The arguements over Pellets

[jcottonl02]

I'd like to think my rabbits get a great diet;

A handful of Burgess pellets every morning,
A variety of at least 3 veggies every day eg. bok choy, carrot, parsley, broccoli (sparingly), romaine lettuce and other dark lettuce etc.
Little fruit chunks as treats- one or two a day- apple, banana (sparingly), strawberry
The occasional pinch of oats- once a week
Dandelions and the leaves- every few days/when I can find them
Unlimited, fresh hay every day
Fresh grass every day

Their poos are great- never had any kind of diarroeah. Both lovely weights, energetic, not gassy etc. And for them and me personally, that diet suits them greatly!

However!

My Dad is learning more and more about rabbits, and is very rabbit savvy! But now he is trying to convince me that me giving them pellets is 'bad' for them, and 'they wouldn't get them in the wild'.
Yeah...but our dogs wouldn't get dog biscuits either.....

I know a high pellet based diet isn't good for them, but I honestly believe a little handful every day is good for them! Fibre, and essential nutrients and vitamins?
I tried to tell him that, but I couldn't really find the words....and I was a little surprised.

Can anyone tell me otherwise?
Or can anyone give me some good lines/quotes etc. as to why a small amount of pellets every day, intersperced with hay, veggies, fruit and grass, is good!?

Until I am not satisfied that their diet is not the best possible, then they will continue to get it- I want the absolute best for them.

Thanks

 

[undergunfire]

I really don't see how a touch of pellets per day is bad for them....not any worse then getting fruit daily, in my opinion, because fruit is sugar. Pellets are just their daily vitamin, really! If you did away with pellets then you'd have to really up the veggies (which can be very costly) and you'd also have to offer a TON of variety, IMO.


Awesome though that your Dad is reading up on bunnies!!

 

[pamnock]

Ask your dad if you were bottle or breast fed.

 

[kirbyultra]

pamnock wrote:

Ask your dad if you were bottle or breast fed.

ROFL Good one, Pam!!! :biggrin2:

Certainly rabbits have evolved to live on very little, but pet rabbits hardly get the variety that wild ones do. Pellets merely ensure that the bun gets the essentials. I see no wrong in that. Some people choose to do an all hay/veg diet, and that's their choice. There are some who do hay and pellets only. That's all preference, and until someone proves otherwise I don't think that we can definitively say pellets in moderation is "bad" for a house rabbit.

 

[Erins Rabbits]

It always makes me laugh when people say "They wouldn't get pellets in the wild". They aren't in the wild, they are in my house. And let's be honest- do you honestly think if you tossed your rabbit into a random pasture and left it there, that it would live very long? I have my doubts.

Everyone and their brother knows my thoughts on this. I feel a mostly pelleted diet with a supplemental bermuda grass as forage. They get treats once every other month or so. I think, if your rabbit is healthy and doing fine, there's no need to change. There are many diets a rabbit can prosper on.

 

[jcottonl02]

Thanks guys!!! That all sounds great to me.

Yeah my dad is really brilliant with the buns. I mean- he was the one who has thought up, and built these wonderful massive sheds, and runs, and is the one who takes me to the emergency vets on Easter saturday when I'm just being a worrier etc. and checks them when I'm not here etc.
He really is brilliant.

But if I say this stuff to him, that you guys have told me, then I am sure he'll accept that his thoughts on the pellet theory weren't right. I just need some solid 'lines' as it were otherwise it's just me umming, aahrring, and speculating on what I think is the best diet for them, which, i guess...could be wrong.

Yes- the variety is a good one!

Thanks- and I know to 'stand my ground' not that i need to, because my parents know I know best for my buns, and would do what I asked them to do for them, I guess I just wanted to know that I was right, because my Dad is right about almost EVERYTHING!!! It's annoying when we have a debate lol!

But thats great guys- thanks

 

[kirbyultra]

It's so great to have support like your dad in the family. Your buns are very lucky!

We know so much more about what is considered a healthy rabbit now than we did 20 yrs ago. You know what is good for your buns and you know what works for them. Never hurts to try and make it better by moderate tweaking but I like to stick with "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", especially now that I have multiple buns, every change needs to be considered for everybun. Arming yourself with knowledge and a healthy basket of options will ultimately serve your rabbits one day. Threads like this one are great for sharing!! And your dad should be commended for researching and entertaining a variety of ideas. :highfive:

 

[jcottonl02]

Yeah- I am always open to new ideas etc. cos nothing is 'right' when it comes to diet etc. because it's all personal to each bun.

