No Pellets, only hay diet.

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PepnFluff

PepnFluff

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I took Rubz to the vet today about her soft stools and how they are quite often connected with hair. Anyway the vet couldn't feel any blockages and said besides the poo she was in tip top shape. The vet thinks she has ISS (intermittent soft stools) She gave me 5 printouts on it and told me to remove all pellets, greens and treats etc and only feed fresh hay (non alfalfa) Anyway my questions are.

Does this sound right?
Isn't Ruby going to get really hungry?
and how do I continue feeding fluff his pellets without separating them?

The printouts she gave me can be seen here
http://www.VeterinaryPartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=670

Thanks :)
 
It sounds right. They are advising the alfalfa hay diet only short term, then re-introducing other foods back in. This will not result in any nutritional deficiencies or health problems.

You would have to separate them for a short time to allow the other rabbit access to pellets and other foods. You can do this in a couple short feeding sessions throughout the day.

Pam

 
That article is one of the best written and most accurate regarding GI upset I have seen. The only thing I would add is a probiotic. The article does mention using Vitamin C....but the fact is that the benefit of Vitamin C is actually acidifying the GI tract. Many articles will tell you to never acidify the gut of a rabbit....but then they turn around and tell you to use acidophilis. And that acidifies the gut. I prefer using a probiotic. Here in the US, I use a product called Bene-Bac. It has millions of colony forming bacteria and contains beneficial strains such as L Acidophilis, L Casei and Enterococcus bacteria. The idea is to stabilize the pH in a normal acidic state and that allows the beneficial bacteria a proper climate in which to live and reproduce. And while this treatment is controversial, in some cases of GI upset I use an antibiotic called Metronidazole (Flagyl). In many cases a bacteria called Clostridium will start to grow....the drug is very good at controlling that bacteria until the good bacteria can repopulate....and the good bacteria will then control any harmful bugs. But the diet is proper.....low protein, no sugar or carbohydrates and high fiber. And your rabbit should have hay available at all times.....we keep litter boxes and hay racks full all the time. Hay in unlimited amounts should be the primary diet of arabbit.

Randy
 
You would have to separate them for a short time to allow the other rabbit access to pellets and other foods. You can do this in a couple short feeding sessions throughout the day.
Click to expand...
This is actually very doable. I separate mine twice a day at feeding time because I have one very slow eater. Ido not feed pellets to mine at all but I separate them when I feed greens twice a day. They have the routine down. When I walk into the roomwith the bowls, one runs into the cage and the other runs around my feet until I set them down. Then I close the cage doors with one in there and one outside and wait about 15-20 minutes until they are both finished. Works like a charm. They'll get the hang of it.
 
Would feeding him a few times a day but in smaller amounts be ohk? He's a really slow eater and it takes AGES to get through all the pellets.
I asked her about a probiotic and bene-bac she's american and said she knows what I'm talking about but doesn't know of anything available here. Yeap she did suggest a non dairy Acidophilis she said that would be great and to give 1/10th of the suggest human dose, I'm still trying to hunt some down but the health food shop is shut till Friday, so today lol I'll get some this arvo.
 
I decided to give my bunnies a bit of alfalfa cube with their feed each day. They just weren't getting the best hay (barn hay) and Bo seemed a bit less active or something. he's VERY happy about this new situation..... alfalfa rocks in his opinion.... Clover says "cube? what cube? you didn't give me one yet!".....

They are so cheep and we feed them to the horses after watering them down a bit, and the sheep, goat and the bunnies. It's a nice treat for them.


 
I think I should move to America, i've been phoning pet stores and about hay and hay cubes and the only place I've seen them is on trademe for $41!!!!!!:shock::shock::shock::shockhttp://www.trademe.co.nz/Business-farming-industry/Farming-forestry/Feeding-out/Other/auction-193750701.htm and I've just learned they don't ship to the south Island anyway:grumpy:
 
You are probably wasting your time phoning around petstores.
Go with livestock shops/stores. Ask around local farms etc, I get barn hay aswell and since quality has dropped I am on the look out for alot better to mix it up with but havnt had any problems with it so far and Casper eats more of that hay then he did oxbow hays
 
I thought I said I phoned farmstores, but I didn't lol. I phoned the saddledry, farm stores, pet stores and the SPCA and no one had any hay for sale nor did their contacts. But i've found a man who's selling some fresh baled meadow hay. Those hay cubes aren't available in the south island where I am only the north........

Should I continue to give Ruby pineapple juice, like I was up until we run out of pineapple, to help clear any blockages or will that do more harm than good???

I'm placing an order in America for some bene bac as it's virtually the same price as the non-dairy powder, just need to wait for mum to get home so I can get her credit card.
 
Without reading through this whole thread and therefore risking this to be a completely useless post, I just wanted to throw in here that Nemo's veterinarian ALWAYS tells me that rabbits need hay 24/7 and NOTHING ELSE. Nemo has a hard time keeping weight on (as he is the short-bus bunny who is also deaf and has a chronic eye infection), so he does recommend about a 1/4 of a cup of pellets daily for him.

B.B., our new foster bunny, he said he PERFECT at exactly 4 pounds, and said NO PELLETS, ONLY HAY. He practically wagged the finger in my face about it and said too many overweight bunnies come in to see him, and hay is all a rabbit needs.

Sorry, I was reading RO Today and saw that you wanted advice on a hay only diet. Just throwing in my experience!

Tracy :)
 
That's alright Tracy, I find this sorta thing interesting. What about teeth, doesn't pellets help keep them from overgrowing ?
 
PepnFluff wrote:
That's alright Tracy, I find this sorta thing interesting. What about teeth, doesn't pellets help keep them from overgrowing ?
Click to expand...

Actually, pellets arn't at all difficult to break down unlike hay.
 
timetowaste wrote:
Without reading through this whole thread and therefore risking this to be a completely useless post, I just wanted to throw in here that Nemo's veterinarian ALWAYS tells me that rabbits need hay 24/7 and NOTHING ELSE.  Nemo has a hard time keeping weight on (as he is the short-bus bunny who is also deaf and has a chronic eye infection), so he does recommend about a 1/4 of a cup of pellets daily for him. 

B.B., our new foster bunny, he said he PERFECT at exactly 4 pounds, and said NO PELLETS, ONLY HAY.  He practically wagged the finger in my face about it and said too many overweight bunnies come in to see him, and hay is all a rabbit needs.

Sorry, I was reading RO Today and saw that you wanted advice on a hay only diet.  Just throwing in my experience!

Tracy :)
Click to expand...

Would this be on the condition that there is a good quality mix (and I am in no way saying that a rabbit shouldnt get this anyway) of hay available at all times? IE. Blue grass, orchard grass, meadow grass, timothy grass etc in a mix?
 
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