Raising and Cranberries

[Thumperina]

Exactly - how many pieces can I give?
I know, I am not supposed to feed them on a regular basis, but still - how many is not too much?
Is sunflower oil that some dried cranberries have as ingredient OK for them?
Same question about carrots and apples - what amount a day is OK?
I know this sounds like a lot of sugar but carrots are being their favorite treat at this time.

Another question I had: if pellets were not eaten, how soon should I replace them (throw them away and get new)?

 

[Imbrium]

http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html says "about 1 tablespoon per 2 lbs of body weight per day" for non-leafy greens (like carrots) and "about 1 teaspoon per 2 lbs of body weight per day" for fruits... I would consider those the absolute maximum amounts to feed (I typically feed slightly less fruit, only feed it about 5 days a week and only feed non-leafy greens on rare occasions... this week, they're getting broccoli as their non-leafy green, so they still get fruit but I think carrots on top of fruit is a bit much in one day)

as for pellets, if they aren't all getting eaten, I recommend cutting back a little bit each day until you find that they're all getting eaten

 

[LakeCondo]

If they're eating plenty of treats it's no wonder the pellets aren't getting eaten. I'd cut back on the treats before the pellets.

 

[Blue eyes]

If they aren't eating their pellets, then they are getting too many other sweets. Rabbits tend to eat sweets over anything else (just like me, lol!)

What you want is to be sure they are happily eating lots and lots of hay, some fresh greens, and daily pellets. If all of that is regular and consistent, only then should they receive any treats at all (IMO).

Remember, treats should just be occasional. Imbrium's amounts for carrots and fruit refer to proper daily amount, but not combined. In other words, if you feed fruit one day in the amount suggested, then they don't get carrot also. It's one or the other.

 

[Imbrium]

when I was thinking pellets not being eaten, I assumed young rabbits that were allowed unlimited pellets since I've never known adults getting fed the proper amount for their weight to leave pellets behind

from what HRS says, it would appear that you *can* have both non-leafy greens AND fruits daily... but like I said, I wouldn't give fruit and carrot in the same day due to carrots being far more sugary than other non-leafy greens.

 

[Thumperina]

I have rabbits under 6 month of age and rabbits between 6 months and a year all together. This is a reason why they get unlimited pellets. Older rabbits are not big pellet eaters, though. I would say that younger rabbits are those who eat most of the pellets.
Thanks for the guidelines guys.