How much does Deeva eat?!?!?!How much should she eat?!?

Deeva seems to be settling in really well and is gaining confidence.

I just need to reassure myself about her food...she is absolute little piggy!I ensure she has lots of hay and a hay cookie but can't seem to keep on track with her food dish, I only give her limited amounts of excell and SS pellets but she always seems to be rooting for more. She has had a little taste of veg and this will be gradually built up but how much of the nuggies should I let her have? I don't need to worry about her not dirnking during the course of a day she drinks 2/3 of a 350ml bunny bottle (seems odd having her use a bottle as Fudge preferred a bowl)

She is only 8weeks old and obiously needs the nutrients to grow but where do I draw the line?
Sorry to be asking but her appetite is totally different to Fudge as a baby bunny and I want to do what is right for her.

Sience selective Junior it says on the bag feed freely but monitor the weight regularly and Excel Adult says 60 to 70 grams a day . I would keep topping her dish up while she is a baby but keep an eye or monitor her weight and if she puts weight on just cut back on the pellets.

Thanks Maysie-I knew you would come to the rescue...she is nomming really well and I keep a check for excess cecals but hasnt shown signs of them.
It is hard to know what she was eating with her birth Mum as they had a shared dish. Will keep up wiht the topping up of the bowl and keep a check on her.

She was weighed at her baby health check on Thursday adn was 0.98kg and already has Matt wrapped around her paws as well as the vet nurses!

FudgesMummy wrote:Thanks Maysie-I knew you would come to the rescue...she is nomming really well and I keep a check for excess cecals but hasnt shown signs of them.
It is hard to know what she was eating with her birth Mum as they had a shared dish. Will keep up wiht the topping up of the bowl and keep a check on her.

She was weighed at her baby health check on Thursday adn was 0.98kg and already has Matt wrapped around her paws as well as the vet nurses!

That's the trouble with babies they never stop nomming and before you know it they have a tubby tummy ( a bit like me really)

I'm not surprised Deeva has Matt and the vet nurses wrapped around her paws she is such a cutie you just melt

I dont mind her nomming hay-in fact it is great to have her like the stuff should mean we get good bunny teeth! Fudge never really was all that keen!

She has a mix of excel and SS pellets-she was on adult excel and SS pellets with her Mum so have kept her on it rather than the juniour although tempted to let her have the junior but wonder if it is any different? She enjoyed a burgess herb/hay treat stick today that nommed well! She also likes apple!

I think you want to give her more pellets while she is young, I would actually steer clear of things like apple for now as shes so little - and you dont want her filling up on things like that and then not eating her hay - and then create a pattern!

I would keep her pellets topped up, I would mix pellets in with her hay and maybe some herbage stuff to get her on the right track of eating those sorts of things

x

She only had a wee taste of apple this afternoon as I had one and she kept nudging me so a taste was all she got. I was worried about giving her too many pellets and getting excess cecals but she is happy nomming and hoping that if she realises there is always going to be food in her dish she doesnt have to hurry to eat it. I've dropped some loose pellets in her hay basket and she was having a root about for those earlier...will get her some herbage next week.

Where she came from had already started her on veg, obviously it was there for her mum so she has tasted cauliflower, brocoli and greens but haven't given her veg as such yet just to let her settle in. I would sooner her eat hay.

Thanks for the advice all, she is soo different to baby Fudge.

Deeva is adorable! As far as feeding your precious fluff-head, House Rabbit Society recommends:

4 to 7 weeks--mother's milk, access to alfalfa and pellets
7 weeks to 7 months--unlimited alfalfa pellets, unlimited alfalfa hay (plus see 12 weeks below)
12 weeks--introduce vegetables (one at a time, quantities under 1/2 oz.)
7 MONTHS to 1 Year
introduce timothy hay, grass hay, and oat hays, decrease alfalfa
decrease pellets to 1/2 cup per 6 lbs. body weight
increase daily vegetables gradually
fruit daily ration no more than 1 oz. to 2 oz. per 6 lbs. body weight (because of calories)

Alfalfa hay and pellets are high in calcium and the baby and young bunnies need the
extra calcium for growth and strong bones. Once they are 7 months old you switch
from the alfalfa because you don't want to start kidney and bladder stones forming from
too much calcium.

I've read several papers that suggested that feeding veggies too soon set the
bunny up for sensitivities and fruit too soon made the bunny prone to obesity.

~holly~

I was the same as you when I got Molly and Junior home, I couldn't believe how much they could eat Especially hay!!! I was astounded because Thumper never really ate hay.

They are 15 weeks and I'm feeding them excel junior. They get slightly less than a shot glass full in the morning and in the evening. They absolutely adore the pellets but they are really really good hay eaters so I'm not giving them any more than that, the more hay they eat the better!!

I still haven't tried them with any veg but they get dried plantain, black currant leaves and dandelion.

My only concern with feeding the little lady adult food is that the adult pellets are quite big for a baby bunny mouth and I'd be afraid that she chokes.

Perhaps I'm being a little over cautious though

Florence had adult science selective at about 15 weeks (I think), I had a bag before I got her in preparation for her arrival, then because she was raised on excel I had to give her that to begin with but I introduced the ss in. She was fine with the size of them, and they are huge, I didn't think they might be too big for her, but then she did eat anything as a baby, same as now really!

I found with her too, I had to give her some of her allowance in the morning and some at night. Otherwise she'd eat it all and ask for more. I still feel guilty about the time I gave her all her pellet allowance at night, she ate it overnight and I didn't give her any extra in the morning. I felt guilty all day in work

Now they have pellets for brekkie only, too many other goodies now they are older!