2 new buns, but I need some help on what to do

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The-Family-O

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OK, I hope this goes here.

I just picked up my 2 new buns 2 days ago.

Pepper Ann is 2 years old and a lion head, and 'Mr. Poofypants' (his nickname for now until we have a name for him lol) is 3 years old and a lion head/chinchilla.

They girl I got them from did tell me what she was feeding them:
*She has been feeding them this: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10323572. It is called Small World Rabbit Feed. And the first ingredient is Alfalfa meal.
*She also told me that she had been giving them yogurt treats, as well as some other food that had 'treats' in it, as well as other treats on their own (but no carrots or any healthy treats). I don't know what kind of treats these were, but she didn't give any to me and I don't plan on giving it to them anyway.

The past few days I've been pushing the hay more than anything else. I have given them about a handful of the pellets as well as very small pieces of carrots mixed throughout the hay (they throw them, kind of amusing to watch lol).

I've noticed their poop has gotten a lot better, so i was wondering if I should be doing anything else?

Also, Poofypants has had his poop sticking to his bottom and it smells. I cleaned him off yesterday, clipped his butt hairs a bit more and so far I haven't seen any poop on his hind end. he still has some stuck to him that I couldn't get off, because it seemed to be annoying him that I was playing with his butt. What should I do for him, and is there a more pleasant way (for him, I don't really mind. Baby butts, bunny butts, cat butts, dog butts, horse butts, I'm a mom, lol) to get the rest of this off?? I just seem to be pulling and I don't want to hurt him.

If I think of anything else I will make sure I put it here.

Thank you,
Samantha
 
http://www.mybunny.org/info/fruitveg.htm



Hello :)Here's a list of Veggies you can give your rabbits. But try one veggie at a time and introduce veggies slowly. Also, I would give unlimited Timothy Hay. Which it sounds like your already doing that.



I would also put the bunnies on a good pellet. They need a timothy based pellet. Not alfalfa. I use Oxbow BBT. That is a really good brand and you can buy itat Petsmart. I would NOTgive yogurt treats or fruit. Too sugary for rabbits. If you switch pellets you need to do it slowly(over a 3-4 week period). There is directions on the Oxbow bag how to do it.



If his butt is reallybad you probably could rinse it with water. I'm sure someone else will help you with that.--Only cause I've never dealt with that before.

Congrats on your new bunnies :)
 
Aweomse! Thank you both so much.

I will have to go to Petsmart tomorrow and check out the Oxbow.
I have a hay guy lined up for some of the timothy hay bales. I just need something to store it in, and some allergy meds. I have no idea how I survived on a horse farm lol.

thank you again, and I'm printing that list out. I didn't know you could give them broccoli, only because it causes gas, and a few things I read said anything that may cause gas stay away from. So, I might just steer clear of that. But we will see, I'm far from introducing mroe than just carrots as a treat at this point (or more like a toy for them, they seem to like tossing them about!)
 
Yup, SweetSassy and LOWAPB gave you some good advice.

Hay should be the number one component of the bunnies diet. Especially if the previous owner wasn't feeding them the best diet. The hay will allow their guts to develop the proper bacteria for a hind gut fermenter and also help to push any yucky stuff out.

I would give tons of hay and skip the daily carrot. Carrot I consider to be a treat that my buns only get a small piece maybe once a week or so.

For the pellets, until you can get them on a new food, pick out all the treats (if it has any) and just feed the plain part of the pellet. Then do a gradual switch to the new food that you decide to feed. I would also ration the pellets to about 1/4th of a cup or less per bunny so that they eat more hay.

As for veggies, do a slow introduction. Try one and slowly increase the amount you feed if no runny poops or upset tummies are observed. Then add another veggie after the first one is being fed in decent amounts, and then continue to add until your bunnies are getting a good variety.

Some bunnies have no problems with any veggies. My buns will eat pretty much anything with out getting an upset tummy. But other buns will get upset tummies from a bunch of different veggies. That is why you should introduce slowly, just in case the bun gets gas or runny poop from a certain veggie.

