Is my Bunny healthy?

[Frankie.caba]

Hi, first off I’d like to say I’m really appreciative of all the information on this forum, I’ve been reading through as much as I can and it’s been really helpful and second sorry for the long post before hand I was wondering if I could get some advice or if there’s anything I should change in taking care of my bun? I’d also like to know if some things are normal for her.. I was told that she was a small breed and wouldn’t get that big but sadly don’t know exactly I’ll include a pic of her, and if anyone knows what breed she is please let me know!!

Diet/Tummy health
So I got her (her names Banksy) about a week ago at three months old and I don’t know at all what she was eating before I got her and was only sent home with this water additive (says vitamins). sadly I didn’t know I shouldn’t feed her veggies and pellets because of the sudden change in diet until four/five days later when I was reading about her health here. I’ve been giving her only alfalfa hay(mixed with a little bit of Timothy hay for fiber) and water for the past four days. Her poops pretty dark, and isn’t that uniform sometimes.. rarely do I get really small pebbles but they usually come out like a tear drop and not that round.. I read that it might be too much protein and not enough fiber so I added a bit of Timothy slowly. But I was wondering if this isn’t normal?? Like Is she in pain or ill? She eats a lot and sometimes does 500 but I don’t know ..

note:the coin is roughly the same size as a quarter.

The poop in my hand is the “good” poops
The poop against the white paper is almost all in tear drop shape


She also doesn’t bite? Like she bites to taste what something is but really softly .. and she doesn’t destroy or play with the toys I got her?? She runs a bit and that’s usually it *-*

 

[Hermelin]

I would say the droppings is caused by the stress of moving to a new place and changed of food. Let your girl settle in and the droppings will get better over time. Let her go on hay and slowly introduce pellets. Did you get pellets from the breeder, so you can change slowly?

Your bunny look really young, I can understand if it’s a netherland dwarf or something in that size at 3 months old. But if it’s a mix breed I would question if your bunny being 3 months old and not younger.

At least my nethie as a kit took around 2 weeks until he got healthy droppings. Just keep an eye your girl is eating a lot of hay and don’t lose appetite. If she start to change behavior and not eating take her directly to the vet. Don’t wait for a later time.

 

[zuppa]

Hi, first off I’d like to say I’m really appreciative of all the information on this forum, I’ve been reading through as much as I can and it’s been really helpful and second sorry for the long post before hand I was wondering if I could get some advice or if there’s anything I should change in taking care of my bun? I’d also like to know if some things are normal for her.. I was told that she was a small breed and wouldn’t get that big but sadly don’t know exactly I’ll include a pic of her, and if anyone knows what breed she is please let me know!! View attachment 51384

Diet/Tummy health
So I got her (her names Banksy) about a week ago at three months old and I don’t know at all what she was eating before I got her and was only sent home with this water additive (says vitamins). sadly I didn’t know I shouldn’t feed her veggies and pellets because of the sudden change in diet until four/five days later when I was reading about her health here. I’ve been giving her only alfalfa hay(mixed with a little bit of Timothy hay for fiber) and water for the past four days. Her poops pretty dark, and isn’t that uniform sometimes.. rarely do I get really small pebbles but they usually come out like a tear drop and not that round.. I read that it might be too much protein and not enough fiber so I added a bit of Timothy slowly. But I was wondering if this isn’t normal?? Like Is she in pain or ill? She eats a lot and sometimes does 500 but I don’t know ..

note:the coin is roughly the same size as a quarter.
View attachment 51381
The poop in my hand is the “good” poopsView attachment 51382
The poop against the white paper is almost all in tear drop shape
View attachment 51383

She also doesn’t bite? Like she bites to taste what something is but really softly .. and she doesn’t destroy or play with the toys I got her?? She runs a bit and that’s usually it *-*

Hi, she is very cute, so she is 3 months old now and you have her for about one week.
You feed her alfalfa hay with a little bit of timothy hay mixed in and that's all?
She drinks water with vitamins you got from her previous home?
What vitamins, can you take a pic of label or name what brand etc?

I think that you did very good that you came here to ask, in my opinion her diet needs to be corrected and her poos are not great because of her diet isn't right for her.

If she is 3 months old you can feed her timothy hay unlimited without any alfalfa, but if she won't eat it you can keep mixing for another week but gradually increase timothy and decrease alfalfa hay, so by the end of week she only will eat timothy hay.

Water must be unlimited at all times. Normally no vitamins added to water but please give some info on what vitamins.

Usually babies until 4-6 months are getting dry pelleted rabbit food for Juniors. Vegs / greens are not mandatory until 4-6 months, so her daily diet normally would be

80 % timothy hay (two bunches of hay in the morning and in the evening) about same size in volume as her own size. When she will eat timothy hay as her main food her poos should improve within a couple days.