Well the thing that really amazes me, is my Dad doesn't really even like the rabbits. He's a very animal person, and has owned rabbits in the past, but he doesn't really like these two, purely because he doesn't really get much enjoyment out of them (because he doesn't spend loads of time bonding with them every single day), and they cost him loads and loads of money. And time. And pain lol (from claws, especially Pippin, who HATES being picked up. I have only just got it down to a fine art lol).
Yet he willingly spends his money and time, and energy, thinking up new ways to make their life better, and doing it, even though, like today for example, he only got 4 hours sleep before having to go to work again.

He'll spend hundreds of pounds, and hours and hours, on this new hutch for them, and the run he built, doesn't ask me for a penny, even though they are financially my respsonsiblity, and thinks of how it could possibly be best for them. Levels, hidey holes, as big as he can possibly make it etc. You would think he loves them to absolute bits, the amount he does for them.

If I get up late in the morning (like 11am or gone), I'll come down, and he'll have already fed, watered them, and put them in their run. Every time. Just to give them that few extra hours in the run while it's sunny. That's the kind of guy he is.
And my mum is the same- they are both so wonderful.

 

[kirbyultra]

jcottonl02 wrote:

Well the thing that really amazes me, is my Dad doesn't really even like the rabbits........... You would think he loves them to absolute bits, the amount he does for them.

Oh honey, no man spends that kind of time on something or someone he does not love. He LOVES those rabbits!! :biggrin2:

 

[jcottonl02]

kirbyultra wrote:

jcottonl02 wrote:

Well the thing that really amazes me, is my Dad doesn't really even like the rabbits........... You would think he loves them to absolute bits, the amount he does for them.

Oh honey, no man spends that kind of time on something or someone he does not love. He LOVES those rabbits!! :biggrin2:

Lol!!! Hahahaha. Well maybe he just doesn't like to admit it . He's a bit of a guy guy u know lol!!

 

[Pipp]

Your diet is great.

This anti-pellet campaign is starting to worry me.

If I could pick only two items to feed my rabbits, I'd pick quality pellets and hay. If nothing else is available, pellets and hay alone will meet a rabbit's requirements.

That is not an evil diet, although the quality of pellets from brand to brand can really be all over the map, some can be pretty unhealthy.

I also don't think that quality pellets with 'colored' bits are as evil as I used to, but again, it depends on the brand and contents. It also depends on variables like how much exercise the rabbit gets, how and where it's housed and what else it eats.

The healthiest diet, though, is a varied one.

I'd say yours is near perfect.


sas :bunnydance:

 

[kirbyultra]

jcottonl02 wrote:

kirbyultra wrote:

jcottonl02 wrote:

Well the thing that really amazes me, is my Dad doesn't really even like the rabbits........... You would think he loves them to absolute bits, the amount he does for them.

Oh honey, no man spends that kind of time on something or someone he does not love. He LOVES those rabbits!! :biggrin2:

Lol!!! Hahahaha. Well maybe he just doesn't like to admit it . He's a bit of a guy guy u know lol!!

That is absolutely the case, I am sure of it!! He won't admit it but he :hearts those buggers :biggrin2::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::biggrin2:

My husband won't admit Toby the troublemaker is his favorite bunny at all - but I know better. Whenever I buy stuff for Kirby he goes "buy one for Toby too!"

 

[jcottonl02]

Pipp wrote:

Your diet is great.

This anti-pellet campaign is starting to worry me.

If I could pick only two items to feed my rabbits, I'd pick quality pellets and hay. If nothing else is available, pellets and hay alone will meet a rabbit's requirements.

That is not an evil diet, although the quality of pellets from brand to brand can really be all over the map, some can be pretty unhealthy.

I also don't think that quality pellets with 'colored' bits are as evil as I used to, but again, it depends on the brand and contents. It also depends on variables like how much exercise the rabbit gets, how and where it's housed and what else it eats.

The healthiest diet, though, is a varied one.

I'd say yours is near perfect.


sas :bunnydance:

Ah thanks a lot Pipp. That is always great to hear.

Well that's what I thought, so I'll make sure I keep to it

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

My hubby is the same way he took time out if his day to go say morning to the buns he does not even say hi to Phoenix and Boss that way.

So I think our hubbies are more in love then they want to say.

Kat