
They graze throughout the day but I am tempted to cut them back to 2 tablespoons of food(1 of the new mix and 1 of the old mix) and just have that be their diet. The graze on the Oxbow throughout the day cause it's gone by the time I get home.

 

[Kaoticness]

I provide two separate bowls for everything. Two water bowls, two pellet bowls and two salad bowls. George can be pushier than Gracie and this way, they both can eat without competition.

When I first adopted Hazel and Maude, I didn’t know they could be competitive. They came in one small hutch with one bowl. Maude is bigger than Hazel, even today. I separated them at six months due to aggression and an injury at puberty (adopted around 5 months.) I was new to rabbits and they were rescues.

So, watch their behavior and when in doubt, create less competition by providing spacious conditions with two feeding areas. If they are bonded and spayed/neutered, they can live very happily together and be incredibly sweet.

George and Gracie are large 12 pound rabbits. They seemed frenzied when they first arrived but once they were placed into a 12 by 3 by 4 enclosure, (3 combined XL dog crates, the dominant mounting behaviors stopped and they became very sweet, calm and gentle with each other.

I hope this helps.

Back when I had Mammoth he would scarf food down and I did everything possible to try and slow him down to no avil. I'm not sure if his new home has had any luck with changing that. It feels great having another bunny who eats slow.