Pet Habitat South Africa

<< Back To Blog List

28 Sep 2023

How To Feed Rabbits And Guinea Pigs A Natural Pellet Free Diet?

Posted By : Guest

Did you know that pellets are not an essential food for pet rabbits and guinea pigs? Your pet can live without eating these pellets. When given in small amounts, pellets are still considered a healthy part of a balanced rabbit or guinea pig diet. It is crucial to provide your pets with plenty of high-fibre foods such as a variety of grass hays, leafy greens and vegetables.

Scientific studies have revealed that excessive amounts of pellet food may cause your rabbit or guinea pig to suffer from different health problems and to become overweight. The foundation of your pet’s diet begins with hay. They cannot get enough of it. Rabbits and guinea pigs need to eat a pile of hay as large as their body every single day.

A healthy rabbit should be slim and sleek. You should be able to feel the ribs just under the skin without a thick layer of fat. Obesity is a problem with rabbits that eat a diet too high in calories and do not get enough exercise.

High quality feeding hay and fresh grass are sources of fibre which are essential for your pet's health and welfare. It provides the following benefits:

Dental health - fibre wears down teeth reducing the risk of dental problems.
Digestive health - fibre ensures that your bunny or piggie’s gut keeps moving reducing the risk of gut stasis and bloat.
Behavioural health - in the wild rabbits and guinea pigs spend 70% of their time foraging.

A constant supply of feeding hay and fresh grass is essential to allow them to express this normal behaviour and help prevent behavioural problems. Hay is rich in calcium, minerals and vitamins (such as Vitamin B2, Vitamin B12, Vitamin E, vitamin D3).

A healthy option is to add some dried herbs and flowers to the hay. These tasty and healthy ingredients will make the food more desirable. Safe herbs are Rose buds and hips, Lavender, Calendula, Echinacea and Hibiscus Flowers. These supplements are rich in Vitamin C, lower cholesterol and have antibacterial properties. Your pets will love the combination of dried grass, flowers and herbs.

There are many varieties of hay, but imported timothy hay are better quality than teff (eragrostis) hays in South Africa because they have a high fibre content, are more palatable and great for chewing and maintaining healthy teeth. Teff hay on the other hand is a softer, finer, less fibrous type of hay.

Newhay timothy hay which is now available in South Africa, is homegrown and produced on prime land on their farm in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Produced The Newhay Way™,this premium timothy hay is highly palatable, nutritionally robust, quality assured feeding hay that small animals find delicious.

Newhay is baled within 48 hours of cutting to maintain the nutrition nature intended, and processed to reduce harmful dust and bacteria to ensure premium quality in every bite. Dedicated to delivering quality through every stage of the process, Newhay use the purest certified seed and every strand is grown, prepared, packed and dispatched from Newhay farm, giving you peace of mind that every nibble will be as wholesome as the last.

Adult rabbits should only receive between two heaped tablespoons of pellets daily depending on their weight. Adult guinea pigs should receive only one heaped tablespoon of pellets daily. It is crucial that you measure the pellets and feed each pet by hand, like you would a treat. You also want to make sure that you feed a healthy brand of pellets. Cheaper brands may come with many health risks especially if you don’t bother to study and research the ingredients.

There are many types of pellets out there that use old formulas without any nutritional additives and contain animal fats that are not good for your bunny or guinea pig. Other brands will try to sell you a muesli-type mix with seeds, nuts and fruity pieces that should not be given to your pets at all. However, it is possible to keep rabbits and guinea pigs healthy on a completely pellet-free diet. After all, in the wild they do not have access to pellets and they are able to remain healthy.

Nowadays, some pet owners are going a step further by offering their rabbits and guinea pigs a completely natural pellet-free diet. If your rabbit or guinea pig does not like to eat pellets and it’s not caused by health problems, then you can place them on a natural, high-fibre diet completely free of pellets.

For rabbits and guinea pigs that have chronic GI problems or have issues of excessive weight, it may be preferable to completely remove pellets from the diet. Please consult your veterinarian about changing to this type of diet if needed.

Bunny Nature have developed a new nutritional concept called »all nature BOTANICALS«. It represents excellent structured food of the highest quality.

Bunny Nature BOTANICALS consists of many unique plant, flower and herbal mixtures that are finely-tuned with a lot of know-how by veterinarians and small animal experts. These mixtures are carefully mixed by hand by the Bunny Nature team using only the best components, which are pure and intense in flavour.

Bunny Nature BOTANICALS can either be fed as a snack to greatly enrich the daily diet, or it can be merged into a complete diet, just like in a modular system.

Bunny Nature BOTANICALS is a new modular approach to feeding an all natural pellet-free diet. It offers your rabbits and guinea pigs a variety of delicious flavours in two different sized bags, named MAXI and MID.

A feeding table prepared by veterinarians helps in a simple way.

For a complete diet, take one of the varieties of »BOTANICALS MAXI MIX«, and combine it with a »MID-MIX« variety and feed the necessary »VITAMINS« as a snack.

Bunny Nature BOTANICALS are also perfect as an alternative diet for chinchillas and degus as long as you follow the feeding guidelines prepared by vets in table below.

It is obviously very simple, because 1+1+1 makes 1 complete diet. You just need to stick to the feeding table, weigh it, feed it and you‘re done.

Of course, always remember to offer high quality feeding hay and fresh drinking water.

Why do veterinarians recommend adding vitamins to the BOTANICALS mix?

Anyone who knows Mother Nature can only agree with the vets. Summer, sun, sunshine .... winter, rain, mud .... the weather has it all in store for us.

And of course this also influences nature, in other words, also the plants, herbs and flowers. Depending on the weather conditions and harvest periods, the nutrients, vitamins and minerals can vary extremely. However, this isn‘t good for animals in the long run, as they will develop deficiencies. Of course that won‘t happen overnight. But in the long-term, it has enormous health implications for animals.

To be on the safe side, it is recommended to offset the natural imbalances with vitamin snacks or to administer the essential »Vitamin C« to guinea pigs. This is really simple with »Vitamin snacks« in tablet form. They taste very good and are best fed directly by hand.

Bunny Nature takes it seriously when they claim that they can be 100 % sure that your pets are being properly cared for. And they are! The quality of each component is very important to Bunny Nature. Only when using the best products, do the animals like the taste and stay healthy. At Bunny Nature they mix the fine formulas carefully themselves and lovingly package them by hand.

There are two options to feed the Bunny Nature BOTANICALS:

1. As a Snack

the »BOTANICALS MAXI MIX and MID MIX« are particularly good due to their fine ingredients and natural composition. The mixture corresponds to the natural diet of herbivores and ideally completes their daily menu. All varieties taste deliciously fresh and provide a tasty variety.

or

2. As a Complete Diet

The entire »all nature« concept is also perfectly suitable. It is nutrition tailored to individual needs, which can be put together as desired, as if it were a modular system. The »BOTANICALS MAXI MIX« varieties with their various flavours are used as the main ingredients and are mixed with the »BOTANICALS MID MIX« varieties in the correct proportions. In addition there are »all nature VITAMINS« and the complete structural food product is complete - without pellets and extrudates.

The Bunny Nature BOTANICALS are for all those pet owners who are not able to or do not want to feed commercial pellet foods to their beloved small pets, but do not want to miss out on balanced staple food. With this concept, your rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas or degus are fully supplied in a completely natural, pure way.

Tags : How To Feed Rabbits And Guinea Pigs A Natural Pellet Free Diet , Pet Rabbit Pellet Free Diet , Guinea Pig Pellet Free Diet , Chinchilla Pellet Free Diet