# Pregnant rabbit



## iLuvMyLilBuns (Sep 15, 2012)

*Hey everyone! 
I have a 17 month old female Holland lop rabbit. I bred her with my male Holland lop on August 31st. She has been doing good, but she's a little fiesty  Anyways, I have always fed her hay based pellets but I have been transitioning her over to alfalfa based pellets the past few weeks because I heard they are higher in protein and better for a pregnant/nursing/growing rabbit. I also started feeding her alfalfa hay. 

Before I bred her, I only fed her 1/4 cup of pellets each day. Now since she is pregnant I have been giving her 1/2 cup. The first week or so of her pregnancy she would only eat half of the pellets I give her. Now she is totally on alfalfa pellets but she hasn't ate pellets in three days!I thought pregnant rabbits ate more? 

She still eats her hay, alfalfa, and veggies like normal, it's just her pellets she hasn't been eating.

I have also noticed a lot of cecal droppings in the cage wich I don't think is a good sign. My other rabbit doesn't ever have cecal droppings left in the cage. I give her 1 cup of veggies each day so yesterday I didn't give her veggies but she still didn't eat her pellets! Today I gave her veggies and she ate them right away but she still didn't touch her pellets.

Is this normal? Should I feed her hay based pellets like I used to?*
:apollo:


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## majorv (Sep 15, 2012)

How much alfalfa hay are you feeding her? I'm thinking you may be overdoing the alfalfa, with it in both hay and pellets. If it were me, I'd try mixing some of her old pellets in with the new stuff or give her a small amount of the old pelletsand see if she will eat them. We don't normally changethe pellets we feed pregnantdoes, justincrease the amount we give them.


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## iLuvMyLilBuns (Sep 16, 2012)

*I give her about a handful of alfalfa. Do you give your pregnant rabbits alfalfa based pellets or hay based pellets?*


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## majorv (Sep 16, 2012)

The feed we use is alfalfa based, but we breed show rabbits. You don't want her to stop eating pellets because it provides nutrition tothe babies as they're developing.If she isn't eating the new pellets thenyou cantry going back to what you were giving her before.


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## BlueCamasRabbitry (Sep 17, 2012)

I would switch back to the hay based pellets. I never fed my pregnant does alfalfa based pellets or alfalfa hay. 

Also, go back to 1/4 cup of feed. You do not want her gaining tons of weight because then she will have a difficult time giving birth. I never upped my does feed until they had delivered and were nursing. And even then I didn't increase it very much. You have to increase it slowly. 

Emily


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## iLuvMyLilBuns (Sep 18, 2012)

*I thought that pregnant and nursing rabbits need alfalfa based pellets because they need more protein. Doesn't a pregnant/nursing rabbit need 18% protein to help the babies grow and give her a good milk supply? 

The brand of rabbit pellets I use is Kaytee and the hay based pellets only have 14% protein but the alfalfa based pellets have 17%. Also I always thought that pregnant/nursing rabbits got free choice? She doesn't seem to be gaining any weight. I weighed her the other day and she's only gained an ounce wich is weird. 

But I feel like I should feed her the alfalfa pellets because, correct me if im wrong.

Also what do the babies eat? Don't they need alfalfa based? I'm so very confused! She only has 2 weeks left of pregnancy and I've been giving her half alfalfa pellets and half hay pellets and she doesn't seem to be eating them... 

I feed her 1 cup of veggies each day-cilantro, parsley, brussles sprouts. I also feed her hay, grass, and free choice pellets (1/2 hay pellets, 1/2 alfalfa pellets)

Is this a good diet for a pregnant holland lop bun? I don't think it is cause she isn't eating her pellets. Please leave a good diet for my bun and her babies! It would mean a lot to me *
:apollo:


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## JBun (Sep 18, 2012)

Most people do feed their pregnant does alfalfa pellets because of the extra protein. It's usually after they have their babies that they need their pellets increased. You said that you are now feeding your doe alfalfa and that she is eating it and her veggies, and that she won't eat the alfalfa pellets, is that right? Have you tried just giving her the hay pellets only and see if she would eat them? Her eating any kind of pellet is better than not having pellets at all even if it is just the hay based one. If she won't eat either kind of pellet now it could be that she just prefers the taste of the alfalfa hay to the taste of the pellets. You could try decreasing the amount of hay you give her and see if she will eat her pellets then.


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## iLuvMyLilBuns (Sep 18, 2012)

*I dont give her alfalfa. I give her a lot of hay so I could decrease that. And I'm feeding her 1/2 hay pellets and 1/2 alfalfa pellets so I think i'll try just the hay pellets 

Also it okay to give her 1 cup of veggies each day? 

Thanks for all the advice!*


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## majorv (Sep 18, 2012)

Different people do things differently. Do what works best for you. Give her whichever pellets she will eat. It's more important that she keep eating pellets than stop altogether. Just balance how much alfalfa she gets because too much can cause weight gain and other problems. 

I can't answer to the veggies since ours don't get them, but I would assume you could continue...maybe someone else couldanswer that.


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## woahlookitsme (Sep 18, 2012)

*iLuvMyLilBuns wrote: *


> *I thought that pregnant and nursing rabbits need alfalfa based pellets because they need more protein. Doesn't a pregnant/nursing rabbit need 18% protein to help the babies grow and give her a good milk supply?
> 
> The brand of rabbit pellets I use is Kaytee and the hay based pellets only have 14% protein but the alfalfa based pellets have 17%. Also I always thought that pregnant/nursing rabbits got free choice? She doesn't seem to be gaining any weight. I weighed her the other day and she's only gained an ounce wich is weird.
> 
> ...


Like my mom said the pellets we use (Purina Show and Professional) are alfalfa based pellets. We also feed a horse quality coastal hay not alfalfa. You dont have to overload her with alfalfa. I would think that is why she is getting more cecals. Keep her on her normal hay and I would personally put her on the alfalfa based pellets. 14% diet is much to low for a gestating and lactating doe. That is more for a maintenance rabbit. Gestation and Lactation has the highest nutrient requirements. Even more than growth so 17% is right on the money. They can stick with 17-18% and be fine. 

Free choice is ideal but not for every breed. Some rabbits will gorge themselves and gain a lot of weight which is not what you want at all. My tans have a very high energy level so we have always free fed them because they dont easily gain weight unlike other breeds. 

The babies dont have to eat alfalfa. Ours get pellets and the coastal and do perfect. My moms polish are known for even hitting senior weight before senior age! lol

Just remember, Always is not a word to be used when dealing with animals. There are exceptions to everything. One thing that works for someone might not work for someone else and all animals arent the same. Do whatever it takes to get her eating pellets though. She needs something more than hay and veggies for sure. You might want to cut down on everything else a little bit to get her more interested in her pellets


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