Pellets and/or vegetables

[BEAUKEZRA]

I understand that rabbits should have limited pellets but my rabbits seem to get a lot of gas and runny poops with vegetables so hay and pellets make up the majority of the diet. They get vegetables only as an occasional treat and I know I might get a lot of criticism but I free feed pellets. They just nibble throughout the day and are very healthy. Their poops look great and aren't overweight at all. I've always free-fed them so they don't have the need to run over to the bowl every time I fill it. They seem to eat more hay than pellets anyway. I'm just wondering if anyone else feeds their buns the same way or if I'm just a horrible bunny slave!

P.S. I'm not trying to start a heated debate or anything :biggrin2:.

 

[swanlake]

is it certain types of vegetables? maybe try some others.

when i had my first bunny, i was like 5 and we didn't feed any vegetables, just as treats because we didn't know. we even fed her the junk feed!

she lived to be eight years old.

 

[theevenstarlight]

Some rabbits' stomaches just can't handle vegetables, so if they really are upsetting your rabbits digestive tract, then it is okay not to feed them. I have heard of a few instances where other rabbits could not tolerate greens.

 

[undergunfire]

Morgan will not eat veggies, he just nibbles them a bit. He will eat baby carrots, though. He also eats little hay, so his pellets make up the majority of his diet.

 

[naturestee]

It's ok if you don't feed veggies. They're not really necessary for all rabbits, although some do better with more veggies and less pellets. But pellets should provide all the vitamins and minerals a rabbit needs. As long as the buns eat plenty of hay there is not problem with a no-veggie diet.

I'd rather not free-feed pellets. One reason is that if you measure how much the rabbit eats every day, it's easier to tell when he is starting to go off his feed. Maybe his stomach hurts or he's getting molar spurs. Another is just that not all rabbits will eat enough hay (mine all eat a pile of hay nearly as large as their bodies, which is good), which is necessary for wearing the teeth down properly and to help with digestion. Also, I've seen too many seriously fat rabbits that were free-fed pellets. Sometimes it's hard to tell if a rabbit is overweight until you get your hands on it, because of the way rabbits carry their weight. You should be able to feel a rabbit's ribs without having to press through a lot of fat. And they should definitely not feel like furry Jello, which yes I have seen!

At the least, figure out about how much pellets your rabbit eats in a day and measure that amount out for him, so you can tell how much he is actually eating on a daily basis.

 

[BEAUKEZRA]

The problem is that I have multiple rabbits living together so it would be hard to know who ate what. I can monitor Maddie because she lives alone but it's hard with the others. I know their personalities very well so I always know when one of them isn't feeling well. I do feed some vegetables just not very often.


They all eat a TON of hay so that's good at least.

 

[naturestee]

That's the other good thing with measuring pellets for me. For my buns, all veggies and pellets are finished in 15-30 minutes. They chow down pretty fast, and I can see who is eating and how quickly and can easily determine if somebun is not eating normally. I have a girl with chronic GI issues who I have to keep a close eye on, a foster with chronic molar spurs, and the others will get the rare gas attack or feel a little poorly when molting.