What is the best routine in feeding a nether land dwarf rabbit?

i am new to rabbits and i need a guide in feeding them, to ensure that they will not over eat. e.g. for how many days, will it be pellets or greens? for now, i only feed him rabbit pellets. the pet store clerk told me to only feed him greens once a week with no water then feed him pellets with water for 6 days and told me not to mix pellets and greens when feeding him. is this true? please help me, especially if you're experienced. :)What is the best routine in feeding a nether land dwarf rabbit?
I've been raising and showing rabbits for almost 30 years and I've studied animal nutrition in college plus I've read tons of books and articles on rabbits. I've raised several thousand rabbits over that time period. Here's the advice I'll give you.





1. It's best to stick with just the rabbit pellets, hay and water. Do that and you should avoid diarrhea way more easily that people that feed all kinds of treats. And as some people stated. Young rabbits are way more susceptible to getting diarrhea from treats.





2. If you do feed treats, keep them very limited. For example, like one baby carrot or 1 lettuce leaf a day. Rabbits can have treats, they just need to be in very limited quantities, especially during hot weather if you want to avoid diarrhea.





3. As far as the amount, feed the rabbit just what it will barely finish up in 24 hours. One of the most reknowned rabbit vets in the country (Dr. Terry E. Reed) used to state to only give them what they'll eat in just 30 minutes. But I think that is a little on the sparing side and your rabbit can tend to get bony over the back if you do that, especially if the rabbit pellet ration doesn't have enough protein.





For a rabbit pellet ration, pick one that has about 15-18% protein and has at least 17% fiber. The rabbit ration also should not have over 3% fat.





The fat percentage is what you want to watch most. Fat goes to fat. Get over 3% and you start getting a fat rabbit. You measure the fat not by weight but by how flabby the hide is. The looser the hide is the fatter the rabbit is because most of the fat a rabbit gains collects directly under the hide causing it to be looser. A heavy rabbit can be perfectly healthy if the hide is not all loose and flabby. It's like a body builder. A body builder will weigh more, but just because they weigh more doesn't mean they are less healthy.





You'll also hear a number of people downing alfalfa hay for too much protein. That's totally false. If a rabbit gets too much protein, it will just pee the excess protein out of its system. It will not hurt or damage the rabbit in any way. And excess protein cannot be turned into fat. What you have to watch out for are diets that are too high in energy. Those are diets that are high in carbohydrates. Vegetables are high in carbohydrates. So are fruits. And so is corn. That's another reason why treats aren't the best. Their high energy can make your rabbit fat. In rabbit pellets, ingredients are listed in order by weight percentage. So if you see corn near the beginning of the ingredients list you may want to avoid that feed. It's ok for the rabbit pellets to have corn, you just don't want too much since they are a high energy ingredient. Unused energy gets converted to fat so that the animal can store that energy for later use if needed.





Alfalfa actually meets the dietary needs of a rabbit probably closer than any other ingredient in rabbit pellets. That's why you'll usually see it as the first ingredient. It has a lot of fiber which helps prevent diarrhea and it has a descent amount of protein to help the rabbit grow. If the rabbit gets too little protein it won't grow properly. A rabbit needs about 16% crude protein in it's diet. Small breed rabbits used more energy per pound than large breed rabbits.





You'll see many people recommend timothy hay, but it only has about 9% crude protein or less. It's ok to give in addition to rabbit pellets, but you don't want that as the main food source. Nine percent crude protein is not enough for a rabbit to grow properly.





The main portion of the rabbit's diet should be the rabbit pellets. They are balanced by animal nutritionists to give your rabbit a balanced diet. They contain the protein, fiber, fat, salt, minerals and vitamins that your rabbit needs in it's diet. Adding too much other stuff to the diet besides the pellets can offset that balance.





Rabbit pellets are almost like a meal for the rabbit designed by a dietician. You can feed treats like fruits and vegetables. And because fruits and vegetables are good for humans, many think they are good for rabbits too. But to a rabbit, they are more like dessert. So they are like giving your rabbits cake, donuts, and pie. So if I replace that diet designed by a dietcian and replace it with cake, donuts and pie...Is that healthy? No.





