# Oats? Good? Bad?



## Stephankne (Dec 25, 2013)

What does everyone think about feeding rabbits oats? I have a 5 month old holland lop- when I got him, the breeder had mixed some old fashioned oats into his feed so I did that for awhile while I transitioned his pellets. I've had him for a few months now and instead of putting them in his feed, I give them to him as treats. He love love LOVES them! 

Is it okay to keep giving oats to him? If so, how much can I give him and how often?

He weighs about 2.5-3lbs.

Thanks!


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## majorv (Dec 25, 2013)

I wouldn't give him rolled oats too often...maybe once/week or so, and only a little. The breeder may have done it to help him transition to you as the new owner, to keep him eating, but rabbits can gain weight on it.


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## lyonsjes13 (Dec 26, 2013)

Hi I know this is a little late but my moms an animal nutria sit and we always have made homemade feed for my rabbits but we would add a little bit of oats and mix them in the feed


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## Stephankne (Dec 26, 2013)

majorv said:


> I wouldn't give him rolled oats too often...maybe once/week or so, and only a little. The breeder may have done it to help him transition to you as the new owner, to keep him eating, but rabbits can gain weight on it.




It's so hard to resist that sweet face but I bet it does make them gain weight quick! I have his family tree and everyone in his family (mom, grandmother, grandfather, great grandparents, etc.) weighs/ed 2lbs! His dad weighs 4lbs so I'm thinking Louie should be close to full grown at 2.5-3 as long as I don't over feed him 

Is about a teaspoon okay -once a week?


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## majorv (Dec 26, 2013)

It should be okay. At this point he's pretty close to his adult weight


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## Imbrium (Dec 26, 2013)

Stephankne said:


> It's so hard to resist that sweet face but I bet it does make them gain weight quick! I have his family tree and everyone in his family (mom, grandmother, grandfather, great grandparents, etc.) weighs/ed 2lbs! His dad weighs 4lbs so I'm thinking Louie should be close to full grown at 2.5-3 as long as I don't over feed him
> 
> Is about a teaspoon okay -once a week?



Some bunnies don't tolerate carbs well at all, so you should *never* give oats if they seem to cause any sort of abnormal poops or if your bunny has had GI stasis issues in the past. Failing that, they can lead to unwanted weight gain, so they need to be offered in extreme moderation. A tsp once a week is totally fine (and actually quite conservative) as long as they don't cause him any tummy troubles.

I believe rolled oats aren't really a good kind to give as treats (and "instant" oatmeal is a definite no-no). Whole oats (like from a feed store or like you'd find in oat hay) are best (I can't remember why but I might be able to come up with the thread I bookmarked about oat types - I wanna say it has to do with whether the seed cover is removed during processing or something like that).

There are actually two weight classes for Holland lops - the breed standard (in regards to show rabbits) is 2-3 lbs but certain Hollands (1/3-1/2 of viable/surviving kits, depending on the genetics of their parents) should actually weigh more like 4-5 lbs as adults if their weight is proportional to their frame. This concept applies to ALL "dwarf" breeds, as the size discrepancies are caused by the way the dwarf gene works. At 4 lbs, his dad is a "brood" animal - automatically un-show-worthy (because he's not a true dwarf) but possessing other characteristics that the breeder wants to select for.

The dwarf allele is dominant over the "normal" version of that gene, meaning a rabbit only needs to inherit one "dwarf" copy in order to BE a dwarf. Two copies of the dwarf gene (no normal copy) is a lethal combination that results in a kit being a "peanut" (incredibly tiny) and dying very young (long before weaning age, usually within the first week of life).

If you breed two dwarf rabbits (which inherently have one dwarf copy and one normal copy), their offspring have a 50% chance of being dwarves, a 25% chance of being peanuts (lethal) and a 25% chance of getting two normal copies (and therefore not being true dwarves). Breeding a dwarf with a rabbit that does NOT have the dwarf gene (ex: your rabbit's parents) gives their offspring a 50% chance of being dwarves and a 50% chance of inheriting two normal copies. Pairing a dwarf to a non-dwarf (instead of breeding two dwarves) eliminates the possibility of peanuts without reducing the odds of producing offspring that are true dwarves... which makes it a very appealing match-up for breeders.


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## Imbrium (Dec 26, 2013)

Aha! I stopped being too lazy to bother trying and realized that if I typed "oats" into the search box on my bookmarks sidebar, I'd almost certainly find the page I was looking for pretty much instantly. I did remember right that the differences between oat types has to do with the outer covering, but forgot that there's also a bran layer beneath that which comes into play... I also remembered right about whole oats being best if you're giving them as treats (other types of oat have situational uses, though).

For treat purposes, it looks like the preference is whole oats ~> steamed/crimped (whole) oats ~> groats ~> steel cut oats (found in the oatmeal section of grocery stores) ~> rolled oats (based on how much fiber (if any) they provide).

Here's the thread: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f40/difference-oats-53298/


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## Blue eyes (Dec 26, 2013)

I think it's best to err on the side of caution and avoid oats except on rare occasion. *This article* suggests not feeding oats at all. 

I think it is one of those things that used to be considered good to give to rabbits. As knowledge has grown about rabbits, some of those old ideas are being countered. Twenty years ago, as a new rabbit owner, I was told that oats are fine to give regularly. But now research has shown that carbs are not so great for rabbits and can even be harmful.


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## majorv (Dec 26, 2013)

Oats do serve a purpose and, in moderation, shouldn't normally cause a problem. Altered rabbits might be more susceptible to gaining weight eating rolled oats though.


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