Rabbit living a hay free life

[Niomi]

I know that you have a lot of hay pellets, but you could buy a small bag of alfalfa pellets and mix it in with his hay pellets to up his weight before the procedure.

 

[nat1234]

yup im planning on grabbing some soon to mix in

 

[nat1234]

would oxbow young rabbit pellets be a good choice i'd like to get alfalfa pellets in store rather than order more online if possible

 

[Niomi]

Yes, anything with alfalfa. There are rabbits that have a problem with too much calcium, which is why alfalfa is usually not recommended, but most rabbits are fine with it. In my rabbit, alfalfa saved his life.

 

[nat1234]

ok thank you

 

[Kellyann]

When we first brought Alf home he had such a varied diet, including, if you can imagine a tsp of cheerios cereal with tiny chopped up fruit and almond milk for breakfast! My parrot had the same.
Alf had free choice Timothy hay or another grass hay and free choice pellets! He weighed 1400 grams at Christmas and I fimally realized he was morbidly obese. Our vet told us to feed hay only with 1 tsp pellets a day and 1/2 c leafy greens.
In march he had a mild g i stasis ( he is a dwarf lionhead x angora) and weighed 1335 gms. In june he weighted 1288 grams but now we cant get his weight over 1220 gms. We were told to give him fresh timothy grass(we are hay producers) and he has an appt on wednesday to have his teeth checked. I am finding mixed info about fresh grass vs dried (hay) for their digestion and teeth? Alfalfa is not only richer but has too much calcium leading to sludge in the urine and stones. Or so I was told.

 

[Niomi]

Some rabbits don't do well on alfalfa pellets because some rabbits have a problem with calcium. Other rabbits can eat alfalfa all of there life and never have a problem with it. If a rabbit is overweight, then timothy pellets are the best because they are not fattening. Since alfalfa is higher in calories, it can be a life saver for rabbits that are underweight. Rabbits with bad teeth usually are underweight and may need the extra calories that alfalfa can provide. If an elderly person had teeth problems and were not getting enough calorie, we would give them a can Ensure. That is how I think of alfalfa for elderly underweight rabbits. Nuts are not good for rabbits, and processed cereal is on the PETA list of foods you should never feed a rabbit. I have read that giving too much fresh grass can cause diarrhea in rabbits that are not used to it. The reason is because fresh grass has a higher water content. My rabbits have never had a problem with fresh grass. What I feed my rabbits depend on their individual needs.

 

[Mackenzie Salm]

Get apple wood sicks my rabbits go crazy for them and it keeps their teeth down. Don't get the really small ones from the pet store though get bigger ones or they won't even notice it more or less care about it.

 

[Mackenzie Salm]

When I fed my foster rabbit timothy pellets, and it made no noticeable difference. The biggest problem was keeping his weight up. On timothy pellets, his weight would get so low that he would wobble when he tried to hop because he would get so weak. He needed the alfalfa because timothy did not give him enough calories. In order to file his teeth, the vet had to put him under anesthesia, so he needed to be as healthy as possible to make it through the procedure. Trying timothy pellets is a good idea if he healthy and not too underweight. My foster did eat hay at the end of his life, but I have no idea why he decided to eat it. In the end he did have to be put to sleep, because the roots of his teeth were effecting his eyes, causing pain. He died last year at the age of 12. I fostered 6 of his offspring, and 3 of them had the same problem only worse, probably due to inbreeding.

Wow he was an old guy. Rabbits live like 10-12 years. I'm surprised he would live so long being a foster bunny his whole life(I think) I mean I don't know his backstory but thats impressive. I don't want to sound bad I mean like if he was abused when he was younger but again I don't know if he was.

 

[Niomi]

Get apple wood sicks my rabbits go crazy for them and it keeps their teeth down. Don't get the really small ones from the pet store though get bigger ones or they won't even notice it more or less care about it.

My rabbits love branches from our crab apple tree. They like it fresh cut because they like the fresh bark. They will not eat dried apple branches. After I cut and wash off the branches, I put them in the freezer for a couple of days to kill any bugs that might be on them. I had rabbits before that also liked lilac branches.

 

[Niomi]

Wow he was an old guy. Rabbits live like 10-12 years. I'm surprised he would live so long being a foster bunny his whole life(I think) I mean I don't know his backstory but thats impressive. I don't want to sound bad I mean like if he was abused when he was younger but again I don't know if he was.

He was picked up by animal control as a stray with a pregnant rabbit of the same breed, and they were estimated to be one year old. He was put in foster care, but the foster put them in a hutch and neglected them. They had a litter of kits, which the foster never even noticed until the female was pregnant again. Then he went to another foster that was overwhelmed with 22 rabbits, so then I ended up with him and the female and 5 adult offspring. My guess is that he was fed only pellets until he got into his second foster home, and by then he wouldn't eat it.