natural diet

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I have a (male, neutered)Flemish Giant rabbit, and have been mixing up a homemade diet for him.  I've been calculating the amount of protein and fat in his diet, keeping the protein around 15% and the fat under 2.5%.  He appears to be doing very well and loves his food. He always has access to fresh hay (was told it's a mixture of timothy, alfalfa and clover).  
I thought I'd get an opinion on his diet to make sure it's ok.  I've used a few different mixes in the past, here's the one he's on now:
1 part rolled oats
8 parts rye flakes
4 parts cornmeal
2 parts soybean, ground

I've used other grains including millet, flaxmeal and sesame seeds.
As far as I can find out, these are all ok.  
Is his diet balanced?

Thank you very much.

ANSWER: Dear Janice,

The grains you're using should be safe for rabbits, but remember that the thing you want to avoid most in a good rabbit diet is too much digestible starch.  You don't say exactly how *much* of his grain food he's getting, but all of the components are pretty starchy, so I'd make sure you don't give him too much, lest you risk obesity or cecal dysbiosis when he gets older and possibly is not as well able to tolerate a starchy diet:

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

He also will need a good amount of fresh greens every day, as well as unlimited *timothy* (or other grass) hay, as the legume hays are often too high in protein and calcium to be healthy for long-term use in an adult rabbit.  If your bunny is young, he can probably handle just about anything.  But as he ages, he might tend to put on too much weight if he gets too much grain and legume hay.

I have outlined a healthy diet here:

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

and as you can see, I do include a small amount of good quality commercial pellet.  This is to provide the micronutrients that are very hard to get if you devise your own rabbit diet.  If you are really interested in developing a good diet without buying commercial food, then an excellent reference book is Rabbit Nutrition by Cheeke.  Another good web site can be found here:

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-4/pellets.html

I hope this helps you keep your big bunny hoppin' healthy!  :)

Take care,

Dana



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

QUESTION: McTavish, will be 2 yrs old on July 30.  I'm feeding him around 1/2 cup a day.  I'll be gradually lessening the that amount, now that he's done growing.  I'll see if I can find some timothy hay for him, and I'll be growing some veggies for him this year.  I bought a mineral lick and a salt lick for him a while back.  He used the mineral lick a little bit.
Thanks for the links and I'll see if I can find the book that you mentioned.

Thank you

Answer
Dear Janice,

That amount sounds about right.  If you can't find good quality timothy hay in your area, you can order it online from Oxbow Hay Company (www.oxbowhay.com), American Pet Diner (americanpetdiner.com) or a number of other companies that sell good quality hay.

Good luck!

Dana