New bunny today...feeding questions ASAP please

[lily2521]

We adopted a bun today, a 2 year old male lop.

The place we got him from couldn't tell me what greens his prior owners gave him, they have only been feeding carrot and papaya. I'm not sure how much of these things he's had. I don't know what pellets they have given him.

I don't know what to do as far as feeding right now. I know hay of course. But can I just start giving him the pellets we have, if it's one he hasn't had before? I didn't know if that would be hard on his tummy.

I also don't know what to do about greens. If I should give some, and if so what? Should I start small with just a little romaine or something like that? I don't really know what to do, especially with greens, because I don't know what he's tolerated, and i dont want to upset his tummy.

Advice please? I'm not sure how to move forward with his diet right now.

 

[MiniLopMad]

Starting small would be best, don't rush greens and pellets onto him because that would upset his tummy.

Maybe slowly increase the amount he gets every couple of days and see how he goes

Hope I helped goodluck

 

[BlazeBunnies]

Give him some hay and like maybe 5-10 pellets with some crushed carrot (this is what I used for my rescued buns)

Second day:
Give him hay again, 10-15 pellets and add a little greens (romaine or Parsley etc...) not too much just introduce them

Third day:
Give him hay everyday and make sure he has unlimited amounts, 15-20 pellets and add a little more greens (if he didn't like the greens you put last time try different ones and see what he likes)

Fourth day:
Hay, 1/3 cup of pellets and add some greens (the ones he likes... If he doesn't like any keep trying different ones, over a period of time)

Fifth day:
Hay, 1/2 cup of pellets and greens

I used this for all my rescued buns and they are all healthy and happy now and there stomachs were not upset at all

 

[Azerane]

Hay is the best thing right now, I would introduce either the pellets or the greens, but not both at the same time. Start with a small amount of pellets, up to 1 teaspoon as suggested. If in 12-24 hours you see no upsets, increase that amount the next day to 1 tablespoon until you are feeding about 1/4 cup pellets daily.

After he's settled onto the pellets, then I would introduce the greens, introducing both at once is more likely to cause upsets. Start with a small, coin-sized leaf of one type of green. If there's no upsets, the next day you can increase the amount given, and then the following day. After 1 week with no problems, you can then add a second leafy green in the same manner.

MC Bunnies method seems to work perfectly fine, I just tend to err on the side of caution since I found Bandit to me somewhat sensitive to new feeds if not introduced slowly enough.

 

[lily2521]

Thank you so much! He's been eating hay, and drinking, so I'm happy about that. He just woke up so I gave him 1 tsp. of pellets, so far he hasn't eaten them, but we'll see. I know it's been a busy day for him. I think I'll try just starting with pellets, and gradually go from there, I don't want to do too much at once and risk an upset tummy, especially since his diet is completely changing. Thanks again

 

[lily2521]

Well, I offered pellets, and of course hay, he's been eating the hay, but so far hasn't touched the pellets. I'm not too worried about it right now, but at some point he should eat the pellets, right?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Our vet says they only need veggies and unlimited hay--their natural diet. I give mine only a tiny amount of pellet and most don't touch it very much. They do love their orchard grass and veggies. Mine get cilantro, parsley, italian parsley, romaine lettuce, and a small slice of apple in the morning. The evening regimen is the same except no romaine or apple--they get a couple of dandelion greens and a small slice of carrot. I also give them timothy cubes and orchard grass for all day consumption and a tablespoon of pellets at night.