What Rabbits Do You Have? Show Off Your Rabbits Here!

[PrimroseMom1]

I'm very worried about my Mini Lop buck. He has suddenly gotten very very skinny & doesn't seem interested in his pellets or hay. He did eat 2 apple slices a couple of days ago & today he ate a small baby carrot & a small piece of broccoli.
I don't know what to do! I'm afraid he's going to die soon. He has been shedding out for like 2 weeks now.....

Do you hear any respiratory distress? What about his poop? Is it normal and firm? Does he normally eat plenty of hay to keep his digestion on track?

 

[APDoxies]

No respiratory issues.
His poop was loose on Monday. The lady I got him from said to take his hay away & give 2 apple slices. I gave him apple on Tues & was still with holding hay per her instructions.
Poop last night was normal. But he's losing weight fast.
Talked to another breeder friend & he said give him back his hay & give him oats. Gave him back his hay & he pretty much ignored it. Gave him oats & he dug in like he was starving.
Normally, he eats a good handful of hay every day.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Wow. Don't know what the lady you spoke to was thinking but denying his inoffensive regular diet and giving strange, rich, sugary hard to digest food is the WRONG way to go. I dunno where people get some ideas from... It's like giving a kid that's throwing up ice cream and refusing to let them eat toast.

LOTS of hay, some oats, and maybe certain safe greens (raspberry or strawberry leaves are good) are the way to go. You could try just timothy pellets, although hay is better. Nothing strange, sweet or high calorie. Lots of fiber, lots of clean fresh water.

 

[PrimroseMom1]

Wow. Don't know what the lady you spoke to was thinking but denying his inoffensive regular diet and giving strange, rich, sugary hard to digest food is the WRONG way to go. I dunno where people get some ideas from... It's like giving a kid that's throwing up ice cream and refusing to let them eat toast.

LOTS of hay, some oats, and maybe certain safe greens (raspberry or strawberry leaves are good) are the way to go. You could try just timothy pellets, although hay is better. Nothing strange, sweet or high calorie. Lots of fiber, lots of clean fresh water.

X2. I am certainly no expert, but I was told the same thing: treats like apple are given in small amounts when your bunny is heathy and eating all the heathy stuff. I was told that a rabbit should always have unlimited hay such as Timothy for good digestive health. They need the long stems to keep their systems running smoothly. My rabbit vet first asks about the poop and if it is runny he says to hold any treats and give plenty of hay and Timothy pellets.

 

[Lynzi777]

I recently purchased 100' of electric netting (not using it electrified, just as fencing) for my chickens and was thinking about using it for my rabbits as well. Instead of keeping them in their cages all day, giving them turns to play out in the new confined yard. I placed one of my holland lop bucks out there and I'm about to swap him out with my angora and give him some time out there to run around but was wondering......since the yard is so large, is it possible to let them both in there at the same time or will they still fight? Should I just keep their time in there separated from one another?

 

[Bunnylady]

Two rabbits in the same space at the same time will have to sort out dominance issues. Depending on the rabbits, it may be just a scuffle, or it may be a bloody battle, but they will make contact.

 

[Lynzi777]

Two rabbits in the same space at the same time will have to sort out dominance issues. Depending on the rabbits, it may be just a scuffle, or it may be a bloody battle, but they will make contact.

That's what thinking too. I guess I just thought with an area that large that maybe they'd avoid each other. Lol

 

[APDoxies]

