# Can you overfeed a rabbit?



## Guest

I ask as was talking to my husband earlier and our barney just eats and eats and eats, he just never stops. If i give it to him he will eat it. I give him his rabbit food but also carrots and apples and any veg i may have in the house, also some salad as well. So that is his diet anyway. 

But we were watching him earlier, i gave him 2 carrots and then he was eating a whole bowl of rabbit food as well. 

I know rabbits cannot be sick but can they die of being overfed???


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## Lil Miss

it sounds like your bunny actually has a very unhealthy diet im afraid, bunnies are designed to constantly eat, but 80% of their diet SHOULD be hay, and you havent mentioned any hay?
they should only get a VERY small amount of pellets daily, an egg cup full a day is plenty
carrots are actually very high in sugar, and are bad for rabbits in large amounts, they shouldnt have more then 2 - 3 carrots a week, max
apples again, are very high in sugar

they should get veg about 3 times a week, and the vast majority of it should be leafy greens, eg;
cabbage, curly kale romanina lettace, spring greens, spinich


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## Guest

Lil Miss said:


> it sounds like your bunny actually has a very unhealthy diet im afraid, bunnies are designed to constantly eat, but 80% of their diet SHOULD be hay, and you havent mentioned any hay?
> they should only get a VERY small amount of pellets daily, an egg cup full a day is plenty
> carrots are actually very high in sugar, and are bad for rabbits in large amounts, they shouldnt have more then 2 - 3 carrots a week, max
> apples again, are very high in sugar
> 
> they should get veg about 3 times a week, and the vast majority of it should be leafy greens, eg;
> cabbage, curly kale romanina lettace, spring greens, spinich


ok thanks for that info that is a great help, there is always hay in his hutch but as you say i put it in and he eats it all!! 

It is like he is a human dustbin, but you have now opened my eyes to his diet etc. He is not overweight or skinny he is a big boy and healthwise is absolutely fine. xx


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## hazyreality

KathrynH said:


> ok thanks for that info that is a great help, there is always hay in his hutch but as you say i put it in and he eats it all!!
> 
> It is like he is a human dustbin, but you have now opened my eyes to his diet etc. He is not overweight or skinny he is a big boy and healthwise is absolutely fine. xx


He is allowed to eat as much hay as he wants, it should be unlimited. You cant overfeed them with hay, but you can end up with a very fat bunny with all the other stuff, especially pellets, carrots and apple 

*Heidi*


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## mumtobruce

I don't know too much about rabbits but I do have to say that I think your bunny must be so very happy and I think you are great


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## Lil Miss

hay should be avaliable in unlimited supply, its good that he likes his hay, it will make it easier for you to cut back on the pellets, too many pellets can be very bad for them, health wise, which you can not always see.
a general rule when feeding hay is that a rabbit will go through a pile of hay atleast the size of itself within a day, if he eats it all then top it up, i hay my buns twice a day with HUGE piles of the stuff


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## Guest

Ah right ok thanks everyone, the hay situation i need to keep that topped up then. 

I think the reason he is not a fat bunny then as i clearly have been feeding him too much of the wrong food is that he has the complete run of the garden all day and night.

He has a hell of a lot of exercise and is out all the time hopping around back and forth the garden. 

I am glad i asked now, thank you to you all xx


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## ChatterPuss

I have to watch my rabbits diet carefully as they will overeat very easily. I used to have rabbit who I had to keep a very close eye on as she easily put on weight and became fat very quickly if we didn't watch her diet! They will just keep eating if their is food in front of them !


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## purple_x

I think most bunnies will eat as much food as you put down for them.
My 2 will follow me around for food even if they've only just eaten! So you really do have to limit what you feed them otherwise they will get chubby.

Perhaps instead of carrots and apples try your bunny on some dried dandelion and plantain, alot better for him than sugary stuff.
I put a big pile of excel forage hay on the floor and mix in some dried stuff and my bunnies evening pellets (a very small handfull) and they have tons of fun digging about in that.
Plus of course they have unlimited meadow hay to munch on.

Some good things to feed your bun in small ammounts either daily or a few times a week are, cabbage/spring greens, carrot tops, parsley, coriander, grass.


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