10-20 % dry pelleted rabbit food for juniors. Usually babies until 4 months are getting unlimited pellets but if you just starting you start from just a few pellets maybe twice a day and you can increase every day a little more, but don't give a lot at once she can eat them all quickly and get a blockage.

Honestly it looks like she already has some problems with that her poos are not good. But not too bad yet, hopefully you can fix it quickly with correcting her diet.

That is when her poos will improve, but as I said start feeding junior pellets just a few at a time and unlimited timothy hay.

I don't know what rabbit pellets available in your country but here we have a thread with some links to information for pet rabbit owners in Philippines check it out might be useful to you

>>Your country isn't rabbit-friendly so feeling lost? Walk this way, we'll collect useful links for you in this thread!

She looks a bit underweight and a little bit too small for 3 months, she looks a bit like a Dutch mix to me, she is very cute

 

[JBun]

It's impossible to tell what breed she is right now or how big she'll get, but her coloring is called vienna marked. She is definitely not 3 months old. She is at the most 4-5 weeks old in your pictures.

I would give her as much timothy hay as she wants to eat. And you don't have to introduce it into her diet slowly, you want to provide as much as she wants to eat. It won't upset her stomach but will actually help her poop look more normal. Grass hay like timothy, is one of the best things for a rabbits digestive system. I would give a little alfalfa hay too for the extra protein, but mostly feed timothy hay and you want to make sure she is eating it really well. She should be eating a pile of timothy hay(or other grass hay) that is at least the size of her body, once or twice a day. And I would stop the vitamins. There is no need for them if the hay you are feeding is good quality and green. I would also give her a salt block used for small animals, since she isn't being fed pellets yet. Usually the pellets provide the necessary dietary sodium.

If a good quality alfalfa based pellet is available to you to buy, those can be introduced into the diet later. But I would not start pellets now because of the stress of being in a new home, because she was likely just weaned, and it is usually a bad idea to change the diet of a newly weaned baby bunny in a new home. So I would wait at least 3-4 weeks before trying to very gradually transition pellets into the diet, starting slowly with a small amount and gradually increasing the amount each day, keeping an eye out for any changes in her poop.

If she is playing and running around doing bunny 500's, then she is happy and definitely not in pain. A rabbit that is sick or in pain will most often stop eating and will sit hunched up not wanting to move, and sometimes grind their teeth. If she is eating well and playing, she is happy.

 

[zuppa]

I would say it is quite possible that she is 3 months, just underdeveloped given what diet she had, also she could be a dwarf or a mix since we know nothing about her parents.

I would transfer her to timothy hay (I didn't say you have to do it gradually, just suggested to mix some alfalfa into it if she refuses to eat timothy)
And would start feeding junior pellets, but as I said in very small amounts, just a few pellets 2-3 times a day. I might as well offer some rolled oats (but not same time as pellets, a bit later and very small amount).

Other than that I agree that unlimited timothy hay (since she already has it mixed into her alfalfa) and unlimited clean water would help to make her poos nice and round again.

Can't say anything about salt block have no experience with them, but I have experience with underweight abandoned babies and every time it was success. I also feed some herbs but don't want to give too much info since it's just her first rabbit, changing alfalfa to timothy (or other grass hay) should help to fix the poos.

 

[Frankie.caba]

I would say the droppings is caused by the stress of moving to a new place and changed of food. Let your girl settle in and the droppings will get better over time. Let her go on hay and slowly introduce pellets. Did you get pellets from the breeder, so you can change slowly?

Your bunny look really young, I can understand if it’s a netherland dwarf or something in that size at 3 months old. But if it’s a mix breed I would question if your bunny being 3 months old and not younger.

At least my nethie as a kit took around 2 weeks until he got healthy droppings. Just keep an eye your girl is eating a lot of hay and don’t lose appetite. If she start to change behavior and not eating take her directly to the vet. Don’t wait for a later time.

Thank you for your reply!!
Sadly I didn’t get any pellets from the original owner and I don’t know what she was eating before. For her poop I think they’ve been getting better actually from the first few days of coming home, but they didn’t look like how they should so I thought something might be wrong. When She first got home I fed her unlimited alfalfa but because the dark color I ordered Timothy and was a bit nervous to use it.

For a while I was actually questioning her age, too but I have no idea what a three month old rabbit is suppose to look like . She did feel pretty skinny when I got her but she’s actually grown a bit <3 for a while I was trying to find her breed and I think you might be right

But next Frida she an appointment with the vet to get her checked up for anything and maybe find out about her!

 

[Frankie.caba]

Hi, she is very cute, so she is 3 months old now and you have her for about one week.
You feed her alfalfa hay with a little bit of timothy hay mixed in and that's all?
She drinks water with vitamins you got from her previous home?
What vitamins, can you take a pic of label or name what brand etc?

