Can you critique my bunny’s diet

[sarahthegemini]

After Buttercup doing a few excess cecals the other day prior to her tummy issues I’ve become a bit obsessed with all things poop. Peanut has just left 3 cecotropes and I’m not sure why. I attributed Buttercup’s excess cecals down to brand new veg introduction (parsnip) but I’ve not changed anything else so I’m totally lost in regards to sweet Peanut. Anyway, can you give me feedback on what I give my bunnies? Let me know if there’s any shortfall or if I’m overdoing anything.

Every morning they get 4 tablespoons of Oxbow Natural Science Adult Pellets, scattered for the 2 of them. They’ve been on this for a couple of weeks now. In theory they should get 2 tablespoons each but Buttercup is a bit of a pellet fiend so I don’t doubt that the pellets aren’t split 50/50.

All Day, unlimited Friendly Green Oat Readigrass. 

In the evening, they get a heaped plate of leafy greens to share. I usually give them a combo of any of the following: romaine lettuce, coriander, rocket, watercress, pak choi, flat leaf parsley, spring greens, chicory, Chinese leaf lettuce, dill, thyme and curly kale. They’re not big fans of mint, rosemary or basil. This week specifically they have spring greens, romaine lettuce, pak choi, rocket and thyme. They also get a few pieces of dried chicory root with their veggies.

Sporadically throughout the day I give them dried dandelion and plantain. I usually hand feed them a bit as I like the bond and it’s like bunny crack cocaine lol. They get dried nettle too. 

Before Bed they were getting one or two slices of dried cranberry as a treat but since Buttercup’s tummy trouble, they’ve not had any. Instead I give them an extra few pieces of plantain or some fresh dill (one of their favourite herbs)

They get birch leaf and raspberry leaf throughout the day too, just a couple leaves here and there. I have bought dried blackcurrant leaf, coneflower leaf and dandelion root to add to their diet too. 

Thoughts? Anything I’m missing or anything I should stop? Oh, both bunnies have just turned 6 months old, Buttercup weighs 1.9 kg and Peanut is slightly smaller (both mini lops)

[kirstyol]

I’m not sure buns are supposed to have spring onions, hopefully someone with more knowledge than me will come along and advise better. I tend to look at this list when I am unsure: http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By kirstyol on 2/17/2017 1:09 PM

I’m not sure buns are supposed to have spring onions, hopefully someone with more knowledge than me will come along and advise better. I tend to look at this list when I am unsure: http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

I don’t give them spring onions, I give them spring greens which I believe is collard greens in the US?

[Bam]

I’ve never quite grasped what collard greens are But spring greens are fine. There’s nothing bunny-unsafe in their diet, but perhaps they ought to eat more grass hay – from what I recall, oat readigrass is higher in protein than grass hay.

Excess cecals in your rabbits can mean “immature” gut microbiota -it takes a long time for a highly diverse and sturdy gut microbiota to establish in the young gut. That’s normal. The buns need a good “collection” of gut bacteria in their cecum in order to break down the food and extract the nutrients -as I know you know

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By bam on 2/17/2017 3:38 PM

I’ve never quite grasped what collard greens are But spring greens are fine. There’s nothing bunny-unsafe in their diet, but perhaps they ought to eat more grass hay – from what I recall, oat readigrass is higher in protein than grass hay.

Excess cecals in your rabbits can mean “immature” gut microbiota -it takes a long time for a highly diverse and sturdy gut microbiota to establish in the young gut. That’s normal. The buns need a good “collection” of gut bacteria in their cecum in order to break down the food and extract the nutrients -as I know you know

Trouble is they turn their nose up at any other hay, if I give them anything else they just nibble at it. The Readigrass is the only type they’ll eat tons of! What do you think I should do? I suppose I could try topping their oat grass with something else – they quite liked Alfalfa King Timothy Hay although they never ate huge amounts but they loved the seed heads. I’ve tried various other Timothy hays, oat hay, orchard grass hay, meadow hay etc. Or is there a way I could cut out the protein in other ways? They’re on adult pellets now so that should be less protein. 

[Bam]

I do think this is mostly about their young tummies adjusting. Young buns need more protein than adults and even if they’ve reached their adult height, they are still putting on muscle. Some excess cecals are acceptable in young buns.

If you have some of the other hays you’ve tried left, you could try to mix in some with the oat readigrass. It can be a real hassle to get a bun to eat grass hay. My Bam eats more if I serve it in small portions in several different places.

ETA: I’d cut back on cabbage type vegs a bit, since little Buttercup had to go to the vet the other day. Sometimes cabbage-family plants cause gas, in some buns. I think that’s what I’d try first + encourage eating grass hay (I have been encouraging Bam to eat more hay since day 1 so I know it’s not easy).

This is just a suggestion though, with the cabbage-family plants. Others might have more and/or better ideas

[Chelsea]

If they don’t like eating hay and have odd poops, I would try Sherwood rabbit food. I promise I don’t work for them, I just can’t believe I accepted my mini-lops frequent cecals and perpetual odd-shaped poops for three years only to find out he has completely normal poop when eating Sherwood instead of Oxbow. I could have saved so much money on vet bills and frantic nights nursing him over stasis! I’m glad I know now.

[Bam]

Sherwood is unfortunately not available in Europe.

There are other high-fibre alternatives in Europe, f ex VetCare Plus Digestive Health Formula (32% fibre) and Fibafirst (30% fibre). They are both made by Supreme pet foods. 32% is the same crude fibre-content as in Oxbow’s hays.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By bam on 2/17/2017 4:56 PM

I do think this is mostly about their young tummies adjusting. Young buns need more protein than adults and even if they’ve reached their adult height, they are still putting on muscle. Some excess cecals are acceptable in young buns.

If you have some of the other hays you’ve tried left, you could try to mix in some with the oat readigrass. It can be a real hassle to get a bun to eat grass hay. My Bam eats more if I serve it in small portions in several different places.

ETA: I’d cut back on cabbage type vegs a bit, since little Buttercup had to go to the vet the other day. Sometimes cabbage-family plants cause gas, in some buns. I think that’s what I’d try first + encourage eating grass hay (I have been encouraging Bam to eat more hay since day 1 so I know it’s not easy).

This is just a suggestion though, with the cabbage-family plants. Others might have more and/or better ideas

Had I wrongly assumed that the oat grass was a grass hay? Silly me! What veggies have I included are part of the cabbage family? I thought I’d been avoiding those all along lol, shows how much I know 

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