Another French lop for me!!! Any advice?

[Lizzie098]

So I will be getting a French lop in a few days and I was jus wondering if there is something special I should feed her so she grows to her full size? I have gotten French lops before and they just don't seem to be the really BIG French lops. I feed my rabbits oats, pellets(mostly in the winter, or to the young ones mixed with oats), some corn, grass/clover, and they almost always have hay. Am I doing something wrong, or have I just been getting small blood lines?

 

[RabbitMage]

Pellets should be the primary part of the diet. The way you're feeding I'd be shocked if they're getting enough protein.

 

[rockdoveranch]

The world has changed a lot in my 61 years, and along with it are opinions on nourishment for humans and animals. When I was a kid my mother bought frozen ground horse meat and cooked it every night for our dogs. They ate once a day. Now they say dogs should be feed twice a day and they have come out with all kinds of expensive nouveau riche dog foods. I have free fed my dogs on Purina chows my entire adult life. I have the original edition of the first U.S. Boxer book. The author tells the readers what to feed their dogs. He includes onions. Ask any Boxer breeder today and you will be told onions are poisonous to Boxers. Go figure!

So were am I going with this?

There are all kinds of brands of rabbit food with a variety of protein percentages. I believe the base diet for a rabbit should be a well balanced pellet. I have French Lops and they weigh between 11.5 and 14 pounds. We have been feeding them a Purina with 16% protein. I would prefer 14%.

I am not a show person or a meat rabbit person yet, and I am sure others will disagree with me, but I don't feed my rabbits hay. I view hay as old dead grass with very little nutritional value. I hate having to give it to our horse and sheep, and only do so when our grasses are bad because of droughts.

When we put our rabbits out in a dog run they do get to eat the bahia grass that grows out here.

I would ask your breeder what your bunny has been eating and continue that food and slowly change your bunny over to your favorite brand of rabbit pellets. Your breeder should send you home with a small bag of pellets.

When we got our French Lop does the breeder told us her rabbits will not eat Purina pellets. She uses some very expensive brand. Well, she was wrong. I slowly switched our bunnies over and they eat Purina just fine.

 

[Lizzie098]

Pellets should be the primary part of the diet. The way you're feeding I'd be shocked if they're getting enough protein.

They get Two 4oz - 6oz., cups of pellets a day? Is that not enough? There is almost always some left in their dishes, I just mix it with the oats.