Rabbit diet for baby and adult rabbits.

Question

Jabby   QUESTION: Hello,

What is the age when a baby rabbit is considered an adult rabbit?I want to know if it's bad to feed adult rabbits any type of hay. If it's not, then how much can I feed adult rabbits?  Is it bad to feed baby rabbits too much alfalfa hay or that only applies for adult rabbits? I've read through the links you have posted about rabbit's diet, but it doesn't answer some of my questions.
So, I'm just really concerned only about the amount of pellets and hay for baby and adult rabbits because I know there's a difference. I don't want my rabbits getting sick because of a poor nutritional diet.
I hope you're able to answer all my questions.
Your help is very much appreciated.
=)

P.S. I have two rabbits and they look alike, and I was wondering if they're just regular rabbits? Like what is their breed?
I don't know if you can determine from this picture, but it's all I have for now. And I'm also lost on how old they are, but I think they're about 5 months old. Can you tell?

ANSWER: Dear Abigail,

A bunny doesn't really stop growing completely until he's about a year old, at which point he's a fully grown adult.  Your bunny looks to be about 8-10 weeks in that picture (though it's hard for me to tell from his position and from just one picture), and at this point he should still be getting good quality pellets (no seeds, dried fruit, nuts, etc.) ad libitum, as well as ad libitum grass hay and plenty of fresh greens.  Add any dietary items gradually, to allow his intestinal flora to adjust.

From the picture, I can say that Jabby is a Dutch mix--one of the most wonderful types of rabbits.  Very intelligent and interactive (at least all the ones I've known).  I hope you enjoy your friends for many years.  You mention that you've already read the items on diet, but here are the links, just in case you didn't see some:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

and lots of good articles here:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=00062824-sp00000000&sp-q=diet

For now, give them all the pellet food they want, and start to taper off by the time they're about 8 months old.  As adults, they should get about 1/4 cup of pellets per 5 lbs of bunny per day.  Less if they get chubby.  Each rabbit is a little bit different.

Good luck!

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


Jabby   QUESTION: Dear Dr. Dana,

Here's a clearer picture and I saw how a mixed dutch looked like on the Internet. Although, I don't think he is a mixed dutch at all. Well, I bought him at the pet store for both $20 dollars each and the pet store said they were regular bunnies. So, I questioned myself,"Okay, what are regular bunnies? Like nothing special." But I found them very cute.

And I don't think they were professional when they sold it to me because Jibby the other bunny had some weird stuff on his nose. So I took him to the vet the next day after I bought him and the vet first thought it was mites, but he looked under the microscope and didn't see anything. Then he said my bunny had ringworm and some were spotted as well hidden on his hind leg and stomach. The vet had to shave those parts and he gave me malaseb shampoo. Even though they're babies, I still showered them gently and carefully. They're very fine right now. I was freaked out about the situation because I couldn't ask for a second opinion from another vet due to no money. Guam's vets are limited and I don't really think they're all so knowledgeable about rabbits, which make me very upset. They're mainly caring a lot for dogs and cats. Although, I think my bunny did have ringworm because at the end when they got better, I had one small tiny ringworm on my arm that's faded now. I don't see anymore ringworm patches, but should I continue to shower them with malaseb? They're healthy, but I fear that they're very vulnerable to getting it again soon.
I'm sorry to blabber about it, but I really love my two bunnies, Jabby and Jibby and I just want to question about their health so I can keep them very long.

Thank you Dr. Dana.
Your help is very much appreciated.
=)

Answer
Dear Abigail,

Jibby and Jabby are adorable, and the picture is a lot better for judging age.  I'd say they're about 10 weeks old or so.  

They are hybrid rabbits, or "mutts" as you might call them.  And the fact that they have the white blaze on the forehead indicates that they do have some Dutch genes in them.  You can see pictures of Dutch hybrids here:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3

where you'll notice that the white patterns can vary tremendously between individuals.  But if a bunny has a white blaze, a white "collar" or other markings like those shown above, you can bet there are Dutch rabbits in their ancestry.

If the bunnies show no sign of ringworm now, then don't continue to shampoo them.  Bathing rabbits is not recommended or safe.  Please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html

And see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html

for more information on abnormal fur loss/skin problems in rabbits.  Mites are very hard to find, and just because the vet didn't see them doesn't mean they didn't have them.  But if the problem did clear up, I would hope for the best and not treat them unless you actually see signs of a problem.

There are safer treatments for ringworm and mites (including mange mites) than bathing, and I hope you won't need them.  But I hope the article above will help.

Good luck with your cute new pals!  :)  For all the best information on their care and health, please go to:

www.rabbit.org/

and if you want to join a community of rabbit-lovers where you can get lots of "first time bunny mom" questions answered, consider EtherBun, a free listserve with over 6000 rabbit-loving members.  You can find out more and join from here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/etherbun.html

Hope that helps!

Dana