Saturday, January 23, 2010

Overweight Rabbit - What should I feed him?

My rabbit is too fat (and he's not going in the pot). Just wondered what I should be feeding each day. At the moment he has limited pellets, as much hay as he wants and some veggies. I'm going to cut down on the pellets but how much veg should I give each day and what type? At the moment he has carrott, parsley and basil.Overweight Rabbit - What should I feed him?
Did your vet tell you your bunny is too far? If so, I would ask the vet for advice, but ut sounds like you are headed in the right direction. Part of the diet advice depends on how old he is and how much he weighs. If he is over 1 year, then you should be giving him timothy hay NOT alfalfa and some people would suggest only plain timothy pellets. Some people suggest cutting out the pellets entirely but only do that if he is getting 3 or differnt types of grass hays and 5-7 different types of greens.


I would cut out the carrot as it has sugar and is adding calories he doesn't need.


Here are some links that might be helpful:


http://www.carrotcafe.com/


http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/r鈥?/a>


http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases鈥?/a>


http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html





With any change to diet, be sure to do it gradually.Overweight Rabbit - What should I feed him?
Oh no! If you can, block off the wallpaper as it might not be that good for him to chew. See if you can get him to eat more hay or leave our something else to chew, like organic apple twigs (no leaves). Good luck.

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what you are feeding him now is good - a balanced diet. you could change his pellets for a 'diet' variety. supa rabbit exel have introduced a ;light' variety to their range. it's a good diet which contains everything he needs for a balanced diet without selective feeding. careful weighing every 2 weeks is important.
Don't feed him greens. They are not very good for a rabbits' digestive system and can cause them to have all sorts of health problems even death. People say give them lettuce, cabbage, sprouts etc - DON'T. They are safe eating grass and on occasions dandelion leaves. Carrots are good and for the winter - wet food, for the summer - dry food, both can be bought from the pet shop.
Do as you have been, his diet sounds ok, but rabbits dont need hard food unless they are underweight, and only then it should be a complete pellet, so cut this back gradually. Watch out for flystrike as I spent 2 hours today plucking maggots out of a v fat bunnies back (they can't clean themselves as well which attracts flies). Think of them as mini sheep-they need grass and hay and nothing else (veg as occasional treat).
with very little a few times a day
Check out www.rabbit.org. They have a great list of veggies to feed. Carrots are good, but they are high in sugar and should be fed sparingly (maybe half a carrot per day or less). What kind of hay are you feeding? Alfalfa is more fattening than timothy and is usually only suggested for young, growing rabbits. Adults should have timothy. The website I mentioned above has some great info on everything bunny-related. There's an even better site with a more comprehensive list... but I can't remember what it is. :( Anyway... from what I've read, pellets should be limited, hay should be free-fed and bunny should get at least 2c of veggies per day (with only a little bit of the more sugary ones like carrots %26amp; fruit).





PS... his pellets should be PLAIN. No seeds, nuts, etc. Food companies market ';supreme'; foods, which look appealing to US as humans... but they really aren't good for bunny. Bunny pellets should be PLAIN pellets, preferably timothy (which are harder to find), not alfalfa (for the same reason as the hay - alfalfa is more fattening).
little amounts of fresh veggies 5 times a day and cuddles!
dried pellets are not good,they will shorten his life and make him fat..what would he eat in the wild ?? give him as much fresh veg as you can..carrots..cabbage..not lettuce.
you can buy diet rabbit food from pet shops
Lettuce
you may try just the pellets an hay cut back on the vegies to maybe once a week we feed ours pellets an hay twice a day a scoop of pellets in the morning an a handful of hay per rabbit an the same at night we only give veggies 2xs a week along with their other treats
Less
Salad...
You are feeding the correct type of food. Reduce his pellets so it covers the bottom of his feeding bowl in the morning, unlimited hay and half a carrot, leaf of greens or floret of broccoli in the evening. Also try to increase his exercise. A run of 6' x 3' is great or a large room in the house and a hutch 5' x 2' is good. I You should also get him a neutered female as this will increase his exercise as they enjoy chasing each other, grooming etc which helps to expend energy. Get his teeth checked to make sure they are OK and a general health check to exclude a reason for the weight gain, then get a partner for him. I work at the largest rabbit rescue in the south east and this is what they recommend. Good luck.
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