Starving?

[Stormageddon]

So the bun I rescued recently acts like he is starving every time I feed him his pellets.
I have him at 1/4 a cup twice a day plus his daily salads. Every time he gets his pellets he is basically inhaling them and sometimes even forces the feeding cup down hard when I am putting them into his dish.
Am I not feeding him enough? Or is this a natural response?

 

[majorv]

How much does he weigh? Does he feel underweight? Did you get him from a rescue and if so, did they check him for worms? It's hard to answer your question without a little more information. Assuming he's healthy and a good weight, he may be one of those rabbits who just loves pellets.

 

[Stormageddon]

Oh he is very healthy. No worms, great weight for his breed (took him to the vet myself)
The vet wasn't too sure though what his meals should look like pellet wise (it is hard to find a vet in my area who knows a lot about buns. Still searching!) so his amounts are based on research I have done myself

 

[JBun]

How old is your rabbit? Does he get unlimited amounts of hay to eat when his pellets are gone, and what kind of hay is he fed?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Sounds like most of ours--they think they're starving.

 

[missyscove]

My rabbits too love their pellets. And the two of them split 1/4 cup a day (in addition to unlimited hay and two salads a day). In fact I've convinced them their pellets are treats and they will do tricks for them.
Is your rabbit an adult? How much does he weigh?

 

[BlazeBunnies]

All of my buns get 1cup pellets + oaten hay + Lucerne/oaten chaff + 1 salad and they act like they are starving!

They are just love there food all my buns are healthy and are like yours I wouldn't worry too much!

 

[Stormageddon]

Thanks so much for the responses everyone!

He is just about two, and weighs just a hair under 4 pounds (he is a lion head) he has a litter box, two hay racks and two toilet paper tubes of hay so no worries about not having enough haha!

Glad Stormy isn't the only Bun who goes coo coo for their pellets!

 

[BlazeBunnies]

I have a boy named storm aswell 😂
And I call him stormy and he is a guts! He would try to kill himself if it means he could get just 1/3 more pellets

 

[pani]

Oh yeah, Felix and Clementine get 1/4 cup to share per day, and they go nuts when I grab their bowl or they hear the bag rustling. I swear I feed them regularly! :eats:

 

[Grumbleduck]

I think it's one of the worst things us bunny owners have to face. People thinking we're not taking good care of our babies and not feeding them because the little devils pretend like they've never seen food in their lives! Pixie my little Hotot Lionhead is very eager with his food, I recently submitted a thread in this same category with this video:

https://www.facebook.com/raggamuffin01/videos/10155964819900627/?pnref=story

I SWEAR I feed him, he just loves food. So don't worry if your little bun acts the way he does!

 

[Bonsai]

If there's one thing I have learned in my years of owning rabbits... It's that they will act like they're starving even with a full belly. My girl, Heidi, has nearly gotten me into trouble because my family thought I was starving her (even though she's full figured...) because she had eaten all her pellets and grass but wanted more and it wasn't time yet to feed them again. Rabbits will eat so long as you'll feed them, pretty much! I've yet to find one that won't.

 

[Blue eyes]

I think it's one of the worst things us bunny owners have to face. People thinking we're not taking good care of our babies and not feeding them because the little devils pretend like they've never seen food in their lives! Pixie my little Hotot Lionhead is very eager with his food, I recently submitted a thread in this same category with this video:

https://www.facebook.com/raggamuffin01/videos/10155964819900627/?pnref=story

I SWEAR I feed him, he just loves food. So don't worry if your little bun acts the way he does!

Cute video! Just wanted to mention that it appears that the pellets being fed are not the healthy plain pellets, but the "mixed" kind that are not recommended. Here is an article about this:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html
I see you are fairly new on RO, so this may be a new information for you. Many of us started out the same way feeding the pellets that looked "better" only to find out that this isn't the case.

 

[Blue eyes]

because she had eaten all her pellets and grass but wanted more and it wasn't time yet to feed them again. Rabbits will eat so long as you'll feed them, pretty much! I've yet to find one that won't.

Do be sure that bunny *always* has hay available. There should never be a time when she has "eaten all her grass". Hay should always be available.

 

[Bonsai]

Do be sure that bunny *always* has hay available. There should never be a time when she has "eaten all her grass". Hay should always be available.

It always is! I just meant after she's had her "special" stuff, she acts like she's starving.

 

[MiniLopMad]

Some of my buns go crazy for pellets too! They all have unlimited hay and some go crazy for greens, but pellets are definitely the favourite

I had one bunny, Chilli, who loved his pellets more than anything else! He would eat them so quickly and one day he chocked on his pellets He got aspiration pneumonia and didn't make it.

 

[ladysown]

4 lb rabbit should generally eat 1/2 cup pellets per day as a base to their diet. to that you might add some greens, hay and oatmeal/grain mix.

IF he is in good shape I'd skip the grains except as a once a week treat