bunny without incisors

[Ninchen]

One of my rabbits had his incisors removed because of malposition.

Now I am worried about the best food for galling the back teeth.

He gets pellets free...because he doesn‘t overeat, he is a slim guy.

He doesn't like hay or hay pellets or chaffed hay very much.

He is fond of cut veggies and greens and dried herbs (dandelion, ribwort, strawberry leaves, nettle).

Should I limit his pellets and force him to eat more hay?

He eats some hay, but he is very picky. I think he just picks the herbs out of the hay and then he pees on the rest.

 

[DazyDaizee]

You can chop hay into bite size pieces. If he is still uninterested or having trouble eating it, you can chop it and soak it in water to soften it. Ideally he should eat more hay, and he may not eat enough because it's difficult for him.
I wouldn't limit pellets too much until you're sure he's able to eat the hay.
I got this veggie chopper that chops things into tiny pieces which made feeding faster and easier when one of my pets had broken his top incisors. This is what mine looks like: http://www.chefscatalog.com/product/24247-Progressive-Fruit-Vegetable-Chopper.aspx but I think mine was 15 or 20 bucks.

 

[Maureen Las]

As Daizee said he should be able to eat the hay if you cut it up. Rabbits just use their incisors to pick up the food and move it to the back of the mouth where they then grind it with their molars.
he can pick up small pieces ofhay ( and other foods) with his lips .

 

[Ninchen]

He has no problems at all with veggie pieces, but he ignores the cut hay.

But I saw once, that he "stole" some hay through the bars of another rabbit‘s cage and ate it. So he can, but he doesn‘t eat it often.

I read that lots of pellets can cause abscesses in the back teeth and could cause dental trouble.

Should I limit his pellets and give him much more greens and only offer hay ?

Or should I force him to eat more hay with a mainly hay diet and only some additional greens.

Or should I leave everything as it isellets, hay and greens.

:?

 

[Mom of Joy and Love]

Love's incisors were removed because they were crooked due to bad breeding. He has no problem eating hay, as is, and any herbs unchopped. Only have to cut up the bigger vegetables. Everything else he just pulls in, starting like it's a straw, and down it goes. He's very well adapted.

 

[Maureen Las]

Let me think about this a bit. if his poops are normal I really hate to mess with something that is not broken.

Technically he should eat hay but he seems fine without it and he is thin, therefore you don't want any weight loss.

if the hay is really good quality hay he should wantit unless heis filling up on something better like greens and pellets.

I had a rabbit once who didn't eat hay but I was to naive to know the hay was just not high quality.

What kind of hay are you feeding him???
Was he a big hay eater prior to having his incisors pulled?
I'll come back to this thread later today....

 

[Ninchen]

His poops are fine and always were. My other rabbits are more sensitive.
He was on rabbit junk food at the time I got him, but never had problems with digestion, getting fat or the back teeth.

The hay is a very high qualitiy, not from a pet store or supermarket but from some person on the net, who is recommended by bunny rescue orgs over here.

He was not able to eat hay with his incisors, they were growing fast, he had trouble to get anything into his mouth, so we went to the vet early and had the surgery done a month after we got him.

He never was a great hay eater. He doesn‘t like cut fresh grass either. Picks the dandelions out and pees on the grass.

 

[Maureen Las]

I would try to cut up some of the hay and leave some of it long and offer it to him without any other food just for a few hour period . Try this when you are at home and when he usually is pigging out on his other food.

I am curious as to whether he will eat hay when nothing else is available. It is important for him to eat hay to keep the molars ground down. I have a rabbit with the opposite problem he has 3 incisors and has had almost all his molars pulled . he eats only soft food and eats no hay other than what is in critical care.
If your rabbit doesn't eat any of the hayI would try possibly to mix some alfalfa hay in with your grass hay to see if he will eat that.

try this for a few days just for test period to see if he will eat hay
After the several hours are up just give him his normal food.

Sometimes they don't eat something and we cannot figure out why but there is a reason that we don't know about...something in his mouth that bothers him when he eats it.
Just try this for a few days.

it is important for him to grind down his molars but sometimes a rabbit will just not eat something good for him.
If he seems OK now I wouldn't worry a lot aboutit now
I am interested if he will eat it if he is hungry


If he had a normal mouth and was overweight I would tell you to cut down on veggies and pellets and push hay right away. ..but I think that there is a reason that hes not eating it

"
we'll see.

 

[DazyDaizee]

I agree with Angie to offer the cut hay as the only thing to eat for a few hours and see if he eats more of it this way. If he does, then I'd suggest limiting pellets because he will eat enough hay. If he still eats very little, then I wouldn't limit pellets.

In addition, I would try some other types of hay. Even if you're feeding high quality hay, he may take better to a different type. What kind of hay is it that you're feeding? My guys like a variety, so we've started to introduce other grass hays in addition to their standard Timothy. This might make a difference for your bun.

 

[Ninchen]

You can‘t get Timothy hay over here – unless you want to ship everything in and have the money to pay for it...

I get most of my hay from here: http://www.rido-heu.de/.
Good hay doesn‘t has a brand name over here!

I tried about six different types, some from e-bay, some from the local famers.


He won‘t get his pellets today...

 

[DazyDaizee]

How long ago were the incisors pulled? Did they check his molars when he had the incisors out? Maybe he has spurs making it uncomfortable for him to eat the hay. If he's now not eating the pellets, I would worry he may have an issue with his molars.

I'd take him to the vet and have the molars checked. In the meantime, try soaking some pellets so they're mushy and see if he'll eat that. If he's not eating veggies either you'll want to get to the vet asap.

 

[Ninchen]

The incisors were pulled in May.
The vet checked his molars during narcosis.
It was planed to do an x-ray, but the vet found the condition of the molars so good, that she thougt thex-ray was unnecessary.
(She specialized in rabbit dental care).

He ate veggies at the same day and never had any problems with the healing.

He has no difficulties to eat pellets at all!
No need to soak anything.

I just worried that he doesn‘t eat enough hay because he gets unlimited pellets.
And this could cause an issue with his molars one day.

 

[Maureen Las]

I would only take the pellets out for a few hours to see if he will eat hay.
This rabbit sounds Ok and you don't want to disrupt his gut by too much change . Just try the hay for a few hours ; the issue is whether he will eat it; whether he is uncomfortable eating it, whether it hurts him to eat it or last but not least that he just doesn't want it.
I can't read german so couldn't read about your hay LOL

 

[Ninchen]

He had a night without pellets and lots of hay.

For breakfast he got some pellets and he woolved them in.:expressionless

 

[PamsWarren]

Hay is a very important part of a rabbit's diet, for sure, but some rabbits just do not seem to regard it as a food source. I would continue to offer hay, but if your rabbit does not eat it, I would not force the issue. If your rabbit does not eat hay, I think I would try to feed him as many different kinds/textures of vegetables as possible. Fresh grass, too, is supposed to be very good for teeth (http://www.vrra.org/dental.htm). I sometimes grow "cat grass" (ie: wheat, barley, oat, etc) grass for the kids. They LOVE it.

My first rabbit (Sabastian) did not regard hay as "proper food"...Fuzz isn't too keen, either. Fuzz now has molar spur issues (he's 11.5)...Sabastian, OTOH, never had a spur in his 11 years.