Safe food for 16 week old dwarf hotots

[minipudge18]

Good day to everyone here at ROF! I'm just wondering if the food I'm currently giving and will be giving is safe for dwarf hotots at 16 weeks of age.

Here is what we feed them:

From the time we got them (@8 weeks old), we gave them Nutriphase rabbit formula and an unlimited amount of Kaytee Timothy Hay. They both just finished their first bag of rabbit formula a week ago and decided to get the Wild Harvest Rabbit blend which is full of seeds and other treats. We got them baked croissants and Mixed berry and nut treats.

Are these too much for them?

I got another bag of Nutriphase as their regular feed and will use the Wild Harvest rabbit blend as a treat instead. The Timothy hay is still unlimited for them. I hope I'm not overfeeding them with these food:

Another question: is it safe to give them unlimited timothy hay? We limit the pellets and treats but not the hay..

Thank you in advance! I hope you could enlighten me with this issue.

 

[Tweetiepy]

unlimited hay is good until they're 6 months I think they can have alfalfa but mine doesn't like alfalfa so I give him timothy instead. I had Nutriphase too in the beginning, it's alfalfa based I think - I just took out the orange bits and gave them as treats instead, once they hit 6 months I switched to a timothy based pellet. The stuff with the seeds i don't think is good for them. Some feed alfalfa pellets all through their lives, if they don't eat unlimited amounts, I think they should be okay (alfalfa has lots of calcium which is harmful to them later if they have too much). maybe a more experienced owner can fill in the blanks

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Give them as much hay as they want. Timothy is great, but you should add some alfalfa as well until they are about 6-8 months old. Alfalfa hay has some extra calories and nutrients that timothy does not have, so is good for young growing rabbits.

The Nutraphase pellets are not the best, but should be fine for now. There are much worse pellets out there. When they get to be about 6-8 months, you should switch to something else as those pellets are a bit rich for adult pet rabbits. I believe that Petsmart does sell Oxbow which is a good pellet.
I would avoid giving the seed mix, but since you have it you could give a small amount a couple times a week. I would not give more than about 1 tablespoon per rabbit.
The seed stick is not good for rabbits. Seed and the other sugary stuff can make them fat and upsets the GI bacteria which can lead to other issues. If you do use it, only give it for maybe an hour a couple times a week.
I have no idea what is in the croissants, but they probably aren't good either. Again, 1 a week probably won't hurt, but I would not buy them again.

If you are looking for good treats, try some dried fruit (no sugar added), fresh fruit, or veggies. My rabbits love veggies and small bits of dried fruit and don't get store bought treats.

 

[minipudge18]

Thanks Tweetiepy and Kate! I will just have to let them finish the food that we bought. I figured I'll give the seed mix 2x a week. I have no seed sticks. The other box is like a mixture of seeds and treats with no pellets, perhaps one small treat a day for every rabbit.

The croissant treat, I break one apart since it looks too big for them. I'll give it to them only once a week. I give them fresh carrots, pears and apples at times.

Thanks again!!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Probably an alfalfa based pellet till they are six months and unlimited alfalfa hay too. It has a much higher calcium content and more protein which help while they are growing. At six months, then, you transition them to timothy based products and can phase in fresh veggies too,

 

[minipudge18]

Thanks to everyone! I returned the other treats and seed mix. I just kept the Alfalfa based pellets and the Timothy hay. I'll just stick with fresh baby carrots and fruits as treats. I'll try to get alfalfa hay for them.

 

[maxysmummy]

really wouldnt suggest baked croissants...

and TBH the pellets on the top right look much better than on the left. corn etc is not good for rabbits.

it's better to get a "boring" looking pellet, rather than a pellet mix. pellet mixes just encourage them to selectively eat and more often than not it has things that aren't so good for rabbits.

oxbow pellets are failsafe, and i've heard Kaytee complete in america is also just as good but cheaper.