I Need Help With Feeding, Please??!! x x

Hi People i need a little help in regards to what to feed my baby...

As i mentioned when i first got him he came from poor conditions, the food for the hand over was spoilt and so was no good for my bunny. I had no choice but to put him on a different food as i couldnt remember the name of the food she told me and she isnt replying to my texts. So at the min he's on the musli mix, he luckly is a 'selective' feeder and seems to eat it all. But i've looked on different websites and some only recommend pellets and some recommend pellets for babies...i didnt actually know your could get a food just for babies

So my question : What is the best i can give my baby? Also how much should i be feeding him? Also can any1 recommend a supplement for his water as i've read this can help with the food change over??

Im feeling a little confussed so any help would be greatful, thanks guy

ahhh that was ment to say lucky he ISNT a selective feeder!!

a lot of people feed ither burgess or science selective,mine are on burges,when i got mine,they showed a bowl size and told me to feed twice a day,i dont know if this right or not,iam sure someone will let you know the correct amount,i think,the supplement might be pro c,you cant get this from p@h but again iam sure someone will let you know if iam wrong and i just love your little fella

I love your little fella too!

The problem with mix food is not only that they selectively eat (you are lucky!) but that it is too high in sugars and carbs, containing foods that rabbits shouldn't eat.
However, when young and growing, they can certainly do with some extra calories, but you should strive to get him onto healthy pellets ASAP, otherwise he will become too accustomed to mix, and may refuse to eat anything else.

I would introduce a Junior/Dwarf food like Burgess, and keep him on that for the next 6-8 months. Intrduce the food over a 10 day period, gradually adding more pellets and reducing mix until there's just pellets. Science Selective pellets may be too big for his little mouth.

One thing you can give growing rabbits, that you shoudn't give adult rabbits, is Alfafa. It's calorie rich and higer in protein than most grasses/hays, but better than dried peas etc. that they have in mix. You can get Alfalfa mini bales from Pets at home, just give 2 a day. Stop feeding it when he's 6 months old.

As with all buns, he should have unlimited hay, which should make up to 80% of his diet. Like children, given the chance to eat the norty foods, they will, and ignore hay, but you have to be careful, as obesity is a consequence of this, and is a real health issue for rabbits. You can start to introduce some herbs, gradually, and one at a time. Just a sprig of corriander, mint, parsley or basil. Monitor his stoools afterwards, and if you see any soft droppings, cut back, or stop for a while. If you have any blackberry bushes in your garden, he'll love some leaves, just a few to start with, make sure he's ok, then increase - likewise with dandelion leaves and plantain leaves.

As for amounts, for adult rabbits, it's approx. 2 handfuls a day, but small hands! Anne McBride answered a question on Hopping mad about amounts: http://www.hoppingmad.org/E3/qsashealth.htm
Baby and growing rabbits can have more, but not unlimited, as used to be the advice. Again, you dont; want to the bun to fill up on pellets and ignore the hay. We had Stewie at 10 weeks, and I gave him 2 large handfulls a day, plus a couple of alfalfa bales, hay, and small amounts of herbs and grass. I introduced veg at about 14 weeks, again, small nibbles, and keep checking stools. Introduce each one in isolation so that you can identify any problems with a particular veg.

His plums will be dropping soon too, so keep an eye out for those, he can be neutered fairly soon afterwards, and it's best to doit sooner, before hormonal behaviour becomes psychological behaviour/part of his personality.

You can get 'Pro-C' from pets at home also, and I would add this to his water, gut flora imbalance can be very problematic, and Pro Biotics really help.

We did a whole article on mix and pellets for Hopping Mad, gives all the nutritionla contents etc, which you can read here: http://www.hoppingmad.org/E3/pellets.htm

My dwarf lop is on the dwarf/junior burgess, although its now mixed in with the Science Selective one. On the Burgess bag it tells you how many gramms you should give them a day of it. I did lower it slightly, to make her eat more hay, but it does give you a rough outline. Now she's on green food I do give her even less.

Thanks guys...ive been over on the pets at home website and placed my order for reservation. Ive ordered the junior/dwarf burgess, pro-c, and alfalfa mini bales.....

If any1 can think of anything else that might be good for him that wont hurt his belly please let me know...i want him to be happy and healthy x x

Rabbits are designed to turn the most rubbish quality food into nutrients, and are very good at this. In the wild they live on scrub, grasses, and leaves, and depending on where they live, they can survive on barely anything. The most important part of the diet is crude fibre. This helps the ceacum produce the soft nutrient rich stools that rabbits immediately re-ingest from the anus. So hay, wild grasses, leaves etc are optimum food. Pellets are a supplement only, not the main stay. So think wild and think slim!

There are different sorts of hay, and forage mix hays. They are always really popular in my house.

Yeah, I have 4 different hays on the go! Smells like a farm in here sometimes I think with such a boring mojority food, they like some variety - well both mine did/do

Jay wrote:Yeah, I have 4 different hays on the go! Smells like a farm in here sometimes I think with such a boring mojority food, they like some variety - well both mine did/do

Me too - meadow hay, timothy hay, excel herbage, readigrass always topped with dried forage or herbs or dried rose petals and leaves.

Ooh I like the rose petals/leaves I have a few big bags of dried Plantain & dandelion from a friends farm, they get me through winter, and are really good in the hay

What are we like

My neigbours laugh at me - The front garden is my harvest zone whereas the back is more PYO for the buns. So I go out the front with my ziplock freezer bags. I harvest the herbs, each into their own bag. Then I pick the dandelion leaves from around the gravel and steps. The I go for the roses which get harvested into 2 buckets, one for flower heads one for twiggy bits. Usually all done in my PJs!

That's hillarious! (and very ingenious!) We have a common nearby, it's huge, and I try and find an unused bit to go forraging, and 5 times outta 10 I'll get sprung by someone, as I'm ripping grass out of the ground...I smile, say 'hello' and normally get some very odd looks - but it's worth it to see the bear binkying when he knows there's fresh stuff to be had! I must admit, if I saw someone doing that, I dont' know how I'd react, if I didnt' know why...