With the stuck on poop, instead of trying to pull it off, can you cut it off? Unless it is a wet mess, I would hold off on doing a butt bath. The bunnies will tidy themselves up in due time now that they are in a nice clean environment and getting a better diet.

-Dawn
 
The-Family-O wrote:
Aweomse! Thank you both so much.

I will have to go to Petsmart tomorrow and check out the Oxbow.
I have a hay guy lined up for some of the timothy hay bales. I just need something to store it in, and some allergy meds. I have no idea how I survived on a horse farm lol.

thank you again, and I'm printing that list out. I didn't know you could give them broccoli, only because it causes gas, and a few things I read said anything that may cause gas stay away from. So, I might just steer clear of that. But we will see, I'm far from introducing mroe than just carrots as a treat at this point (or more like a toy for them, they seem to like tossing them about!)
Click to expand...

I agree with the broccoli thing. I stick mostly with Parsley, cilantro, collards, Romaine, Spinach, Kale and mustard greens, & dandelion greens. :)
 
wanted to throw this out there...being a mom myself i totally understand that cleaning butts is no big deal!!!

change to a better food and give lots of hay and it should help. loose stools may be from stress
 
sometimes the stuff stuck on their butt is a cecotrope that they didn't bother eating as they are well fed. I have two that just lay around and when they go, its gets stuck--I check them a couple times a day and use unscented baby wipes.
 
Yeah you should switch to different pellets, carrots, lettuce(not Iceberg) but apples and pears and veggies and fruit are all healthy for your animals. I give my rabbits yogurt drops because they enjoy them( i have a californian-boy-8 ibs 10 ounces- Toby keith-a.k.a.Toby and a mini lop named walter, they really enjoy them, they are healthy fruits in a little drop and they are solid.
 
Make sure you switch them gradually to the new pellet. I would switch first, taking at least 2 weeks to do so, then cut back to a normal amount once they're on a timothy pellet. If you don't know exactly how much they're used to being fed, measure out a couple of cups, then re-measure at the end of the day to see how much they ate. Then you can gradually change that same amount each day to the new pellet. If they eat a cup, for instance, you can go to 3/4c old, 1/4c new, etc, until they're getting just 1c new. I say this because just providing a full bowl at all times of a mix of the old and the new may make them just pick out the old stuff and not eat any new stuff.

Kaytee Timothy Complete is also a decent pellet available at Petsmart, and it's a bit cheaper if that's an issue. I get my Oxbow BBT at a much lower price because our local chain of pet stores carries it too, so that may be a better option. I pay less for a 10lb bag there than I do for a 5lb bag at Petsmart!

The veggies that I think are the easiest on bellies are Romaine, parsley, cilantro, dandelion greens, and "spring mix" lettuce. They're the veggies I turn to for a bunny that I don't know if it can tolerate greens (shelter bunnies), or after stressful situations like car rides for my bunnies. Things that can be gassy, like collards, broccoli, kale, cabbage, etc, I wouldn't try for a few weeks until you're sure they do well on the others.

The poop on the lionhead's bum sounds like cecotropes, maybe. They're poops that they're supposed to eat--produced by fermentation of fiber in a special digestive tract called the cecum (somewhat analogous to what the appendix used to be in humans). These are mushy and smelly (kind of like onions). A lot of bunnies that are on a high-protein diet, like unlimited alfalfa pellets, will not eat all their cecotropes because they can just eat tasty pellets instead. Other reasons to not eat them are overweight, fur in the way, or spinal problems that make it hard to get at the poos. Usually they are eaten as they are formed, so if the bunny can't reach back there they can't eat them. You might consider trimming his butt fur a bit for now. Also, sometimes they can be a sign of illness, but I would really suspect it's the alfalfa pellet that's causing that, and maybe some hair or overweight issues.

