Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE Dilemma about diet for young holland lops

Viewing 6 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • Dr. Doolittle
      Participant
      25 posts Send Private Message

        Hi All,

        I am new here (I will have to get some pics of my cuties and post them in the intro forum!).  Honey and Luna are 4 month old Holland Lops. One (or both) of them over-produce cecals. Over the past 2 months I’ve done many searches about this and read many related posts (here and on other bunny forums) and it seems that a too-rich diet is the culprit. From certain things I’ve read, it seems Holland Lops are, perhaps, more prone to this sort of issue than other breeds?

        When we brought them home, we were doing timothy hay and the pellets from the breeder. I slowly switched over from her pellets to Oxbow Essentials Young Rabbit Food. (The breeder’s pellets were, I believe, something bought in large quantity from Tractor Supply–Purina or another?). At first, we were doing unlimited pellets and unlimited hay (always timothy but sometimes some orchard or oat hay mixed in). No greens yet–I want to wait until they are 6 months.

        When I first researched cecals, I started limiting them to 1/2 cup total a day, each. I split 1/4 cup between them in the AM and again in the PM. The rest of the day they have lots of fresh hay (and always plenty of water, of course). This has not stopped the problem.

        Here’s my dilemma: They are still young and almost everything I read says to feed unlimited pellets. I cannot imagine limiting their pellets further. In addition, I worry that they aren’t getting enough given they eat a TON of hay (they have hay spread between 3 litter boxes and, in addition, two mangers. I have to fill both mangers at least twice a day!). I know eating a ton of hay is awesome and I don’t want them to *not* eat it. I’m concerned, though, that they are actually starving and not getting enough food.

        They are probably 3-4 lbs each and other than the cecal overproduction seem very healthy and happy. Poops are firm and cocoa-puffy. I have a theory that sometimes the extra cecals are because they come when they are snoozing and they ignore them. No idea if this is a good theory (LOL) but I do find many, many of them in the AM up on the 2nd floor of their condo where they sleep. There are others, however, that end up out in the “open” play area during the day.

        My options are:
        1. Keep things as they are and expect extra cecals.

        2. Go back to unlimited pellets and expect a LOT of extra cecals.

        3. Further limit pellets.

        I’m inclined to stay where we are–I feel like it is middle of the road–they still get pellets and are eating plenty of hay. What are your thoughts?


      • Sarita
        Participant
        18851 posts Send Private Message

          Overproducing cecals is not in itself a problem as far as health as long as they are perfectly formed – it’s a problem for owners who have to clean them up unfortunately but it’s not a health issue.

          Most young rabbits don’t eat all their cecals because they are getting their nutrients from their pellets.

          I would say if you are happy with where you are stay there and don’t be concerned about cecals not being eaten – it’s not necessarily an overproduction, it’s just they will eat what they need.


        • Dr. Doolittle
          Participant
          25 posts Send Private Message

            Yes. They are well formed. I don’t mind cleaning them and, thankfully, they tend to be left on the floor and not mashed into their fur. So, you think it’s okay to limit their pellets even though they are only 4 mos?


          • Sarita
            Participant
            18851 posts Send Private Message

              I think so – I imagine that is all they really eat anyway since Holland Lops are small rabbits. And they are getting plenty of hay so that’s good.

              Have you introduced greens yet? Might be a good time to do it now.


            • Dr. Doolittle
              Participant
              25 posts Send Private Message

                Thank you. 🙂
                I was waiting on the greens until 6 months. My 11 year old remembers how much our previous bunny (a rescue who, sadly, died during her spaying procedure) loved greens and she is very eager to introduce these two to them. She will like your suggestion to start now.


              • whitney_g1223
                Participant
                76 posts Send Private Message

                  My holland mini lop loves Parsley! I’ve only introduced her to parsley and a small amount if romaine lettuce. I’ve had her almost a month and I believe she was around 8 weeks old when I got her .. I just gave her the parsley in small amounts at first to make sure it wasn’t going to cause tummy trouble…. Good luck with your poop situation! Lol


                • Sarita
                  Participant
                  18851 posts Send Private Message

                    Definitely okay to start slowly now and parsley is a great way to start and try to hand feed – might help with bonding to them :~)

                Viewing 6 reply threads
                • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                Forum DIET & CARE Dilemma about diet for young holland lops