Feeding Problem

Question
Hi Brenda,

We recently bought two bunnies.  One is a Mini Rex and one is a Dutch (Licorice and Oreo, respectively).  They are both approximately 12 weeks old.  Licorice has developed the habit of "digging" the food out of the food dish, which causes the food to fall through the mesh, leaving both bunnies hungry.  We have tried using multiple dishes, putting food on a plate, but nothing seems to work.  He immediately empties every container we have put in the cage.  We have thrown out about two big bags of food at this point.  We are worried that they won't have enough food when we leave the house for the day.  Is this normal rabbit behavior?  Any advice on how to keep food available without so much waste?  Thanks in advance for your help!

Sarah

Answer
I have bunnies that do this too, and the only way I have been able to correct the problem is to use a coninuous feeder (bin feeder) that mounts on the outside of the cage and put it just high enough that they can eat out of it, but can't get their feet into it.  It is a habbit that will not be broken you just need to figure out how not to give him the opportunity to do it.

Most people who raise rabbits for show raise the feeder anyway to help the bunnies develop the muscleing that is needed for a good show bunny.  Having the feeder just in reach makes them eat sitting up on their haunches a little bit, which some people may think is mean, but it really isn't they can get the food they just have to work a little harder to get it.

Hope this helps, sorry I don't have any other suggestions.

Brenda