Do they like the hay? If so, that's a great start! It sounds like these guys are in very capable hands now and will get a much better diet! :toast:
 
SweetSassy wrote:
The-Family-O wrote:
Aweomse! Thank you both so much.

I will have to go to Petsmart tomorrow and check out the Oxbow.
I have a hay guy lined up for some of the timothy hay bales. I just need something to store it in, and some allergy meds. I have no idea how I survived on a horse farm lol.

thank you again, and I'm printing that list out. I didn't know you could give them broccoli, only because it causes gas, and a few things I read said anything that may cause gas stay away from. So, I might just steer clear of that. But we will see, I'm far from introducing mroe than just carrots as a treat at this point (or more like a toy for them, they seem to like tossing them about!)
Click to expand...

I agree with the broccoli thing. I stick mostly with Parsley, cilantro, collards, Romaine, Spinach, Kale and mustard greens, & dandelion greens. :)
Click to expand...

I can't wait for spring! Dandelion greens galore!

So, you don't feed your buns anything that might make them gassy? I'm just afraid of harming them. I'd rather steer clear then do it and have something happen.
 
fuzz16 wrote:
wanted to throw this out there...being a mom myself i totally understand that cleaning butts is no big deal!!!

change to a better food and give lots of hay and it should help. loose stools may be from stress
Click to expand...

LOL, thank you. The wonderful thing about being a mom is that you get use to gross stuff. There's not much that makes me gag and go EW hahaha

Their poop hasn't been loose for a few days now, so maybe it was a combo of the stress and poor diet. So far they are adjusting pretty good to the new environment and diet of healthy stuff :)

I love this place!!
 
Nancy McClelland wrote:
sometimes the stuff stuck on their butt is a cecotrope that they didn't bother eating as they are well fed. I have two that just lay around and when they go, its gets stuck--I check them a couple times a day and use unscented baby wipes.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much!
And the wipes are a good idea :)
 
bearbop wrote:
Yeah you should switch to different pellets, carrots, lettuce(not Iceberg) but apples and pears and veggies and fruit are all healthy for your animals. I give my rabbits yogurt drops because they enjoy them( i have a californian-boy-8 ibs 10 ounces- Toby keith-a.k.a.Toby and a mini lop named walter, they really enjoy them, they are healthy fruits in a little drop and they are solid.
Click to expand...

As long as they won't hurt them, I don't have a problem eventually using them as a nice treat. I just wasn't sure about it... Thank you though!
 
Yogurt drops are ok in really small quantities--i'd say no more than 2 a week. One of my bunnies gets sick if we give them to her too. Too much sugar.
 
tonyshuman wrote:
Make sure you switch them gradually to the new pellet. I would switch first, taking at least 2 weeks to do so, then cut back to a normal amount once they're on a timothy pellet. If you don't know exactly how much they're used to being fed, measure out a couple of cups, then re-measure at the end of the day to see how much they ate. Then you can gradually change that same amount each day to the new pellet. If they eat a cup, for instance, you can go to 3/4c old, 1/4c new, etc, until they're getting just 1c new. I say this because just providing a full bowl at all times of a mix of the old and the new may make them just pick out the old stuff and not eat any new stuff.

Kaytee Timothy Complete is also a decent pellet available at Petsmart, and it's a bit cheaper if that's an issue. I get my Oxbow BBT at a much lower price because our local chain of pet stores carries it too, so that may be a better option. I pay less for a 10lb bag there than I do for a 5lb bag at Petsmart!

The veggies that I think are the easiest on bellies are Romaine, parsley, cilantro, dandelion greens, and "spring mix" lettuce. They're the veggies I turn to for a bunny that I don't know if it can tolerate greens (shelter bunnies), or after stressful situations like car rides for my bunnies. Things that can be gassy, like collards, broccoli, kale, cabbage, etc, I wouldn't try for a few weeks until you're sure they do well on the others.

