help with a 4 week old bunny

[LRK]

I got a bunny this weekend – but am now realizing after several days of internet searches that the breeder I bought from didn’t know what she was doing – ie it’s supposed to be a holland lop, but I think it might be mixed and clearly she weaned the bunny too quickly. I do not have the chance to get the bunny back to the breeder with the mom and so I am reaching out because I want to do as right by the bunny as I can now. I feel awful about taking him, but I can’t reverse the decision at this point.

I will be taking the bunny to the vet in a few days (appointments hard to get).

Until then can anyone offer advice on how to help my sweet buns get the nutrients he needs? I’ve read so much on the internet and am not sure what is really the best approach at this point.

The breeder said he was 4 weeks going on 5. He has one ear down and the other still up. He grooms himself (stands firmly on his hind legs). He is eating hay (mixture of timothy and alfalfa), drinks from his water bowl, and nibbles green pellets – but is not super interested in them. The breeder said she was feeding her kits pellets and oats, so I’ve sprinkled some oats on the pellets and he definitely eats up the oats. In his cage there are always signs of urine and poop. Poop is formed round balls. At first they were little (but I know they can change sizzes due to stress) yesterday they started getting bigger. Also yesterday he only would poop outside his cage in his play pen. Is that marking his territory? This morning he had gone in his cage during the night. He seems to be acting like everything is fine, super curious, enjoys my company, and spazzes around his cage and play area. He does scratch one ear rather frequently. I tried checking for mites, but could not see anything. I will wait for the vet on that.

Over the weekend I tried KMR formula with heavy whipping cream. I got him to take a few drops then gave it to him in a dish, but he avoided it like the plague. Should I abandon the idea? try something else? be more persistent?

Any advice or tricks you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Lauren

[Sarita]

If he is eating on his own – hay and pellets, I would not do the KMR especially with the whipped cream. It’s good that he is eating on his own. What are the green pellets?

Oats are not recommended either – they are carbohydrates and rabbits don’t eat carbs – hard to digest.

Poops sound good but I would have the vet do a fecal test when you bring him to check for coccidia especially if the breeder is inexperienced.

[LRK]

Thanks Sarita – I went to North Texas Rabbit Rescue and they sold me the hay and pellets. I described the pellets as green because they are more green than yellow/brown which seems to be the color of other pellets. They said these would be good for a young bunny.

[Sarita]

Okay, yes NTRS would know – I believe they sell Oxbow so you are good with the hay and pellets.

[Sarita]

I also noticed you posted this in Diet & Care so I deleted it since it’s exactly the same and members can post answers on this one only to avoid confusion.

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