What should bunnies eat?

[Dame-Tee]

G'Day, im in Australia and i hear alot about timmothy hay but i dont think we get that here.

i was feeding my buns pellets and veggies(a few times a weekonly as 1 of my bunnies gets sloppy pooh when i give him too much and 2inches of carrot is too much!!!) grass from our backyardand ahand ful of lucerene hay a day.

I read that they should have 2/3 chaff 1/3 pellets and a bit ofhay as their dry food so i went and bought 10 kg of chaff ( thesmallest bag i could get) and they wont touch the chaff atall.!!!

I bought lucerene hay to use as bedding and i heard that it is too rich 4 them to eat alot.

I dont want to use straw as i got fur/straw mites from buying abale and its too expensive to buy in bags to use for bedding.

I tried wood shavings as bedding and they made a MESS with itand poohed and weed in it when they are all litter box trained.

They all have wood floor hutches , they come out 1x a day.

they are outside bunnies in hutches protected from the weather.

So my Questions are

1 What should they be eating a day?

2What elsecan i use as bedding?

3 Whats the difference with like timmothy hay oaten hay lucerene hay? etc etc

Thanks in advance

Dame-Tee:bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::Australia:

 

[Spring]

Hey! I just moved this to the Rabbits Only Forum section, hopefully more people will see it that way .

I just did a quick search on lucerne hay, and I'm pretty sure it'salfalfa. Hopefully someone in Australia will be able to help you withthe different hays available.

How old are your bunnies? Lucrene is good for growing bunnies 6 monthsand younger, but for older rabbits free feeding grass hays liketimothy, oat, blue grass, etc. are better. I would stop feeding thecarrot and maybe try another vegetable and see how she reacts to that.Try introducing it very slowly and only give a small amount when youfirst introduce it.

I've never heard about chaff, but I looked it up. The definition saysit is material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem orleaves that have been separated from the seeds. Sound right? Thisprobably isn't necessary in a rabbits diet. Someone else might want topop in since I have no experience feeding this kind of thing.

I'm not sure if it is available in Australia, but I use wood pelletedbedding that is used for horses. It works great and is very absorbent!You could also try litter training your rabbits as that might help withthe mess as well.

Hayshave different calcium, fiber, protein etc. content. Theyalso have different flavours and textures. Here is a hay chart withdifferent kinds of hay.

http://www.guinealynx.com/hay_chart.html

 

[Pipp]

Hi Dame-Tee, I see Spring is already on this.

The hay counts may well be totally different in your area because somuch depends on soil, the growing season, etc, but here's our Librarysection all about hay.

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12059&forum_id=17

Here's the intro:

In the wild, rabbits eat grass, which is, in its dry form,simply hay. Consequently, hay should be offered in large quantities ona constant basis and should be considered far more than just chewingentertainment. In addition to the invaluable fiber it contains, hayalso provides vitamins, minerals, and protein in a form the rabbit'sdigestive tract not only can handle, but actually needs for itscontinued good health. . . .
Many experts advise against giving alfalfa hay to adult rabbits,particularly those who are not under the stresses of a breeding programand hence, do not have the calcium requirements of breeding rabbits.Alfalfa, particularly the tasty leaf part, is higher than most hays incalcium and protein and can, when fed in conjunction with high-calciumfeed, cause dangerously high levels of calcium in the system. On a dryweight analysis (more accurate than straight percentages), alfalfacomes out among the highest in calcium content, and lower than mostgrass hays in fiber.
Grass hay, which comes in a variety of types depending onwhere you live, is a safer choice for older rabbits, especially thosewith urinary problems. Lower in calcium and protein and higher infiber, it provides what the rabbit needs without adding what she can dowithout.


Spring is correct, Lucerne is an alfalfa-like feed, so it should be avoided.

My guys love oat hay (which is a cereal hay), and depending on thearea, it should begood for them in limited amounts, buttheyneedlocal grass hay as well, and that should bethe bulk of their diet.

What you can doislook atthe many types ofgrass hays grown in Australia, and then try and find a chart with somenutritional values, but generally speaking, all the grass hays shouldbe okay as long (as there isn't a lot of clover in it). Forthe most part, if you ask a feed store for grass hay (or meadow hay ororchard hay), it will just be the variety comman to your area, they maynot even know specifically what kind it is.

Good luck!



sas

 

[Eve]

Hi Dame-Tee

I am from Australia too. We don't have Timothy hay here in Australia,so Ifeed my bunniesOaten hay. I havereadon a number of Australian sites that this is thebest hay forbunnies here, my vet recommends it too. So unless your bunnies areunder 6 months of age, in which case Lucerne is ok, I would recommendyou switch to oaten hay. They should have an unlimmited amount of hayat all times too.

As for veggies, my bunnies get about 2 cups of veggies per day each(they are adult rabbits). How much veggies do you feed your rabbits?How old are they?

Are the pellets you are feeding made of lucerne hay? My vet has told methat since in Australia pellets are made of lucerne, theyaretoo rich and should only be fed in small quantities(around 1/4 of a cup). However, I feed my bunnies Oxbow Timothy Haypellets which my vet imports from America.

I use wood pellets for horses in my bunnies litterboxes.

As for Chaff, I haven't heard of feeding bunnies this so I can't help.

If you are interested,http://www.boingonline.comhassome very good information about rabbit diets, bedding etc which is allAustralia specific.They also have a list of rabbit savy vetshere, if you don't already have a vet who is experienced with bunnies.