The poop on the lionhead's bum sounds like cecotropes, maybe. They're poops that they're supposed to eat--produced by fermentation of fiber in a special digestive tract called the cecum (somewhat analogous to what the appendix used to be in humans). These are mushy and smelly (kind of like onions). A lot of bunnies that are on a high-protein diet, like unlimited alfalfa pellets, will not eat all their cecotropes because they can just eat tasty pellets instead. Other reasons to not eat them are overweight, fur in the way, or spinal problems that make it hard to get at the poos. Usually they are eaten as they are formed, so if the bunny can't reach back there they can't eat them. You might consider trimming his butt fur a bit for now. Also, sometimes they can be a sign of illness, but I would really suspect it's the alfalfa pellet that's causing that, and maybe some hair or overweight issues.

Do they like the hay? If so, that's a great start! It sounds like these guys are in very capable hands now and will get a much better diet! :toast:
Click to expand...

Right now money is a bit tight, but it's getting better. this past holiday has been hard for us.

Anywho, the greens for after a car ride sounds like a good idea. I was actually thinking that once I have them down to a better pellet and have figured out what they can and can't have, I will do a weekly bunny salad for them. lol. Spoiled buns hahahaha.

Is spinach ok for bunnies? I was curious because I haven't seen anything that says they can or can't..

Thank you so much for all the information! I really appreciate it soo very much!!
 
Spinach has a lot of calcium so shoul be fed rarely.

There has been a lot of discussion of food in this thread . As someone pointed out earlier please take this very slow.

Do not introduce a lot of different new foods at once. keep it simple right now, hay is the most important part of the diet.
keep the amounts of pellets and veggies in moderation.
i would not even start veggies until the poop is firm and normal

Iwould give both rabbits a probiotic like benebac which you can get at petsmart. the gel tubes are sold in individual doses for small small animals or the powdered form sold for cats and dogs is fine also. You can mix the powder with a tiny piece of banana (or pumpkin) to get it in them.
there have been a lot of changes for them. and this could help maintain good gut flora during the changes.

Small world pellets is not a good feed so it is good that they are getting off that , however changing from a poor food to a better one can still disrupt the gut if done too quuickly. focus on hay .

let us know how things go ;)
 
A question about the cecotropes:
Is this something that they instinctively know to do or something they see and are taught by their bunny parents?

i was just curious. :)

As for the food talk, I write down everything in a notebook. That's why I've been asking a lot of the food questions because what I thought I knew about rabbits in contrast to coming here is totally different. I had rabbits before, but 2 were outside rabbits and my mom fed them any veggies and fruit she bought them, and my last rabbit that I had 11 years ago, I picked up generic 'rabbit food'.
When I heard that Em had rabbits, I immediately called her about Reeses, and she gave me a lot of excellent advice, and then told me to come here. In less than 2 weeks I've learned a ton of awesome stuff, and so, i keep a notebook that I can pick up if I can't get on here for whatever reason.

Thank you to everyone with all the advice. Really, it's the best advice I could have been given. Or even researched.

So far, the mostly hay, switching pellets slowly with lots of water diet has been working very well. I've notice that their poops have become more solid, and Oreo doesn't have any stuck to his bottom anymore since we started this new diet and I trimmed him little bum.

We now have a new guy (Fred the BunBun) who was fed this 'specialty' rabbit food. It smells horrible, and I have no idea what the name of it is. There is no way it is healthy though. So we immediately started the switch last night when we got home with him. I gave him a 1/4 cup (total) of food, mainly the old food mixed with about a tablespoon of the new food. he seems to be eating it just fine and I haven't noticed anything wrong with his poops. I know they weren't giving him hay (but when I gave it to him, he ate it right up!). They were also giving him a lot of apples and lettuce as part of his daily diet. Needless to say they have been cut out lol. Like I said, so far he seems to be just fine. Any changes I will of course come here and ask.

i also found a vet that is about 45 minutes from us, who works with rabbits. So, in the next few weeks we will be going in for a visit. Should be fun hahahaha
 
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