Mini Rex Diet questions

Question
My daughter just adopted a mini rex/lop cross.  'Hazel' is 8 weeks old.  We are first time rabbit owners, and are very confused at the variety of diet 'recommendations' that seem to conflict when feeding a mini rex.

We do keep plenty of timothy grass and water available.  We usually feed 1/8 cup of pellets in the morning, and 1/8 cup of pellets in the evening.  Is this okay?

Is it okay to feed her 1 cup of fresh greens daily?  We've been feeding green leaf lettuce and cilantro, both of which she loves.  We also include 1 mini carrot sliced, and will sometimes top it with a sliver of strawberry.  We have also included kale and a little parsley in these 'salads', but she's not fond of either of those.

We've given her Kaytee brand Timothy biscuits baked with carrots, one a day.  She's only had them twice, but loves them.  We cut them in quarters for her.  Are these okay  for her?

We've given her Vitakraft Slims with carrot, 1/2 a slim per day. She's had 3 'halves' so far. Is this okay?

We just purchased a rabbit mineral lick.  Have not given it to her yet.  Is she okay to have these?

Will her diet change once she reaches 'maturity', and is that at approximately 4 months?

Last question.  When is it appropriate to have her spayed?

Thank you so much for your assistance!  We sure do want to do care for Hazel properly!

Answer
Hi she's very young,

avoid greens and veggies and fruit until 6 months old.

she needs to learn how to love hay right now.  timothy and alfalfa hay are okay now, more timothy than alfalfa, as you will need to stop giving her this at 1 year old.  Hay cubes are fine as treats, and timothy pellets are good now.  Get a good brand like oxbow, without any extra crap in it, just pellets - no fruit, seeds etc.  Just hay pellets.  1/8 and 1/8 are just fine for her.

mini rexes have a genetic tendency to put on weight very easy.  this is important to know once they are done growing at age 1.  if she is real active and runs a lot 1/8 and 1/8 pellets will be okay most likely.  If she is more sedentary and she starts gaining weight you may need to go to 1/8 and 1/16.  It's okay if she's hungry she'll eat more hay and that is exactly what you want anyway.  timothy hay.

at six months you can SLOWLY start giving greens in small amounts.  watch her behavior and if she gets gas pains or gets off food, just be aware you're messing with a delicate gut because they ferment in their cecum, and the bacteria makeup in there is very touchy to dietary changes.

sexual maturity is anywhere between 3-6 months, and generally you'll know this because she'll get more combative when you put your hands in her cage when she's in there, she won't like that very much and may box your hand with her front paws.  If you don't know if she is, if she hasn't gotten more cage territorial, then for sure at six months, you can get her spayed.  At one year old her body will have stopped growing and she will be considered an adult bunny.

Check the House Rabbit Society web site for awesome info on all aspects of rabbit care.  they also have pages where you can find a recommended rabbit vet around where you are:

www.rabbit.org