Apologies to bobbyv for hijacking the thread, glad the stasis bunny is feeling better.
I'll address the specific comments below, but PLEASE note that when I'm recommending a varied, natural diet of VEGETATION augmented with pellets, this is NOT THE SAME AS A VEGETABLE DIET.
Hay is vegetation and a staple item for rabbits. Grass, herbs, weeds, flowers, various tree leaves, bark, etc, is their natural diet, and produce/vegetables when they can find them. Seeing as much of the above is not easy to provide, store bought herbs and produce are fine as a supplement to the hay and grass that still forms the majority share. (They eat greenery in the summer and dried grass -- hay -- in the winter).
Rabbits really don't seem to eat too much of any one thing when they're in their natural environment. My rabbits 'forage', especially my Flemish Giant who is allowed free run of my yard (supervised of course). They nibble on all sorts of things (as noted in the above list), and really don't eat more of one thing over another when presented with variety.
But of course its all vegetation.
The_Suze wrote:
Back when showbunny was a hit website (I suppose this website is supposed to be like that but am not entirely sure) I gathered loads of information. From my short time of rarely breeding the dwarf hotots, I've met many different rabbit folks to share their input of what to and not to feed them, their issues with whatever, etc. and have incorporated it into my rabbit's regimen.
A friend of mine used to give her rabbits a bunch of fresh veggies including romaine lettuce, carrots, etc. but had stomach issues off and on with her rabbits. A breeder (now out of the breeding hobby) from FL told me that they NEVER gave their rabbits ANY lettuce as it ALL retains too much water for the rabbits to obtain enough vitamins, etc. from it so they entirely ruled lettuce out of their rabbit's veggie list. Personally I feed my 8 y/o rabbit mostly pellets (a good quality pellet feed, not the cheap stuff) and periodic treats off and on including some little bits of carrots, crackers, cut up celery, strawberries (fruit and tops), parsley and junk food (sometimes). At 8 years old, he's happy, hoppy, friendly and lively and has NEVER EVER gotten sick - no stomach bloating, no intestinal blockages, etc.
Every few months I give my rabbit some timothy hay (just a small bag until it's gone and give him about a handful a day). He has a skin reaction to the timothy hay so I cannot give him an open supply constantly as he'll start an itch from it contacting his skin. Eating the hay, however, has absolutely no impact on him.
Showbunny is a great breeder/production site, I've learned a lot from the site and the owner Pamela Alley from the Rabbit Industry Council. We deal with pet and breeder bunnies, people with single rabbits and people with herds. RO has always welcomed breeders, our own Pam Nock, a breeder and ARBA judge, has probably taught me more about rabbits than anybody.
It sounds like your Hotot is getting a varied diet, so that's great. The berry leaves are particularly healthy, I wish I had a good supply.
Researchers (biologists, vets) strongly advices against the carbs, but aside from a low fiber diet causing a slow gut, it could be an odd-case scenario (OD'ing on carbs can cause cecal dysbiosis) or they may be causing unhealthy fat deposits on organs, but I really would like to see more research on this.
Lettuce in small amounts as one of a large variety of diet items (like everything else) is always fine, but in the case of a gut slowdown where the culprit or at least mitigating factor is the moult and a little more hydration is good, then increasing lettuce may help. Lettuce should never be a major part of the diet, though.
Yes, some vegetables can occasionally give some bunnies gas through sensitivities or food-borne bacteria, but they would have more tolerance if breeders were feeding the mothers and kits bits of veggies in the first place.
For every case of a sensitivity, there are probably double the number of dental cases or vitamin deficiency (or overload) issues caused by not giving them the veggies. Unfortunately, all things can't be perfectly balanced for all rabbits all the time, they are individuals.
My Flemish brothers would constantly break into the compost and munch down the grossest stuff without batting an eyelash. Mikey got up on the table the other day and polished off a big bowl of grapes and a banana with no issues at all. Didn't affect his appetite or his poops. But Pipp ate too many oats and almost died, and even moderate amounts of cilantro would give Dill a gas attack. (Note that a gas attack is NOT stasis).
This is my first experience hearing about a hay sensitivity, definitely something for the Library. Is it only timothy? Certain brands? Or all hay?
Nela wrote:
I'm sorry Pipp, not wanting to start an argument but I definitely had a rabbit who had issues with particular foods. The vet confirmed it as well so I do think it is highly possible that a rabbit can react to things in particular.
Oh, absolutely!! My mini-rex Dill used to get terrible gas from cilantro. I get gas from apples, but only certain varieties.
Humans and rabbits can definitely have sensitivities which is why its always recommended starting them off on new foods slowly.
Misty's (and Dixons) posts always warn people not to feed their rabbits vegetables at all, however, and that's a different story.
sas :bunnydance:
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