feeding

[~English~Lop~Lover~]

There are so many different ideas on how to feed rabbits. WE have been giving hay and pellets with a carrot every night. Do they need anything else? Some sights say to only give hay and veggies and fruites with pellets as treats. But I do not know what is best.

 

[Imbrium]

about 1/4-1/2 cup pellets per 6 lb body weight daily is the recommended amount for adults. bunnies should always have unlimited hay.

carrots are high in sugar - they shouldn't have very much. most of the fresh food part of their diet should be leafy greens. this site has a veggie list with info on how much to feed:
http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html
this site also includes a list of high calcium veggies (which the first one doesn't), which should also be fed in moderation: http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#greens

 

[caustin4]

This is off topic, but I saw your username and got super excited! I'm a fellow English lop lover. I have two of my own and my boyfriend has one, yet I still can't get enough of them!!

 

[ldoerr]

My rabbits get limited pellets, unlimited hay, and 3-4 differnt kinds of leaffy green veggies each day. They always have access to water. For treats they get raisens or dried papaya pieces.

 

[Blue eyes]

I really like the 3bunnies site and have recommended it often. (Imbrium posted the link). What I like is their thorough explanation of feeding and the list of veggies that includes which ones are too high in calcium or sugar and so need to be limited.

Carrots are a super sugary treat that many say should be limited to no more than about a 1" slice per day at most.

The general consensus, however, seems to be (for adult rabbits), limited pellets, unlimited hay and then daily (dark) green veggies.

I think though that you will appreciate the 3bunnies link.

 

[Imbrium]

the downside of the 3 bunnies link is that it doesn't mention high OA content, nor does it differentiate between "leafy greens" and other veggies (and there's a pretty big difference in the amounts they should be allowed to eat). with that and the HRS link I gave combined, though, you get a really good picture of what a rabbit's diet should be

 

[Blue eyes]

Hmmm... 3bunnies does list out kale, mustard grns, spinach & parsley (all leafy greens) as being high in calcium and so should be limited.

Here's another site on feeding veggies too:
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Food/Food_main.htm

 

[Imbrium]

yeah, 3 bunnies has calcium info/HRS has oxalic acid info.

spinach, mustard greens and parsley are on both lists; however, carrot tops and kale (and possibly others - I haven't really looked in a while) aren't high in OA and aren't listed as things that should be limited on the HRS site. they ARE listed as things that should be limited on 3 bunnies, though. how limited the "high calcium but not high OA" veggies need to be depends on the age of the bunnies (matters less in little ones in the 12 week-7 mos range 'cause they're growing) and the individual rabbit's tolerance for calcium.

 

[Blue eyes]

It's difficult to keep it all straight. Collard greens are listed as fine on the 3bunnies site but then I saw somewhere else that it's too high in something (can't remember) and should be fed in limited quantities only.

 

[Imbrium]

yeah, who knew there was so much to know about veggies, lol

 

[~English~Lop~Lover~]

I know I love them!

 

[~English~Lop~Lover~]

That is I love English Lops