Hi rabbit owner! Our lagomorph topic is feeding pellets to young bunnies. Your related questions may include how much pellets for young rabbits vs hay? What should I feed my 8 week old rabbit? And Can baby rabbits eat pellets?
Fortunately, we’ll cover it all here! So whether you are an experienced rabbit owner or a new rabbit owner you will learn something valuable about
- How much pellets to feed young rabbits
- How much hay for young rabbits
- How to transition bunnies from one type of food to another.
Many rabbit experts argue that nutrition is even more important for these fast growing, young rabbits than it is for adult rabbits and we support that view on feeding young rabbits!
Nutrition is King: Give some thought to the idea that the 8 week old rabbit will likely triple its weight by the time it is 6 months old – rabbit pellets help ensure that nutrition is available to the growing bunny!
How Much Pellets For Young Rabbits
When it comes to offering pellets to young bunnies, the quick answer is:
- Birth to 4-5 weeks – Mostly in the nest. No rabbit pellets. All mother’s milk.
- 5 weeks to 8 weeks – More and more walk-abouts, exploring. Finding some hay and some (Alfalfa) pellets, but mostly mother’s milk.
- 8 weeks to 6 months – Active bunny. Unlimited hay (your choice of kind) and plenty of Alfalfa pellets.
- 6 months and beyond – More of a mature rabbit. Continue with unlimited quality hay (not Alfalfa). Transition from Alfalfa pellets to a quality timothy or orchard grass pellet.
We admit, it is difficult to be precise about quantities of pellets because wo much depends on specifics like:
- The breed of your rabbit (mini, regular, or giant)
- The protein level in your pellets and hay
- How much hay your rabbit is eating
However, as a general guideline for you to use as an initial estimate or starting point: Each day provide 1 ounce (~28g) of pellets for every 2.2 pounds (1kg) of expected adult weight.
Always observe your rabbit and feel free to adjust! Now, that general guideline can be hard to wrap your head around so let’s go over an example: Your young rabbit is in the 8 weeks to 6 months age range which means she is growing and can eat lots of pellets daily. So for a regular size domestic rabbits that means 2 or 3 ounces of pellets per day!
How Many Grams Of Pellets To Feed Rabbits
Offer 28g of pellets for every 1kg of expected adult weight. For regular size domestic rabbits that means 56 to 84 grams of pellets per day.
Feeding Pellets to Young Rabbits
For mini and maxi rabbits, adjust this guideline accordingly for the breeds typical adult weight. In addition, it is best to splitting pellet feeding into two feeding times, one in day and one in night.
A quality alfalfa pellet will have the higher % of protein and calcium, compared to other grass-based pellets, that your young rabbits need for developing strong bones, muscles, and immune systems.
And as always, from this initial starting point, you can adjust if/as necessary, based on your keen observations. For instance, if your rabbit is not eating much hay or droppings are too soft, then reduce the quantity of pellets.
Think long term and general trends, observe, and adjust – as with anything related to our rabbits, consistency within a flexible best-practices framework is key.
Remeber not to get too caught up or “wrapped around the axle” on precise measurements. We suggest consistently following best practices, observing as you go, and tweaking as necessary for your specific situations.
How Much Pellets for 8 week old Rabbit?
The typical 8-week-old rabbit is weaning and has started to eat solids. Per the guidance above:
- For mini breeds: 1.5 to 2 ounces of bunny pellets per day (4lbs average adult weight).
- For mid-size breeds: 2 to 3 ounces of bunny pellets per day (5 to 6lbs average adult weight).
- For maxi or giant breeds: 7 ounces of bunny pellets per day (about 15lbs average adult weight).
How Much Should 8 Week Old Bunny Eat?
An eight-week-old bunny should be eating quality bunny pellets (see initial guidance per breed size, above) and unlimited quality hay.
What Should I Feed My 2 Month Old Rabbit?
The 2 month old rabbit will do well on quality bunny pellets (amount per breed size referenced above) and unlimited quality hay.
Should I Feed Unlimited Pellets to My Young Rabbit?
Some rabbit owners promote unlimited pellets for young rabbits, but we do not. Rather, we suggest providing a measured number of pellets to your young bunnies throughout the week.
Alternatively, we do advise rabbit owners to provide unlimited quality hay to all bunnies, for life, once they are 8 weeks old. We will talk more about hay in a moment!
Can Baby Rabbits Eat Pellets?
Yes, baby rabbits that are beginning to wean off mother’s milk may begin to eat rabbit pellets.
No, baby rabbits do not need pellets, but providing pellets to young, weaning, or weaned rabbits will help ensure that they receive all the nutrients they need to grow into healthy strong adult rabbits. The nutrients in a quality rabbit pellet also help the young bunny develop a strong immune system.
Note that many manufacturers of rabbit pellets offer a pellet that is specially formulated for young bunnies. These pellets for young rabbits have 16% to 18% protein, while the regular pellets for adult rabbits usually have 12% to 14% protein.
Alfalfa Pellets For Young Rabbits
Alfalfa pellets are naturally higher in protein than most other grass-based pellets. Alfalfa pellets therefore provide the higher protein level for young rabbits that are rapidly growing bone, muscle and other healthy systems.
Wild baby rabbits are not raised on pellets. However, note that the mortality rate of baby wild rabbits, due to malnutrition, is much higher than that of baby domestic rabbits.
