Other Rabbit Pellet Dilema!

[SuperPIG]

What can I feed my 6 month old Netherland Dwarf if there are no pellets, but piles of hay and a bag of treats?

So, I spent several months researching rabbit care. Fortuneatly, this lady my Mom knows extremely well, had a niece who was giving her rabbits for free: she had 5 rabbits and three cats in a rented basement.
My parents went over to her house SUnday, and we got a 6 month old Netherland Dwarf newly-named Skittles (you should she his I-am-so-cute-stares).
I thought we could just go on over to the pet supply store, but it was too late, literally.
The next day, Monday, I told my Dad that we should go pick up all the necessary supplies after I came home (I only got what was in the cage and that included some old toys, a bit of bedding, some Kaytee Timothy hay and a free bag of treats). But my plan backfired when my Dad came home and gave me a bag of CareFRESH, a bag of Brown's Farm Fresh Fixin's and a bag of Kaytee Timothy hay with Marigolds.
I gladly accepted, but the treats were bothering me and so was the fact that the hay had marigolds, which, Skittles doesn't eat.

Dilema:
I can't go to the pet supply store until Saturday.

So is it O.K if I feed Skittles one teaspoon of the treats every other day and slowly increase the vegie intake? I mean, he clearly enjoyed it when i gave him have a spoonful...
** He was being fed romaine lettuce and carrots, so I am trying to cut down on the lettcue-carrot intake and replace that with a basil-watercress ,or something like that.**

I can go get some veggies, but no toys or pellets or anything else :sad:


Any ideas on how to help my furboy?

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

I'd feed extra hay. You don't need to cut the romaine intake - just slowly add new veggies to their diet.

 

[SuperPIG]

Oh, thanks. I wanted to cut the intake because on another site, they said that lettuce of any sort contains something that would harm a rabbit.

But what should I do when I do get the pellets? He has absolutely none right now.

 

[CavyCrazyLady]

If your bunny is that young she should be getting alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets, unlimited of each.
You also should start planning to get her spayed and to get her a friend. Have you built her a C&C cage? Most pet store cages are far too small, just like for pigs.
Here is a site about proper nutrition (as well as anything rabbit related): FAQ: Diet
Once your bunny is older (over a year) you don't have to feed pellets at all. Several of my rabbits are "pellet free" and do just wonderful. Here is a group on Bunspace (another wonderfully informative social site) that talks about that: Pellet Free Buns (PFBs) Group on BunSpace.com

 

[pigsforlife]

If your bunny is that young she should be getting alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets, unlimited of each.

I disagree.

Charlee (my 6 1/2 month old nethie) has always been on Oxbows Rabbit T - a timothy based pellet. She received limited quantities of it (started at about a cup a day and have reduced it over time so she is down to 1/4 of a cup per day) from the day I got her as an 8 week old. A rabbits diet should be 80% hay, so I believe that feeding unlimited quantities of pellets would deter them from eating enough hay.

Charlee has also always been on a grassy hay of some form. I wouldn't recommend unlimited amounts of alfalfa - surely, much like young guinea pigs they should always have unlimited amounts of grass hay, and the alfalfa used as a supplement.

 

[CavyCrazyLady]

pigsforlife - I am going by what the House Rabbit Society says. We have fed all our bunnies, fosters and rabbits at the shelter based on their guidelines as they are considered the experts on house rabbits. Here is what they say about alfalfa pellets:
7 weeks to 7 months--unlimited pellets, unlimited hay (plus see 12 weeks below)
12 weeks--introduce vegetables (one at a time, quantities under 1/2 oz.)
It goes on to say that AFTER 7 months you start to introduce timothy and cutting back on pellet intake.

 

[pigsforlife]

Yeah I use the House Rabbit Society as a general guide too. I tend to adjust that guide though to suit my bunny. I didn't think she was eating enough hay, so I cut back down on her pellets to encourage her to do so. She is still getting plenty of pellets, but as they are least important (and hay most important), I adjusted her diet accordingly.

On the topic of hay, to each to their own. I think that a grassy hay should be available at all times, and alfalfa hay used as a supplement. In the guinea pig world, it is often suggested to have young pigs on an alfalfa based pellet. But it is not necessary, so long as you increase other aspects of their diet to accomodate for the extra calcium that they need. I believe the same thing applies here.