Some breeders like myself who know all of the dietary benefits of certain ingredients can do what is called ';top dressing the feed'; which is where we add this or that to the pellets to help get better fur for show or to help the mother produce more milk for the babies. But it takes years of experience and learning from other experienced rabbit breeders, vets, and rabbit nutrition books to know what to add and in what amounts. Adding the wrong things to the diet can do much more harm than good.What is the best routine in feeding a nether land dwarf rabbit?
Some of this will depend on how old he is. Rabbits should not get any greens until they are 6 months old. Before that, give them pellets and hay. Be careful with the greens, as they can cause an upset stomach if they get too much-they need to be introduced slowly. I would only give greens as a treat, and rely mostly on the pellets for nutrition. Make sure the greens are clean, and have had NO pesticides sprayed on them at any time. Iceberg Lettuce is a no-no, Romain is OK. Dandelion leaves are OK if your lawn hasn't been treated. My bunnies always got pellets in the evening, and a baby carrot(s) in the morning. Anything else was a treat to be doled out sparingly.
Well We feed our buns 1/2 a cup untill they are 6months old and when they are 6 months old we go to a full cup a day.. When they reach the 1 cup a day maybe give it 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 at night.





If the bunny is under 6 months old you do not feed them any ';VEGGIES'; But you can feed them grass preferably ORCHARD , Alfalfa is way to high in Protine for a Netherland Dwarf. Plus you can give them Oats and Crackers.





When the bunny is 6 months old and you do the veggies you can give them some just 1-2 times in the week they are treats and if they get too many its not really healthy for them.
i dont know what you classify as ';greens' but the food ratios needs to be timothy hay 80%,


pellets 20%.





i also give a daily fruit or vegetable. when they hear me crunch open the iceberg lettuce, they come running to the front of the cage. its so cute.
There is a lot of misinformation about rabbit diets around, even on this site and especially form pet stores. The best place to go it http://www.rabbit.org . They are the authority on pet rabbits and pet rabbit care. (Note how I said ';pet';? Rabbits that are for meat or breeding require different diets and care)





If you rabbit is under 6 months old, you should be feeding the following every day:


Alfalfa hay available 24/7. Hay needs to make up 80% of a rabbit's diet. Without the hay, they don't get enough fibre to keep their gut working properly and their teeth worn down correctly.


Water available 24/7





Rabbit pellets to supplement - a good guide is 1/4 cup per three pound of rabbit. For a small bunny, you should be feeding only 1/2 to 3/4 cups of pellets a day. Make sure your pellets are good quality! The fat content should be less than 3% and the fiber should be minimum 18%. They should be primarily hay-based (usually timothy, sometimes alfalfa) - avoid pellets that list grains like corn as one of the first ingredients.





If you rabbit is 4 - 6 months, you can start cutting back the alfalfa and introducing timothy (or another grass hay like orchard or meadow grass). Alfalfa should never be fed to adults because it is too high in fat, protein and calcium.





If you bunny is over 6 months, you feed the following every day:


Unlimited grass hay (timothy, orchard, meadow, etc)


NO ALFALFA


Pellets (same amount - 1/4 cup per 3 pounds of rabbit)


Veggies*


Water available 24/7





*Each veggie needs to be introduced in small amounts. Large amounts of an unfamiliar veggie can shock your bun's system. It is recommended you feed 2 cups of fresh veggies a day. Never feed iceberg lettuce - it is all water and no nutritional value, and can cause diarrhea. Dark, leafy lettuces like romaine are fine. Rabbits love herbs too! Here's a list to get you started:


Romain lettuce, dill, parsley, lemongrass, dandelion, beet greens (not the beet itself), cucumber (peeled), cilantro, basil, celery, mint, pea pods, and peppermint leaves.





Carrots are a treat ONLY. They are very sugary and will make your bunny fat. An inch-long piece a day is the max. Same with fruits, a small piece only as a treat, and only when you bunny is over a year old.





NEVER feed store-bought ';rabbit treats';. Seed-based treats are very fattening, and rabbits can't process yogurt drops or milk. (Dried fruit and dried hay cubes are alright, but not common in commercial pet stores. I've seen healthy treats in only one pet food store, and this store was more specialty)





http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.鈥?/a>





I can't believe the pet store clerk would tell you those silly things.