Changing Bunny Food
If you are receiving the young bunny from another owner, then make sure you have a good supply of whatever the owner has been feeding the young bunny as changing a rabbit’s diet abruptly can lead to serious stomach issues and even death!
We suggest letting your new rabbit settle in and adapt to its new home for a week or more. If all is well with this new bunny, then you may begin transitioning, over 7 or more days, to the new food. Gradually reducing the amount of old food while increasing the amount of new food. If you want to change type of hay or pellets then do it slowly, blending in some of the new, preferred food with the food that the previous owner was feeding.
Over the span of a week or more you can add in more of your food and less of the previous owner’s food, until eventually the bunny transitions to eat just the type of hay, pellets and leafy green vegetables that you provide. Observe your bunny, if everything is good (eating hay, good poop, active bunny), then the transition is smooth.
Bunny Won’t Eat Hay Only Pellets
Just a quick comment about maturing rabbits that are hooked on rich pellets. Some bunny owners say that their adult rabbits became accustomed to the rich pellets and will not eat hay. In such circumstances, Tough Love is our prescription.
Provide your adult rabbits with an appropriate number of pellets and unlimited quality hay. Remember that rabbits eat a lot. Your rabbit that prefers rich pellets over hay will become hungry and will eventually eat the quality hay that you provide.
Soon, eating a smaller number (a long term maintenance amount) of pellets and a lot of hay will become the norm for your rabbits; and they will live healthy and happy lives because of it.
About Nutrition for Bunny and Rabbit
Nutrition is especially important for rabbits from birth through 6 months of age.
From birth to about 8 weeks the bunny is nursing on its mother, so its primary food is mother’s milk. The bunny’s developing digestive system is best suited for mother’s milk. A newborn kit’s digestive system does not do well with solid foods such as pellets, grass and hay.
Soon, the newborn kit slowly transitions from mother’s milk as a primary food to solids such as grass, hay, pellets and some leafy green vegetables.
Then, as early as 4 weeks it will begin to venture out of the nest for a brief walk-about. On its walk-about, exploring the world near the nest, the rabbit will naturally begin to ingest small solids such as bits of hay and rabbit pellets.
This slow transitioning from milk to solids aligns well with the development and maturation of the young rabbit’s very sensitive digestive system.
- Birth to 8 weeks – Mostly nursing, mother’s milk. Mother’s milk Nature’s superfood! Note that mother rabbit needs higher protein and calcium intake so that she can pass it on to her nursing kits.
- 8 weeks to 6 months – High Protein, High Calcium, minerals, and trace nutrients – A quality Rabbit Alfalfa pellet, perhaps especially for young or junior rabbits helps ensure these nutritional needs.
- Beyond 6 months – Bucks and dry Does do not need an abundance of calcium and protein maintenance level drops to about 12% to 14% protein. A timothy or orchard grass-based rabbit pellet is appropriate. An Alfalfa based rabbit pellet provides too much calcium for adult bucks and dry does. Pregnant or Nursing does may eat a quality alfalfa rabbit pellet.
Young Rabbit Nutrition – You Cannot Catch Up
Another point we wish to stress about nutrition for young rabbits is that your rabbit is still growing and developing, perhaps inside more than outside, through to about 6 or 8 months of age!
During this high growth time in the bunny’s lifespan, specialized tissues for specialized body systems are developing and maturing. This requires an enormous amount of energy and nutrition. Good nutrition provides the building blocks for the rabbit’s strong and rapid growth and development.
If the nutrition is not there for the rabbit’s body to work with, then the specialized systems do not develop to their full potential and are not as robust for long term use. We say, “you cannot catchup on nutrition” because in many cases, once the development phase passes, you can’t provide good nutrition and catch up… the damage is done.
For example, if a baby rabbit doesn’t get enough calcium, then its bones and teeth will suffer, proportional to the lack of calcium, for its entire life. The lack of calcium may manifest in weaker bones that break easier, or do not age as well, leading to arthritis, etc. Similarly, the rabbit’s teeth may never fully develop and mature. They may be malformed, break often, or begin rotting.
So, as weaning wanes be sure to provide plenty of protein and calcium to your young rabbit. Great sources for high protein and high calcium are a quality hay, augmented by quality alfalfa pellets.
Young Rabbit Digestive System
A bunny’s digestive system is very delicate, and sensitive to change. Do your best to make the transition of weaning from mother’s milk to eating solid food as smooth as possible for your bunny.
Food Good For Rabbit Digestion
Yes, we are talking primarily about rabbit pellets, but we also want to emphasize the importance of hay for your young bunnies.
Hay is Critical for Rabbit Digestive System as it is high in fibers! Fiber is the primary ingredient that keeps the adult rabbit’s digestive system healthy and working properly. Our post on Orchard Hay vs Timothy Hay For Rabbits provides a nutrition table for protein, calcium and the all-important fiber and our guide on how much hay to feed rabbits is very helpful.
“Lack of fiber is the most common cause of gastrointestinal disturbance in the rabbit…. breakdown of the normal physiological processes leads to disease.”
Final Thoughts
As a rabbit owner, you must realize that as young bunnies wean off their mothers they need more protein and calcium than adult rabbits. A great solution is to offer quality bunny pellets and quality hay to young rabbits!
However, too many pellets and too little hay will likely result in a sick rabbit, or at least a less healthy rabbit. So always observe your rabbits and adjust the number of their rabbit pellets accordingly.
Feel free to reference the best practices outlined in this post and let us know how your young rabbit matures in the comment section below!