How much should a baby bunny be eating?

[AliceBunny]

Blinky is about 10 weeks old and weighs about 2.5lbs. When he first came to me he wasn't feeling very well but he's healing up now. When I first got him all I had was timothy hay and the oxbow naturals pellets (breeders didn't send any of his old food or hay with), but I'm now slowly transitioning him onto the Oxbow young rabbit food and alfalfa hay. He doesn't seem to be eating that much. I give him probably 1/4 cup pellets in the morning and by the evening he's usually only eating half of what he has. I make sure he always has pellets and lots of hay. He only nibbles the tiniest bit on timothy hay and so far I haven't seen him eat any of the alfalfa hay.

He also tends to sleep a lot. I know young rabbits are suppose to be more active. When he's in his cage he pretty much just sleeps, wakes up for a few minutes at a time to drink water or eat a few pellets. When he's out of the cage on the bed or floor he does tend to walk around and explore but overall he's really laid back. When I took him to the vet for his eye issue there was no apparent issue with his teeth so I don't think that would be an explanation.

Overall he acts more like a young puppy than a bunny. Sleeping all the time, playing in short bursts and then sleeping some more.

 

[ladysown]

sounds like something isn't quite right with him. Is he eliminating much? Are they very small or odd looking (his poop).
Is he drinking well? Does he have a bottle or a bowl?

Young rabbits do sleep a lot but by 10 weeks they are generally a bit busier and eating a good amount of food as that's when they do their most growing.

 

[AliceBunny]

He seems to be pooping a normal amount, they look large and full of roughage as they should. Occasionally he'll pass a few very small pellets.

He has a bottle and drinks regularity, he has a 32 oz bottle and goes through maybe 8-10 oz per day. I have noticed a couple times his urine looked a little cloudy.

I don't think the people who bred him ever gave him hay as he's never had much of an interest in eating it. He really likes the flowers on Timothy hay but that's about it. I think I can try to get him to eat more by keeping his pellets out of the cage when he is on the floor or bed with me, because it seems like as soon as he's back in his cage he wants to go back to sleep.

 

[AliceBunny]

Do you think he maybe doesn't like the taste of the alfalfa based pellets? And because they're mixed in with the timothy based one he's just avoiding eating anything from the bowl? I feel like when I first got him a week ago he was pretty excited about pellets, and since then his excitement has slowly died away. I only introduced a small amount of the alfalfa pellets 2 days ago though.

 

[squidpop]

If he liked the first pellets better you should probably switch back. I think rabbits do sleep a lot, I've noticed one of the most active times for mine is 5:00-9:00 in the morning so I miss it because I am sleeping, they always sleep all afternoon and then get active again at 5:00 in the evening until sunset.

Its good that you are seeing a fair amount of poo. My 15 week old rabbit eats about 1/4 pellets a day plus hay and she is probably around 2.5lbs and feels fat, plus she gets a hand full of fresh grass and maybe a few dandelion leafes or plantain leafs. I've found that fresh grass can be fed to my young rabbits without causing stomach upset, but if they never have had it you would have to introduce it in small amounts slowly.

 

[AliceBunny]

Thank you! Yeah he might be awake more at night, I tend to go to bed fairly early so it's possible I'm missing most of his activity.

How concerned do I need to be about him not eating alfalfa at this age? At the vets office he was considered to be slightly underweight, but he also came from a questionable background and had been sick with an eye infection most of his life.

I wish I could give him fresh grass but I live in the north so I won't be seeing any green grass for another few months still

 

[ladysown]

you could start him VERY slowly on parsley.

 

[AliceBunny]

Thank you! I think he's starting to eat a bit more of the alfalfa pellets! I decided to give him two bowls of food, one with the Timothy pellets and one with the alfalfa pellets. He's definitely eating more pellets now and I think he is picking at the alfalfa ones a bit.

 

[flemishwhite]

For our voracious Flemmish giant babies..now 4 months and 3 week old, we basically give them all they want to eat. Green leafy vegetables..free carrot tops from the farmer's market (they love carrot tops!), my wife says she's spending over $20 a week on romaine lettuce alone. Their litter boxes (3) are full of oat hay and they love to chomp on that. Pellets...they eat all the pellets they want. They also of course run up to us for treats...so far it's apple slices and banana slices. We are sensitive to the issue of them becoming too fat. So far not a problem. They are girls and with their food supply they are developing noticeable dewlaps. (fatty build up under their chins) Back to the voracious appetite, Flemmish rabbits will typically go to 15 pounds..some to over 20 pounds, so they eat a lot. They have to eat a lot to grow.

By the way. Our Flemmish girls have free 24 hour run of much of the house. They are not caged or penned. Excellent litter box manners...well OK a little teaspoon of pee marking behaviour every now and then. When they get neutered this issue will disappear.

 

[MaryAnne]

Try mixing a few oats in with the pellets. (Plain old Quaker Oats, not quick cook). If he likes those try Oat Hay. I also like the idea of trying out some romaine, celery tops, parsley/cilantro.
Interesting Flemish, my guy doesn't care for carrot tops! I guess it takes all kinds.

