food? right amount?

[sheridan]

I am a bit confused as to what I should be giving my 2. They are rexes, female, about 17-18weeks old and weigh about 4lb each.

I used to give them unlimited hay, and restock their pellet bowl 2x daily.

Now I have limited their pellets to 1/2bowl daily for the 2 of them, unlimited hay and am introducing them to veggies. Currently I sometimes give them 1/3 carrot per day(vet said this) and have introduced parsley and celery.

My question is am I giving enough pellets and how much veggies should they be getting per day? Also how can you make sure they both get enough and 1 rabbit isnt eating most of it?

Different people have said different things:colors::bunnydance::colors::bunnydance:

 

[bunnydude]

I know that alot of the guidelines state that young bunnies (under 6 months), should get unlimited pellets, but I've been feeding Devon limited pellets (1/4 cup) since he was six months old and I never had a problem. So I think they are getting plenty of pellets. Each of my bunnies get 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of mixed greens per day. Be sure to up the ammount slowly, though. Are you giving 1/3 of a baby carrot or 1/3 of a regular carrot? 1/3 of a regular carrot seems like a bit much.

Your last question is one that you'll need to observe for yourself. I can trust that Devon and Amber equally share their food (I've spent alot of time watching them eat meals), but not all bunnies do. So this is dependent on your two individual rabbits.

 

[sheridan]

they tend to be normal carrots i think. Is there any way to measure properly?:shock:

I tried to give them 1inch long strip of celery. They pushed it away!!

I gave them about 4-5 leaves of the parsley to make sure they didnt get an upset stomach. Should I start giving them a couple of veggies a day for about a week then slowly increase it like that?:colors:

 

[bunnydude]

Yes, that would be a good way to acclimate them to veggies.

As for the carrots: I would double-check with your vet. He may have a good reason for having you give them daily carrots.

 

[sheridan]

I might just cut the carrots down. He said they were healthy and looking good. He did say however that although he has had a lot of experience with other types of rabbits, he did not have a lot of experience with rexes. Said it was very rare to have them here. Maybe thats what it is?:colors:

 

[maherwoman]

You should check out the Rabbit 101 section on Feeding Your Rabbits:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12046&forum_id=17

Here's an excellent site (contained in the above site) that lays out completely per age what to feed and how much:
http://www.carrotcafe.com/diet/index.html

Hope that helps!

P.S. I find it funny that I've read and researched the Rabbit 101 so many times that I knew exactly where that article was...LOL!!! It'll be handy when my buns get older so I have to start limiting their food. They're both under six months, so they get unlimited everything right now.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

sheridan wrote:

I tried to give them 1inch long strip of celery. They pushed it away!!

Mine won't eat the celery stalks, but they LOVE the leaves!

 

[JimD]

Laura wrote:

sheridan wrote:

I tried to give them 1inch long strip of celery. They pushed it away!!

Mine won't eat the celery stalks, but they LOVE the leaves!

Same here Laura :?

Those that give celary stalks to their buns are removing the strings first.....riiiight?!?!

~Jim