Food are they the same?

[Rattiemattiesrattery]

How much food is too much for a bunny to eat?

I free feed my buns and I have always done so, however I will fill a 40oz bowl of feed to the girls and they have it gone in under a day. One is about 5-6 months the other is about 3-4 months. My two boys in their cage have a 2lb feeder that they go through every other day.

Is this normal, I mean my lop male *1 year old* eats only about 2 cups of food a day.

They were a lil skinny when I got them but now they are very plump.

They are also getting Hay all day and then veggies twice a day.

Also are they kinda like cats and dogs? As to the point of the better quality food you feed them the less they need to eat and the less they Poo?
With my cats and dogs and rats even I have noticed that cheap food they eat like it is going out of style and they poo ALOT. When they are on the more nutritious and better food they eat barely anything and the poos are less and they shed less. So is it the same thing?

Arty my lop came on Wild Havest Bun food *yes I know it is bad so he is switching over to a slightly better food* and he goes EVERYWHERE. (litter box and all) and the other 4 still go EVERYWHERE but not nearly as much as Arty was doing.

Eventually my shipment of Oxbow bunny feed will come in. Is there something better?
I know Harlan is a good food for rats but is it ok for Buns? It is based with alfalfa however....

Sorry for the Loooooooooooooooooong post and the questions but I am kinda curious....

thanks for all your help.

 

[irishbunny]

After 6 months of age you don't need to free feed anymore and shouldn't because it can cause them to become obese. I have a dwarf bun and the rest are medium sized. The dwarf gets about a third a cup of pellets and the others get a half. Plus unlimited hay, that is what they chew on when they have no other food. They get fruit and veg once or twice a week. If you give them veg everyday then you can cut back on the pellets and vice versa. I'd advise if you are feeding them a low quality pellet to give them more veg. Hope I helped.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Adult rabbits don't need to be free fed. There are very few who can regulate themselves and be a good weight with unlimited pellets. Many will just eat the pellets and leave the hay. A rabbits diet should be mostly hay, then veggies and pellets. Some rabbits only get pellets as a supplement and not a staple in the diet.
2 cups a day is a lot for any rabbit. My dogs only get 1 cup a day each and the larger one is 25 pounds. My Giant Angora only get about 1/2 a cup of pellets a day and my other 2 (about 3.5-4.5 pound) get 1/4 cup per day.
A better pellet doesn't mean you need to feed less and a poorer quality pellets doesn't mean you need to feed more. Many poor quality foods are made to appeal to the pet (for rabbits as well as dogs, cats and other animals). They are full of sugar, seeds and other yummy things that are bad for them. A child might love chocolate, but it isn't something they should eat all the time or is very good for them.

I am not sure if it can make them shed less, but a good food and give them a healthier coat which can decrease shedding. They will still shed and molt though.
Rabbit should poop a lot. The kind of pellet doesn't really effect the amount they poop. It can affect the size of poops, but smaller is not better for a rabbit.

I don't know how old Arty is, but young bunnies can have litter box issues. Males may want to mark their territory and generally don't 'get it' yet. He should get better as he gets older and settles in. Some rabbits take longer to use a litter box than others and it doesn't necessary have to do with the food.

Oxbow is considered to be a high quality pellet. I have 2 buns on it and they both have nice coats and no major issues. They are both at a good weight and have been able to maintain that weight for the 2ish years they have been on it. I don't know anything about Harlan foods, so I can't help there.

 

[elrohwen]

I agree with Korr_and_Sophie that they seem to be getting far too much food. The HRS recommends about 1/4 cup per 5lbs of body weight for adults. For young rabbits, free feeding is ok, but I would start to wean them down to a restricted diet around 6-8 months.

The hay and veggies you give should really be their primary foods (hay predominantly) and by free feeding pellets they're filling up and not eating as much hay as they should. Pellets are high in nutrients, but aren't nearly as good a source of fiber as hay is. Think of it like eating steak - sure you need some protein for a healthy diet, but if you ate just steak all day, you wouldn't really have room for veggies and you would be getting way too much fat and protein. Pellets are about the same thing for rabbits.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

It sounds to me like you're overfeeding them. That's a LOT of food for them to eat in one day! :shock:

I have no idea if better quality pellets will make a rabbit less hungry. In my experience, rabbits are a bit like goldfish and will eat themselves to death (hyperbole ) given the chance. They just never seem to feel full. Even if they're so full their tummies feel like they're gonna pop, they'll still act like they're gonna die at any second if they don't eat something RIGHT NOW. :rollseyes

Gusweighs 8 pounds and gets 1/2 C of Martin(which is considered a better brand)timothy pellets PER DAY (1/4 C in the morning and 1/4 C at night). If it's really cold outside (as it has been),he getsan extra Tbsp of pellets perfeeding.(He also has unlimited hay, veggies at dinnertime, andseveral treats throughout the day.) Even so, he still acts like he's starving all the time...

To tell if a rabbit is a healthy weight, run your hands along your rabbit's side, feeling the rib cage. When you reach the end of the ribs, your should be able to feel a slight indentation, the waist. Fat bunnies will balloon out instead. Remember that you can feel the ribseven inoverweight rabbits, so don't let that fool you! Also, you should be able to feel their spine and hip bones. If you can't, then they need to go on a diet!