Here's how everything started.....
I haven't had Bandit long, just a few weeks.
He gets just regular 16% Rabbit pellets & enough Timothy hay every day that he always has just a bit left over.
Bandit was moulting when I got him (and still is). His previous owner said he wasn't a very clean bunny & he still is not a very clean bunny - he doesn't groom his butt very well. Anyway - we were getting ready for the fair & I wanted his butt to look better, so I rinsed it just a bit & just his butt where he was grimy with plain water. I used a brush to try & get some of the loose hair off of him . He didn't like it, but I got quite a bit of the loose stuff off of him everywhere.
On September 11th, we took him to our local disctict fair to show him. The feed was donated from the local feed store where we buy our rabbit food - but the bag wasn't the same bag as ours, so I'm certain it was a different kind. He was there from Wed to Sat. (we have to leave them & their ribbons for people to see - he took a first place, btw).
We brought him home, put him back in the same pen. By Monday, I noticed he was feeling skinnier than usual. I picked him up & he had a small amount of mushy poop on his tail. I talked to the lady I got him from & that's when she said to take away the hay, give him 2 slices of apple twice a week until it's solid again. Then give him his hay back. Well, he just got skinnier & I was worried, so I gave him his hay back, hoping he'd eat something. He had pretty much stopped eating at that point (besides the 2 apple slices I gave him Tues). Yesterday he had a small baby carrot & a small piece of broccoli. So, I contacted a rabbit breeder friend & asked him what to do. He said keep giving him all the hay & pellets he wants & give him oats. So, I gave him a cup of coats & he nearly took my fingers off wanting the oats. I was happy this morning that he had eaten nearly all of the oats & some of his hay. My breeder friend said to keep giving him the oats, but start mixing in his pellets. Once he's eating well again, wean him off the oats. It could be my wishful thinking, but he seemed perkier to me this morning.
I felt certain he was going to die on me last night. I know it's silly, but I held him, talked to him & just prayed he would be ok..... The last time I raised rabbits, I did not have this propblem & have no idea what to do!

 

[PrimroseMom1]

Here's how everything started.....
I haven't had Bandit long, just a few weeks.
He gets just regular 16% Rabbit pellets & enough Timothy hay every day that he always has just a bit left over.
Bandit was moulting when I got him (and still is).  His previous owner said he wasn't a very clean bunny & he still is not a very clean bunny - he doesn't groom his butt very well.  Anyway - we were getting ready for the fair & I wanted his butt to look better, so I rinsed it just a bit & just his butt where he was grimy with plain water.  I used a brush to try & get some of the loose hair off of him .  He didn't like it, but I got quite a bit of the loose stuff off of him everywhere.
On September 11th, we took him to our local disctict fair to show him.  The feed was donated from the local feed store where we buy our rabbit food - but the bag wasn't the same bag as ours, so I'm certain it was a different kind.  He was there from Wed to Sat. (we have to leave them & their ribbons for people to see - he took a first place, btw).
We brought him home, put him back in the same pen.  By Monday, I noticed he was feeling skinnier than usual.  I picked him up & he had a small amount of mushy poop on his tail.  I talked to the lady I got him from & that's when she said to take away the hay, give him 2 slices of apple twice a week until it's solid again.  Then give him his hay back.  Well, he just got skinnier & I was worried, so I gave him his hay back, hoping he'd eat something.  He had pretty much stopped eating at that point (besides the 2 apple slices I gave him Tues).  Yesterday he had a small baby carrot & a small piece of broccoli. So, I contacted a rabbit breeder friend & asked him what to do.  He said keep giving him all the hay & pellets he wants & give him oats.  So, I gave him a cup of coats & he nearly took my fingers off wanting the oats.  I was happy this morning that he had eaten nearly all of the oats & some of his hay.  My breeder friend said to keep giving him the oats, but start mixing in his pellets.  Once he's eating well again, wean him off the oats.  It could be my wishful thinking, but he seemed perkier to me this morning.
I felt certain he was going to die on me last night.  I know it's silly, but I held him, talked to him & just prayed he would be ok.....  The last time I raised rabbits, I did not have this propblem & have no idea what to do!

He could have picked up something from another rabbit at the show. Sounds like he is on the mend. Yea!! And, no it's not silly to talk to snd pray over a sick creature. I've done it many times. And it works.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

It sounds like he did not take well to the food and stress of being at the fair. (Rabbits often don't.) He probably hardly ate while there, and the apple probably just exaggerated the problem. So I would do exactly as your friend said; lot so fresh water, lot of hay and some oats, wean him back onto his pellets as he starts feeling better. In the meantime, NO veggies, especially high stress ones and certainly no fruit.

The best thing you can do for your buns is just stick with it. Keep an eye on him close, and make sure he always has hay and water. Rabbits are meant to eat hay and grass and can live off of it if they're not breeding and have a mineral block for trace minerals. It should be a large part of their diet and it's the best thing for an upset bunny tummy because of it. A week on nothing but hay and water (not even a mineral block) won't hurt a rabbit at all.

But things like fruits and veggies can cause some serious upset bunny tummies even when they're in good health. So never give a sick buns fruits/veggies unless they're a proven part of the treatment (like papaya for hairballs or something).