# How much to feed a mini lop



## beatrixpoppy (Jun 7, 2012)

I'm getting a bit confused by everything I am reading, some places say feed 2oz of food once a day, others say no veggies til 6 months etc so i just wated to get everything covered in one topic.

The breeder I got Poppy from told me not to feed her more than a certain amout, i weighed this amount and it turns out to be in between 0.5-1oz and she said that would do her daily but that doesnt seem like very much to me considering I read somewhere else that mini lops should be fed 2oz of dry food a day.

Poppy clears everything out of the bowl and as of yet I haven't given her any veggies so whats the right answers, how much dry food do i give and do i split it over 2 feeds a day or just one? And when can I give her veggies?


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## melbaby80 (Jun 7, 2012)

How old is she? I free feed my babies and you can till they reach adulthood. Meaning fill their bowls and let them eat what they want throughout the day. When they are adults they can become overweight so people start feeding them meals during certain times, such as morning, noon and evening. Veggies some people like to wait till their buns are 6 months of age, but I have been feeding my lionhead greens and some fruits since he was 8 weeks old with no issues. You can try feeding veggies, but stick to one type a week and in small quantities about 2-3 times a week. Watch the poops, if they start getting funky back off on the veggies. 

I use this website to see how much to feed, when and what is safe.

http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/diet/foods.html


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## ZRabbits (Jun 7, 2012)

All bunnies are different. Even from the same litter, somebunnies will have issues with pellets and hay at first, and others won't. 

Definitely agree if a bunny is not yet 7 months, that the bunny should get free choice pellets and hay. At 7 months, I cut down to 1/4 cup plus fresh veggies. I do have small breeds. 

I don't feed veggies until 6 months, but that's just me. Others have started as early as 4 months. I feel 8 weeks is way to early. It's only been a month since the baby started pellets and hay (usually they start getting weaned at 4 weeks), so he needs a bit more time to let his system get used to what bunnies should eat, not Mom's milk. 

There are lots of different opinions. It's finding what's right for your bunny that counts. 

K


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## Samara (Jun 7, 2012)

I agree with Karen; any size rabbit should have free choice for the first year. You can cut it back around 7 months like Karen said though, but until then, fill up a rabbit bowl for them, give them alfalfa hay and fresh water. Veggies depend on how you want to feed. I fed my rabbits veggies pretty early, but watched them like hawks for signs of loose stool or sickness. Nothing wrong with waiting till 4-6 months either. Whatever you do, go slow, small portions (think 1 sprig of a leafy veggie, or if it's super huge rip a chunk off) on the veggies and only bite sized pieces once a day of fruit. The sugar tends to send their guts over the moon when they're under a year. 

If you are feeding a pellet that has alfalfa as the first ingredient you can switch to timothy hay instead of feeding alfalfa if that's more readily available in your area. Alfalfa helps get nutrients in and put on weight for growing rabbits. That's why when a rabbit is full grown if he/she isn't getting sufficient exercise they can tend to get chunky. Then it's time to switch to something timothy based (Kaytee or Oxbow brands). 

Also, check this out: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html <-- trustworthy information


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## beatrixpoppy (Jun 8, 2012)

Thanks everyone. She's 8 weeks old on Sunday i've been feeding her the same food shes been on with the breeder as i got a small supply of it with Poppy to help her settle in. its a muesli type of food rather than pellets, should i look to switching her onto pellets to insure shes getting a more complete diet? 

I gave her a very small amount of kale on monday night as thats what shes been used to but havent given her anything since and shes been getting timothy hay and plenty of it.


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## ZRabbits (Jun 8, 2012)

*beatrixpoppy wrote: *


> Thanks everyone. She's 8 weeks old on Sunday i've been feeding her the same food shes been on with the breeder as i got a small supply of it with Poppy to help her settle in. its a muesli type of food rather than pellets, should i look to switching her onto pellets to insure shes getting a more complete diet?
> 
> I gave her a very small amount of kale on monday night as thats what shes been used to but havent given her anything since and shes been getting timothy hay and plenty of it.


It's always best to make sure the feed provides all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Pellets today have come a long way and I would if it was me introduce very slowly a new brand of pellets. Preferably alfalfa based because babies like yours really benefit from it. And at 7 months start the very slow transition to a Timothy based pellet. Alfalfa based pellets for a bunny at 7 months can be fattening. 

Regarding the kale, some breeders do introduce greens very early. So she won't have problem because her system is used to it. My only advise is if you are switching pellets to hold back on the kale until you see her system has adjusted. 

Glad to hear she loves her hay. Most important.

Hope this helps.

K


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## beatrixpoppy (Jun 13, 2012)

So I have been giving her as much dry food in the bowl as she will eat and haven't given her any more veggies, but she has been doing a lot more of the soft first stage of poo and am wondering if its because she's getting too much poo i don't want to make her sick. any advice? I havent switched her to pellets just yet as she's still working her way through the breeders food


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