Feeding Dotty- switching food over etc...

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mouse_chalk

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Ok, so some of you will by now have seen that we have a new bun- Dotty- a giant papillon/checkered giant we think....

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=42182&forum_id=1&page=1


She's 6/7 months old and is currently being fed Pets At Home (UK pet store) adult pellets- she came with those. For the life of me I can't remember the nutritional content of these pellets but I believe it's 14/16% fibre. Can't remember the protein or anything else. I know that doesn't help much lol- I'll try and find it!

Anyway, she's been having some excess cecals that have been a bit misformed- the long shape that's not quite made it into the 'grapes' if that makes any sense. Barney and Snowy were on the same pellets when we bought them home and they had exactly the same thing. They cleared up completely after they were taken off that food...

We want to eventually change her over to Oxbow- I prefer it as a pellet, it's what we feed everyone else, and the fibre content is a lot higher.

Since we only bought her home yesterday, should I wait awhile for her to settle in a bit to gradually switch her over? Or should I start rightaway to see benefits sooner? Do you think this is the reason for her mushy poops? I know there could be other causes of course, but just thinking that this seems exactly the same thing as with Barney and Snowy...

Obviously if it doesn't improve, then I'll look at it being something underlying etc. But right now I'm thinking that they probably fed her a ton of those pellets (her dish was always quite full looking and I know she got a least a dish full a day) in the store and that might be the cause....

Also, she's 12.6lbs. Going by the 1/4 to 1/2 cup per 6lbs (I think I recall this right from the library article) that's 1/2 to 1 cup per day. This seems like a lot? What should I start her on, and aim for to keep her healthy? :?


 
I think I would give her a few days to acclimate before making another change. I would probably wait until after the holidays in case there are a lot of holiday events going on at your house.

Couple of things regarding feeding. I am not an Oxbow fan at all. I would suggest comparing the food she is on and the Oxbow and make an educated decision based on fact....not the perceived reputation of Oxbow. I offer pellets much differently than the "standards". I offer pellets only to maintain body weight and offer some extra supplements. I feed my largest Flemmish (over 12 kg) about 1/3 cup pellets per day. My smallest Polish (about 1 kg) gets less than 1/8 cup pellets per day. I would probably offer her no more than 1/4 cup pellets per day....along with limited greens and unlimited hay.

Randy
 
Thank you Randy! :) There is no holiday stuff going on in my house- thankfully we're going to my parents for Christmas Day and other celebrations etc, but I will still wait a few days like you said before I start to swap. Meantime I'll cut her pellets down slowly. I don't want to suddenly restrict them that much, but I want to give her more hay as well.

As for the Pets At home food.... here's the info from their website:

Daily Feeding Guide: Netherland Dwarf (Approx. 0.9-1.1kg): 25-30gm Dutch (Approx. 2-2.3kg): 50-60gm English (Approx. 2.7-3.6kg): 70-90gm. Please always ensure that fresh drinking water is available.
Ingredients: Cereal Grains, Dried Forages, Derivatives Of Vegetable Origin, Minerals, Oils and Fats, Fructo-Oligosaccharides
Typical Analysis: Moisture 9%, Protein 12%, Oils and Fats 4%, Fibre 14%, Ash 7%





I know that Oxbow might not also be the best pellet either, but honestly I don't know what is! Apart from my latest delivery, which we've complained about to both Oxbow and the reseller, we've never had anything to really complain about... I know that feeding it to my buns, they have very shiny healthy looking coats, very healthy looking poos, and no weight problems. I feed all of them around 1/4 cup a day, a variety of fresh veg twice a day and of course unlimited hay from a mix of a local meadow from a feed/farm shop, and timothy and orchard grass that we order online... Obviously Dotty isn't on that schedule just yet- she's eaten spring greens before and kale, and we've given her a tiny amount of each, but nothing else.



Another thing I wanted to ask, is that we have pro-biotic- given to us by the vet to stabilise the gut- we've used it alongside antibiotics, when Barney and Snowy were stressed, etc. Would it be worth maybe giving her that for a couple of days, to try and help her settle down? I'm not one for self-diagnosing or anything, I just know that we have a plentiful supply and wondered if it would help, in case it maybe is stress-related thing (or at least in part). If not, I'll leave it a bit :)





 
I wouldn't recommend restricting the pellets so much on a very large growing rabbit. Excess hay (fiber) will also impede absorption of important nutrients during this developmental stage, so don't go overboard with the hay.

A diet high in greens/veggies and low in pellets is an excellent recommendation for adult pet rabbits, however may not meet the needs of a very large growing rabbit. Also, many people don't realize the large amount of greens needed to equal the same amount of concentrate (pellets) and may end up underfeeding.

Pam
 

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