I think that you did very good that you came here to ask, in my opinion her diet needs to be corrected and her poos are not great because of her diet isn't right for her.

If she is 3 months old you can feed her timothy hay unlimited without any alfalfa, but if she won't eat it you can keep mixing for another week but gradually increase timothy and decrease alfalfa hay, so by the end of week she only will eat timothy hay.

Water must be unlimited at all times. Normally no vitamins added to water but please give some info on what vitamins.

Usually babies until 4-6 months are getting dry pelleted rabbit food for Juniors. Vegs / greens are not mandatory until 4-6 months, so her daily diet normally would be

80 % timothy hay (two bunches of hay in the morning and in the evening) about same size in volume as her own size. When she will eat timothy hay as her main food her poos should improve within a couple days.

10-20 % dry pelleted rabbit food for juniors. Usually babies until 4 months are getting unlimited pellets but if you just starting you start from just a few pellets maybe twice a day and you can increase every day a little more, but don't give a lot at once she can eat them all quickly and get a blockage.

Honestly it looks like she already has some problems with that her poos are not good. But not too bad yet, hopefully you can fix it quickly with correcting her diet.

That is when her poos will improve, but as I said start feeding junior pellets just a few at a time and unlimited timothy hay.

I don't know what rabbit pellets available in your country but here we have a thread with some links to information for pet rabbit owners in Philippines check it out might be useful to you

>>Your country isn't rabbit-friendly so feeling lost? Walk this way, we'll collect useful links for you in this thread!

She looks a bit underweight and a little bit too small for 3 months, she looks a bit like a Dutch mix to me, she is very cute

Hello Zappa ! This was so informative, I’m very grateful, for sure going to use this info. Thank you so so much

She’s absolutely precious haha literally has me wrapped around her little paw. And yes I was told she was 3 month but tbh I’m kinda questioning it . Her diet rn (past two days) is about 70 percent alfalfa and 30 percent Timothy with unlimited water. I only used the vitamin for the first few days and slowly reduced so I don’t use it anymore .

For pellets, I give her about 4-6 pellets in the morning this is the brand
The fiber percentage is 22 and protein is 16 percent . Should I wait until her poop gets better to increase the pellets?
hahaha yeah I get my products shipped to the Philippines from Rabbito!!
Currently I have a bit of the 500g Timothy hay from doctor hay and 2.5kg of momis Timothy hay second cut.

When I got her she was really small, but I’m happy to see people noticing her growing And thank you for the species tip

 

[Frankie.caba]

It's impossible to tell what breed she is right now or how big she'll get, but her coloring is called vienna marked. She is definitely not 3 months old. She is at the most 4-5 weeks old in your pictures.

I would give her as much timothy hay as she wants to eat. And you don't have to introduce it into her diet slowly, you want to provide as much as she wants to eat. It won't upset her stomach but will actually help her poop look more normal. Grass hay like timothy, is one of the best things for a rabbits digestive system. I would give a little alfalfa hay too for the extra protein, but mostly feed timothy hay and you want to make sure she is eating it really well. She should be eating a pile of timothy hay(or other grass hay) that is at least the size of her body, once or twice a day. And I would stop the vitamins. There is no need for them if the hay you are feeding is good quality and green. I would also give her a salt block used for small animals, since she isn't being fed pellets yet. Usually the pellets provide the necessary dietary sodium.

If a good quality alfalfa based pellet is available to you to buy, those can be introduced into the diet later. But I would not start pellets now because of the stress of being in a new home, because she was likely just weaned, and it is usually a bad idea to change the diet of a newly weaned baby bunny in a new home. So I would wait at least 3-4 weeks before trying to very gradually transition pellets into the diet, starting slowly with a small amount and gradually increasing the amount each day, keeping an eye out for any changes in her poop.

If she is playing and running around doing bunny 500's, then she is happy and definitely not in pain. A rabbit that is sick or in pain will most often stop eating and will sit hunched up not wanting to move, and sometimes grind their teeth. If she is eating well and playing, she is happy.

Hello!! thank you for responding!!

I’m completely willing to care for her her whole life but tbh it makes me a bit nervous having adopted her so young.. like her digestive system and everything about her seems so sensitive and fragile.


I changed the hay and added a few handfuls of Timothy hay second cut and I think she’s taking to it :3)

And okay for sure I’ll wait about a month before giving her pellets lol that just answered my previous question thank you lol
But this is her rolling over and flopping on her back

 

[AVIE]

Keep us updated on Banksy, im new too, so have no advice... But learning. Rooting for Banksy here!