 

[AliceBunny]

Thanks guys! He started eating the alfalfa pellets, it just took a few days I also got some new alfalfa hay, this time a local bale hat is much softer and more leafy. The bag of oxbow alfalfa I bought was super thick and hard and broken into small pieces. I think he likes the new alfalfa better but still doesn't eat too much hay. I make see to give him Timothy and alfalfa so he can pick what he likes best. I'll have to try a small bit of oats for a treat and if he likes those ill get a bag of oat hay.

 

[flemishwhite]

Thanks guys! He started eating the alfalfa pellets, it just took a few days I also got some new alfalfa hay, this time a local bale hat is much softer and more leafy. The bag of oxbow alfalfa I bought was super thick and hard and broken into small pieces. I think he likes the new alfalfa better but still doesn't eat too much hay. I make see to give him Timothy and alfalfa so he can pick what he likes best. I'll have to try a small bit of oats for a treat and if he likes those ill get a bag of oat hay.

I'd guess that being in Montana, you can conveniently buy alfalfa hay? Where I live, even though it's the metropolitan Los Angeles area, I can surprisingly buy oat hay, alfalfa, timothy ...even in bales if I want. The near by wealthy community of Palos Verdes allows horses on properties. So there's a feed and grain store nearby that caters to horse owners which allows me to buy oats and also timothy.

A small bag of this stuff is really expensive in pet stores. I feel sorry for rabbit owners that don't have economical access to this stuff that bunnies really like to eat...and it helps wear down their ever growing teeth.

I wonder it its possible to buy a bale of oat hay from Amazon?

 

[AliceBunny]

I can find local hay around here, yes! Sometimes it is surprisingly difficult to get ahold of. I got a big bale of alfalfa from a feed store but sometimes they'll be out of stock and local farmers around here usually aren't willing to sell one bale at a time. So purchases are usually limited to 1+ ton at a time. It's still crazy how much of a markup there is with pet store hay. If you have horses or cattle around here yuan buy a ton of hay (and I mean the actual measurement unit of a ton) and it might cost something like $200-300. For a TON. And the 16oz bag at the store is like $10!

 

[flemishwhite]

I can find local hay around here, yes! Sometimes it is surprisingly difficult to get ahold of. I got a big bale of alfalfa from a feed store but sometimes they'll be out of stock and local farmers around here usually aren't willing to sell one bale at a time. So purchases are usually limited to 1+ ton at a time. It's still crazy how much of a markup there is with pet store hay. If you have horses or cattle around here yuan buy a ton of hay (and I mean the actual measurement unit of a ton) and it might cost something like $200-300. For a TON. And the 16oz bag at the store is like $10!

So, where you live, if you don't want to pay $10 a pound for hay, the next option is to pay $200 to $300 for 2000 pounds!!!!!

I buy oat and timothy hay for $5 a flake. There are 8 flakes per bale..total price of $40 a bale. I don't exactly know how much we consume here. Probably 2 flakes a week. The Flemmish baby's litter boxes are newspaper lined and covered with copious oat hay. They eat a lot of the oat hay....heck...they eat a lot of everything!
..............................
BTW. If you want to buy hay for your bunnies..order HAY. There is an option of ordering STRAW at the food and grain stores. For example, oat hay includes the oat kernals..the oat grain which is very nourishing for the bunnies....lot of B vitamins and nourishment. Oat straw consists of only the stalks..it does not include the oat kernals...oat straw is only cellulose. Oat straw is accordingly cheaper than oat hay. Buy oat hay, timothy hay.

 

[flemishwhite]

I can find local hay around here, yes! Sometimes it is surprisingly difficult to get ahold of. I got a big bale of alfalfa from a feed store but sometimes they'll be out of stock and local farmers around here usually aren't willing to sell one bale at a time. So purchases are usually limited to 1+ ton at a time. It's still crazy how much of a markup there is with pet store hay. If you have horses or cattle around here yuan buy a ton of hay (and I mean the actual measurement unit of a ton) and it might cost something like $200-300. For a TON. And the 16oz bag at the store is like $10!

So, where you live, if you don't want to pay $10 a pound for hay, the next option is to pay $200 to $300 for 2000 pounds!!!!! If you were to buy 2000 pounds of hay at the pet store price of $10 a pound, it'd be $20,000 instead of $200 - $300. Fantastic mark up for the pet stores.

I buy oat and timothy hay for $5 a flake. There are 8 flakes per bale..total price of $40 a bale. I don't exactly know how much we consume here. Probably 2 flakes a week. The Flemmish baby's litter boxes are newspaper lined and covered with copious oat hay. They eat a lot of the oat hay....heck...they eat a lot of everything!
..............................
BTW. For people reading this, if you want to buy hay for your bunnies..order HAY. There is an option of ordering STRAW at the food and grain stores. For example, oat hay includes the oat kernals..the oat grain which is very nourishing for the bunnies....lot of B vitamins and nourishment. Oat straw consists of only the stalks..it does not include the oat kernals...oat straw is only cellulose. Oat straw is accordingly cheaper than oat hay. Buy oat hay, timothy hay.

 

[Azerane]

Straw and hay aren't the same thing unfortunately, which is why straw is cheaper. It's drier, often sun dried and has very little in the way of nutrients that hay does, which should still be soft and green