Transitioning from Timothy hay + Oxbow adult 14% pellets to Timothy Pellets + the Oxbow: how fast?

Syrasha

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hi, I have both mini lops for pets and American chinchillas for meat.
due to my living circumstances right now, the voluminous amounts of hay are becoming unreasonable and really kind of making me miserable with hay all over the place. I could (and will eventually, growout hutches are on my honey-do list for sure) manage this differently but my living situation makes that impossible at the moment. I've kept a stiff upper lip and just dealt with it for a couple years now, but it's time to make a change. Blah blah, woe is me, etc =P

So, after a particularly lucky find of a local feed store with the right kind of kit, I now have 80 lb of pure-Timothy pellets, and I've started slow to switch them all from free feed hay and regular adult pellets to replacing most of the hay with the free-feed timothy pellets.

Right now I'm here to ask how to transition my rabbits from free feed hay to "limited hay and free feed Timothy pellets" for a while (estimate 4-8mo?).

ive read up on some older threads here, re: "feed your rabbits whatever works for you, within good reason, if your buns respond well" and thats comforting, but I haven't seen my situation addressed specifically, free feeding Timothy pellets. I guess half my main question is should I free feed the Timothy pellets or measure it somehow"
And more importantly, how dangerous would it be to transition them more quickly than ~3 weeks of titrating off of the hay and onto the tim pellets? ...I ask because I'm running out of hay (I probably have enough for 6-8 days of full free feeding. & because I'm going out of town for a whole week in two weeks from now, and having someone else bun-sit.

Im concerned about a speedy transition, but I'm trying to figure out how concerned I should be :)

(with the Oxbow adult, I will be feeding them the same amount as usual around a 1/4 - 1/3 c for the mini lops, and ~1/2 for the chinchillas. and of course making sure that they have ample water)

would it be ridiculously dangerous to transition them over the course of a week and a half, or do you think there's a reasonable chance that they'll be fine? Sure, its the same plant food technically, but different is different. fwiw, the pellets smell fresh and sweet.

thank you!
 
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Stephine

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So sorry, but in my mind there’s no substitute for free choice hay for rabbits. How come it is unmanageable for you? Maybe there’s a way to figure out a better solution?
 

Grizzlyhackle

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I started with and still feed pellets and a handful of hay. I use a tuna can too measure pellets with. All gone I give a little more, some left a little less. I used to just fill the bowls. What a waste that was. Hay has always been free feed. I hang what I think they'll eat, hand full or more. Not everybody eats it everyday. One won't fool with it if I hang it so I make a overhand knot with a handful. That will last 1 to 5 days depending on his mood.
Some hay gets wasted, some eaten. 8 rabbits and I buy 2 bales 2/3 times a year. I buy straw in winter for nasty cold periods. They eat it as much as burrow into it.
To transition you'll have to figure that as you go. Give pellets and less hay until you're satisfied. Pellets will cost more in the long run. You can't get away from hay completely, but I've read some people only feed pellets. When I didn't know any different that's what I did.
 

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