Rabbit not eating cecal pellets / creep feeders?

[Dutchgirl]

One of my does has not been eating her cecal pellets for over a month. I believe it started rather suddenly. I read that limiting her pellets would help, but she was nursing a litter of six at the time and needed the pellets.

She is getting plenty of Timothy hay every day. She has been getting unlimited pellets - Producer's Pride brand from TSC - but now that she has only one 9-week-old baby left with her, I'm going to start cutting back on the feed. More recently I have been giving her a few plantain leaves every day.

She is making an incredible mess all over the cage floor. When she had young bunnies, they were getting dirty as well. Otherwise, her health seems fine; she is eating very well, drinking, grooming herself and her bunnies, active, etc. I checked her teeth a few weeks ago and I don't recall them being too long.

Am I making a mistake with her diet? Or does this point to another problem entirely?



Also - should young bunnies be fed alfalfa only, or is Timothy okay? The pellets are, I believe, already alfalfa.

 

[happyhens1972]

An adult rabbit only needs about an eggcup full sized portion of pellets a day. Even a nursing doe should not be given free access to pellet. She needs you to cut that right back and fairly quickly. Her hay ration should make up the vast majority of her diet, about 90% of it....in fact that needs to be pretty much free choice at all times but if not, at least a pile the same size as the rabbit per day.

She is not eating her cecals because her diet is too rich but she will also be missing important nutrients by not eating them. She will also be at risk from getting a dirty bottom and then fly strike.

Her hay should be GRASS hay such as Timothy, brome, wheat, oat etc....not alfalfa. This is also fine for the babies.

I don't think your girl has anything wrong with her that a change in diet ratios won't fix....just drop the pellets, up the hay and I think you'll see an improvement in a very short space of time

 

[Dutchgirl]

Thank you! Yes, I am going to cut back the pellets considerably (no more than 1/3 cup, but probably more like 1/4 or less). The problem with rationing her feed while she was nursing was that the babies definitely needed all those pellets, and of course she wanted them as well. I saw a creep feeder on the Bass Equipment website and I might buy it to prevent this in the future.

She does have access to plenty of good Timothy hay. I have never fed alfalfa, but I have read many saying that bunnies should be moved onto alfalfa around the time of weaning. I wasn't sure they were correct, and my bunnies have done fine on Timothy.

My problem is still this: she still has a baby living with her (I will be giving him his own cage ASAP, but for the time being he is still with her). If I give them enough food for the baby's needs, she'll end up overeating.

 

[Dutchgirl]

Not sure I can get the creep feeder in time for when I need it. Any suggestions on making one? It would only need one hole.