Suggestion on transitioning diet

[erinmoveit]

Buck is going to be 6months here pretty soon. He is in a tight bond with Peanut (who is 3). Is there a way that I can transition him from pellets with still providing her with the proper nutritoin she needs? Could she be ok to transition away from pellets in a month or so without causing complications?

 

[agnesthelion]

I'm confused...are you saying you aren't gonna feed pellets at all anymore?

 

[wendymac]

:yeahthat: Or do you mean transition him from alfalfa based pellets to timothy? If that's the question, then start mixing a very small amount in with his pellets...and slowly increase the amount of the new one until you're no longer using any of the old ones.

 

[LakeCondo]

Unless a rabbit has an allergy to an ingredient in pellets, rabbits should have at least a small amount of pellets daily for optimum health.

 

[erinmoveit]

I'm sorry that was confusing. I mean I want to start decreasing the amount of pellets, I am going to be switching them to Timothy pellets though too. The main question is decreasing the amount of pellets and start introducing greens. Mainly because of the age difference

 

[LakeCondo]

As you introduce greens, the amount of pellets they eat will probably decrease automatically. It will help if you give the green first & wait until either they eat them or about 90 minutes have past, whichever comes first. Remove any uneaten greens & give pellets. If you don't have time in the morning to do this, give greens only in the evening if they aren't immediately gobbled up.

I would introduce greens now, but wait a month or so to transition from alfalfa to timothy pellets. One change at a time is what I'd suggest. Just keep away from carrot tops for now, because of the calcium content.

 

[agnesthelion]

Well, I would introduce greens slowly. One at a time (so you know if it causes any runny poop) I switched pellets very slowly too. Added a little each day to the old pellets. It probably took me a couple weeks to make the switch completely.

You might want to get pellets switched over first and THEN do veggies. Too big of a diet change all at once can be detrimental to buns.

Good luck!

 

[erinmoveit]

So you don't think there will be any issues with Peanut being so young? I don't know if there is more health risk transitioning Buck past 6 months or Peanut before 6 months.

I'm trying not to be too overprotective of Peanut. Because Molly (her littermate) died so young I think I've been treating her more fragile. Sometimes I'm afraid to hold here even.

 

[cwolfec]

LakeCondo wrote:

It will help if you give the green first & wait until either they eat them or about 90 minutes have past, whichever comes first.

This is a great idea and I am going to put this plan into action! I think this is a really good way to monitor how they are feeling too. If somebun normally eats all their veggies every day, and then one day there are some left over, you can keep an eye on them to make sure they feel alright! Good stuff!

 

[agnesthelion]

So you don't think there will be any issues with Peanut being so young? I don't know if there is more health risk transitioning Buck past 6 months or Peanut before 6 months.

^^^I was under the impression that alfalfa pellets are never a necessity. Some feed them to babies but some switch to Timothy based right away. You could always give alfalfa hay treats if you wanted some alfalfa in their diet...

 

[erinmoveit]

I'm not really worried about the kind of pellets or hay. I don't think transitioning to Timothy pellets from Alfalfa will be an issue. They both feed on Timothy hay right now.

My concern is more of the greens.

 

[LakeCondo]

Hay has very little nutritional value compared with pellets. Hay's main purpose is to move the food along in the digestive system. So it doesn't much matter if alfalfa or grass has is given to a youngster, but giving the correct pellets DOES matter.

If someone HAS to feed an adult & a growing rabbit the same pellets, I'd go with alfalfa. It shouldn't be that bad for the adult for awhile, but watch out for sludge, just in case.