 

[Frankie.caba]

It's impossible to tell what breed she is right now or how big she'll get, but her coloring is called vienna marked. She is definitely not 3 months old. She is at the most 4-5 weeks old in your pictures.

I would give her as much timothy hay as she wants to eat. And you don't have to introduce it into her diet slowly, you want to provide as much as she wants to eat. It won't upset her stomach but will actually help her poop look more normal. Grass hay like timothy, is one of the best things for a rabbits digestive system. I would give a little alfalfa hay too for the extra protein, but mostly feed timothy hay and you want to make sure she is eating it really well. She should be eating a pile of timothy hay(or other grass hay) that is at least the size of her body, once or twice a day. And I would stop the vitamins. There is no need for them if the hay you are feeding is good quality and green. I would also give her a salt block used for small animals, since she isn't being fed pellets yet. Usually the pellets provide the necessary dietary sodium.

If a good quality alfalfa based pellet is available to you to buy, those can be introduced into the diet later. But I would not start pellets now because of the stress of being in a new home, because she was likely just weaned, and it is usually a bad idea to change the diet of a newly weaned baby bunny in a new home. So I would wait at least 3-4 weeks before trying to very gradually transition pellets into the diet, starting slowly with a small amount and gradually increasing the amount each day, keeping an eye out for any changes in her poop.

If she is playing and running around doing bunny 500's, then she is happy and definitely not in pain. A rabbit that is sick or in pain will most often stop eating and will sit hunched up not wanting to move, and sometimes grind their teeth. If she is eating well and playing, she is happy.

Good day! Thank you for responding JBun

Im not completely sure about her age, but I think I agree with Zuppa, it might be because she was under nourished.

But I just filled her her hay feeder with Timothy hay, and I swear she is the least picky eater lol. I caught her literally sitting in her feeder munching.
Im taking out the vitamins completely now - I never really used them because I though it would effect her eating her cecotropes, but didn’t want to change her diet too much so if she was use to it I didn’t want to take it out completely but I won’t use it anymore.
I don’t know where I could get a salt block but I’ll try and keep an eye out for one . Is there an alternative to a salt block?

Thank you for the tips!! She has quite the appetite hahaha . Shes very food driven and its adorable so she’s eating the Timothy hay thank goodness. But yes, I’ll wait a few days to make sure things are improving, I’ll keep you all updated? If that’s alright?

 

[Frankie.caba]

Keep us updated on Banksy, im new too, so have no advice... But learning. Rooting for Banksy here!

thank you!!! Lol both new bun moms

 

[Frankie.caba]

She did a flop/rolled over earlier
I think she meant to just flop on her side but she ended up rolling on her other side

 

[JBun]

She's very cute! And looks very comfy there

 

[Frankie.caba]

She’s been on Timothy hay for about 12 hours and I can already see a difference It’s a bit of a lighter shade, their almost all uniform in shape+size and is bigger.
You guys are amazing, I hope all your bunny’s do binksy throughout the day
Banks says thank you

 

[Catlyn]

On the mention of the salt block though-you can stop looking for it, she doesn't need it. Once her diet stabilises with hay water and pellets she should be good until old enough to be introduced to veggies. The salt thing is not needed and any yogurt and nuts/seeds treats should be avoided. If you want, maybe give her a teeeeeny weeny little tuft of some tasty herb some rare occasion. She's cute!

 

[HalaBuns]

She’s been on Timothy hay for about 12 hours and I can already see a difference ☺It’s a bit of a lighter shade, their almost all uniform in shape+size and is bigger.
You guys are amazing, I hope all your bunny’s do binksy throughout the day View attachment 51415
Banks says thank you View attachment 51416

The cuteness!

 

[JBun]

@Frankie.caba Looking a lot better. It really is amazing the difference grass hay like timothy makes in the proper functioning of a rabbits digestive system.

On the subject of salt licks. All animals need some sodium in their diet for their bodies to function properly. For livestock fed hay/grass, that need is met by providing a salt lick. For animals in the wild, they will find salt deposits. We get our sodium though meat and by adding it to our food. And pets usually have it added to their prepackaged food that we buy for them. For rabbits, normally they get their sodium as an additive in their pellets, so a separate salt lick isn't necessary when a rabbit is fed a vitamin/mineral enriched pellet.

But rabbits that are on a pellet free diet, or like this one who isn't being fed pellets yet because of it's current digestive issues getting sorted first, need to have access to a salt lick to provide that necessary dietary sodium. Not having the proper amount of sodium in the diet will affect an animals eating, drinking, and urine output. It can even cause abnormal eating behaviors such as trying to consume non food items to try and meet this missing dietary need. Providing a free choice salt lick means the rabbit will be able to have access to the salt when it needs it.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

I'm not going to add any advice because I think everyone has got everything covered, but I just wanted to say she is SO CUTE!