A pellet free diet question. For college. Deadline tomorrow.

I really hope there is someone on here who can help me. Even if its just an estimate.

For a rabbit who is on a pellet free diet and eats only food which has been foraged and fed fresh/dry, how much should a rabbit need to eat to maintain their weight - roughly? Im writing about alternative diets.

Umm, I don't know TBH, but a really interesting question. Just as I was reading it, Anne phoned, so I put it to her. There's no definitave answer I'm afraid. However, rabbits spend 70 - 80% of their waking hours forraging and eating.

In the autumn/winter, they are likely to eat more, because the quality of food is much reduced, so they are eating scrub, but they need to eat more of it to get nutrition.

In the apring/summer, they eat much better quality, and divert some of the grazing time to mating and lactating/feeding. As the available food is more nutritious (if they live in a temperate climate), they eat less of it.

It also depends on where they live. If they are in Spain, for example, there is generally less quaity food, it being a much drier country, so they will eat more.

Hope that helps, although it doesn't answer your question, as such.

I love how your always on hand when i really need help, Jay!
I didnt think there would be, i just said 2-3 varied handfuls along with their usual hays/grasses and explained that the aim is to maintain weight. I guess its all i can say really. I have to evaluate two ways of feeding once im done, so ill just mention the fact that the pellet free diet may be difficult to calculate and will take time to get right. On the other hand, it seems to have worked wonders for a lot of stasis buns.

Im also comparing the RAW diet and dried food for dogs.

I get my results for the behaviour assignment next week ...Ive also been told off by the librarians for hogging Annes book I keep referring back to it, but im not allowed to take it out anymore

No worries, glad to help. I'd have a read through my response to this as well, intersting stuff from Frances H - Brown https://happyhoppers.forumotion.co.uk/t14174p10-our-vet-with-more-interesting-findings#175312

In HM this edition, Anne answerd a couple of questions about pellets that may help too