Ifound this webpage had some helpful advice about maintaining a healthy weight for your rabbit: http://www.rabbitsinthehouse.org/newsletter/obesity.pdf

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Rattiemattiesrattery]

Well I have always free fed and never had over weight bunnies because they have ALOT of run time. And these guys are in monster cages and play alot.

Right now they came to me underweight *the person that had them was working on fattening them up then they have continued here* they eat hay all day but also go back and munch on their pellets all day too. I give veggies in the morning and in the evening.

They have an indent except my older female which is gonna be vet checked soon to see if she can feel babies, because they weren't separated until after I got them at 5 months and she is getting a bit fat. I felt some pearls in there bigger then poop sizes so I am hoping she's not and it's just me.

But I used to feed Kaytee Rabbit foods *that is what I was raised with giving rabbits and I know nobody likes them now* but my rabbits ate about 1/2 cup a day and would usually leave a lil behind and that was with just a lil hay a day *I didn't know to give it 24/7* And all they got at that time too was 4 peices of lettuce from the produce stand at the corner and a carrot a day.

These past years while I still have used Kaytee I always look for the better stuff *hence the Oxbow on order* with free feed and they had hay 24/7 plus a LARGE Variety of pellets once or twice aday which has always been eaten with some pellets left over.

Now these guys are on kinda cheap *But within the limits* until Oxbow gets here. and on 24/7 hay they eat all their hay and get it replenished.
The pellets I usually do the same thing....

And I know everything sheds hehe It's just nice to try and relieve it a lil bit. ya know ^_^

These guys are all in rather large cages *You can see pics if ya poke around a lil bit* and they get outside run time and inside run time, so they are REALLY REALLY active. In their cage they are doing the bunny 500's. hehe

 

[Torchster]

One thing I must say, is that you do have massive cages! If only every bunny was so lucky!

As far as pellets go, there does seem to be some difference of opinion on that. Not so long ago, pellets were seen as staple of the domestic rabbit diet. Now, some people believe that pellets should be nothing more than a supplement to a proper diet, with hay being the most important thing and always available. The next most important thing being a serving of bunny safe veggies. The finally some quality pellets.

That being said, there are people who free feed pellets and claim that their rabbits do just fine.

My PERSONAL OPINION is that pellets should be limited. I think that rabbits are built to be grazing animals and have adapted to be that way. I think that their bodies are meant to feed on hay and I think that they mostly eat grasses in the wild (although many a wild bun has been known to eat a flower garden every now and then). Pellets pack more energy (calories) than hay.

As such my buns get fresh hay in the morning and at night. In the morning they get a serving of veggies and at night 1/4 cup of pellets for the two of them. And truthfully, a little bit of a wheat thin or a craisin at night, because I can't resist giving a treat to my babies-I'm a softy.

Since yer bunnies are young, the are still pretty active and able to burn off all that energy. Also, if you have a pregant bun, she need lots of extra energy. But as they get older, they will become less active (like all of us-see my spare tire as an example) and that is when weight issues will become most noticable.

Also, there has been some second hand evidence (nothing scientific that I have seen) about the role that pellets play in tooth problems. Some people have had rabbits that got lots of pellets develop molar issues, changed their rabbits diet to include more hay and less pellets...and claim that they have had less molar issues. The theory being that the rabbits spent more time chewing the hay and wore their teeth down (rabbit teeth never stop growing). But again, that isn't a universal finding and far from scientific.

Here is an article about it.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?dept_id=0&siteid=9&acatid=349&aid=774

Just my two cents, hope it helps.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Torchster: The theory on pellets vs. hay is that pellet chewing is an up-and-down action, whereas hay chewing is a side-to-side action and that's why pellets don't grind down the teeth the way the hay does. That and, as you mentioned,it takes longer to chewthe hay than the pellets. (Some days I swear Gus doesn't evenchew his pellets before he swallows them... )

RattiesMattie: Ifyour buns areunderweight (and one is possibly pregnant), then maybe that's why they're eating so much?And maybe, once they're a healthier weight, they'll settle into a more balanced feeding schedule? I dunno. I know some bunnies can be trusted to free feed pellets, but there's lots more that just end up eating their pellets to the exclusion of their hay and veggies andending upoverweight. (See Elrohwen's comment about steak vs. veggies. )

As Torchster pointed out, they do have a nice big cage and they are still quite young, so they're probably okay right now. And if they're eating lots of hay, theneven better.But over the next few months, I'd definitely keep an eye on their weight. If they seem to be getting overweight, then you'll haveconsider restricting their pellets.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Rattiemattiesrattery]

Thanks that helps alot to all the responded and Torchster and Funnybunnymummy alot.

I will be watching alot more carefully, hehe as you can see though they are in massive cages *I like that idea so that they can run and play even if I don't have a chance to let them out they aren't just there. They can play around alot, and boy do they use their place ALOT to run and play ^_^

These guys are always on the go even Arty *the older boy*.

Thanks again ^_^