What do you feed your rabbits and why?

[nc_bunnys]

My 5 buns get 1 ounce of Oxbow Timothy pellets twice a day, unlimited Oxbow Timothy & Orchard Grass Hay. Water bowls changed twice a day.
Currently on tap in the garden, red sail lettuce, butter lettuce, spinach, radish & beet leaves, cilantro, apple mint, spearmint & sweet mint, dill, parsley
Coming soon to the dindin table, cucumber, squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, tomatoes
And the "if we get to these before the birds" - strawberries, blueberries & blackberries

Buns get 2 salads a day while the garden is producing but only one salad contains treats.

 

[geekgirl101]

My dwarf lops get a small handful of pellets each day and as much hay as they could possibly eat plus more. They usually get a daily treat which ranges from a handful of mixed herbs either by Rosewood or Excel, and maybe once a week they'll get a dandelion or strawberry stick by Rosewood. I also give them a couple of Fenugreek Crunchies a day, they love those so much they actually wag their tails when taking them out of my hands! We try our best to provide a daily variety of veggies and fresh herbs such as mini beetroots (with their greens), small carrots (with their greens), raddish greens, spinach, celery, peppers, turnip, watercress, basil, parsley, sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, curly kale. We go sparing on the carrots, spinach, sprouts, broccoli and cabbage since they're bad in large quantities. If they haven't had too many sugary treats that week I'll give them a small amount of fresh fruit or fruit that comes in its own juices. We're planning on providing them with weekly supplies of fresh dandelions, nettles and bramble cuttings while it's the season for it.

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Hello,
Two of my buns get Oxbow Bene Terra Organic rabbit pellets.

Hi, is there a big difference between this and the oxbow adult basic T formula?

Also to anyone else who wants to comment, is there a big difference between the major brands of timothy hay? Sophie's getting All Living Things Western cut timothy hay at the moment but the bag is starting to get low and petsmart is continually out of that brand. I saw the Kaytee brand and some other ones(no owbow hay though) but I didn't want to buy anything different unless I had no choice and until I got some advice....maybe you all will tell me that her current brand is craponder:onder:

 

[JBun]

Hay is so hard to know the differences with, cause our buns go by taste, and we can't really taste test it for them You pretty much have to just look for something that looks nice, then let your bun try it. If you can find a good quality bale of hay at a feed store or from a farmer, that is by far the cheapest way to get hay. You just have to make sure it's never been wet or baled wet(mold free), and is good horse quality hay with no weeds. They sometimes will even let you take a handful first to let your buns try it out. I buy 50 lb bales of timothy, from my feed store, for about $13, and it's the same quality as the petstore hay.

The bene terra and adult timothy, have some different ingredients. The adult t has soy and molasses. Bene terra is made with grass hay (not necessarily timothy), canola, sunflower, various other ingredients, and fruit for the sweetener. It also has 12% protein and the timothy pellets have 14%.

 

[Azerane]

Bandit is 7 months old, approx 5 pounds.

He gets, unlimited meadow hay (which I buy in a bale from a feed store). Approx 1/3 cup adult oxbow pellets daily (I say approx because I use a 1/4 cup measure but don't quite fill it each time). He gets one scoop of pellets in the morning, then the other in the afternoon in his treat ball. On the very rare days that he doesn't get free run time, he doesn't get the extra pellets (which I don't see a bad thing).

He currently isn't getting any greens for two reasons: 1, it was literally one day ago that we finished pellet transitions and are now completely on oxbow. 2, he got stasis issues from greens before so I cut them right out of his diet, now that the transition to oxbow is complete, I'm going to very slowy start back on the greens, as I think they're really important.

 

[geekgirl101]

Yeah, we have a local farm shop nearby that sells all kind of pet/horse stuff, including massive bales of hay. Compared to what we pay at the pet store (which is like £4 per bag of meadow hay that lasts a week) a £5 bale of hay lasts them 2 months, and they love it. My suggestion is if you're near the countryside look for a small farm and see if they have a store to buy hay, it'll save you loads.

 

[Mousemommy]

Since I discovered Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit I'd not feed anything else. No GMOs, no fillers, just all natural. Not organic but contains none of the soy wheat molasses of BBT and has chelated vitamins and minerals. Family owned small business and very fresh, does not sit around on store shelves, is compressed and assembled as it is ordered.
I also feed much less greens than before and no lettuce since I learned lettuce contains a while milky substance bad for bunnies.
I serve herbs, cilantro, Italian parsley, dill, sage etc. And they graze on the lawn. An occasional Hibiscus flower and a rose whenever I can get them.
A piece of walnut.
And because he has arthritis I give him 1 teaspoon of turmeric a day and am going to add dried ginger when I get more.
I mix his turmeric in a bit of all natural organic peanut butter.
If you' not heard of Sherwood I've included the link, I can't believe how it's give my EC/Pasterualla/Blind/ Arthritic bun renewed energy and better fur.
Judie
https://www.naturalrabbitfood.com/31.html

 

[Mousemommy]

Ohyes, I also use Oxbow Joint supplement as it contains glucosamine and turmeric

 

[Ape337]

Hi, is there a big difference between this and the oxbow adult basic T formula?

Also to anyone else who wants to comment, is there a big difference between the major brands of timothy hay? Sophie's getting All Living Things Western cut timothy hay at the moment but the bag is starting to get low and petsmart is continually out of that brand. I saw the Kaytee brand and some other ones(no owbow hay though) but I didn't want to buy anything different unless I had no choice and until I got some advice....maybe you all will tell me that her current brand is craponder:onder:

Howdy! JBun Described the food differences best. The only thing I will add is price. BT organic is expensive. I pay about $10 for a 4 lb bag. That amount lasts about 5 weeks for Humma. He eats the highest amount at 1/4 c a day. I'm fine with the price but many would not be. Most bunnies do just fine with the normal oxbow food. Mine did too when they ate it but I'm always on the lookout for a better food. :bunny24

 

[lcgmd]

Cinnamon gets 1/4 cup Oxbow Bunny Basics T pellets - 1/8 cup in the morning and 1/8 cup for dinner. He is a little overweight, and my vet recommended no more than this amount of pellet for him. Also for breakfast and dinner, he gets a plate of veggies (assorted lettuces, broccoli, carrot, shredded cabbage, cilantro, parsley). He gess a craisin as a treat. He always has plenty of hay in his cage.

 

[Stuffedcritter]

Agway pellets free choice (do to my work schedule) mixed clean hay $4.00 50 # bale (live in farm country) mix 1/2 c aoc with mother to gallon of water (prevents sludge,mosquitoes & ticks, and helps mask the smell of chlorine. Boss, green pumpkin seed, diatomaceous earth. Handful of any of the herbs or flowers/rose trimmings, weeds plantain, dandelion, nettle, young maple tree branches,frozen tomatoes in winter (extra source of water), anything growing in the garden expect garlic and onions. Think they get more produce from the garden then my family. Coats are are shiny bright soft to the touch never had problem with fleas or mites or health issues. Always start new foods in small amounts with a little dried chamomile (helps prevent gas build up) sprinkled on their food. Junkies for pineapple/hummingbird sage! Seventeen small mixed breed ranging from three mths -eight years.

 

[candice136]

Tommy has rabbit pellets carrots every so often and dandelion leaves a couple every week