Off Her Pellets?

[PixelGirl2dot0]

Hi there!

My bun Beatrix has been "off her pellets" for about 3 days now. She's chowing hay like normal (maybe even a little more than normal), poops are fine and plentiful, she's her normal binkygirl self except for no longer eating her pellets.

I gave her some basil (her very favorite) about the same day she stopped eating pellets, but haven't given her anymore since I noticed she'd stopped eating her pellets just in case there was a correllation.

I'm thinking of running out and picking up a new bag of pellets just in case they've gone stale and I can't tell... I checked the date on our current bag (half gone, I get the 10 pound bags) and it's good till 9/2014 supposedly.

I'm concerned, of course, since this isn't normal for her, but I'm trying not to panic if she's really fine (I panic over her all the time anyway!) Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks!

 

[PixelGirl2dot0]

Some additional info that may be helpful:
Beatrix is 8 months old
Pellet is Select Series Manna Pro (she has eaten this her whole life)

 

[whitelop]

She will be fine with no pellets as long as she is still eating a ton of hay and her poops are good. Give her some more leafy greens and make sure she has enough hay all the time and she'll be fine. I would keep her pellets out for her, in case she wants to nibble. Just monitor her weight. I would also slowly add more greens into her diet, to make sure she is getting enough variety.

 

[PixelGirl2dot0]

Thanks whitelop... that's a bit of a relief. More greens it is! She really seems to enjoy them anyway. Thinking of breaking out my little scale (I have one for measuring beeswax and the like for making bath products) and plopping her on it to make sure she stays of good weight... sometimes it's hard to tell with all that fluff!

BTW - I always look for updates on your blog to see what's going on with teeny adorable little Elvira! <3 Thanks for sharing

 

[JBun]

As long as she's eating hay and pooping, she should be fine. There may be something wrong with the feed. You could try getting a new bag and see if it makes a difference.

 

[majorv]

We've had rabbits stop eating pellets for a few days. As long as they're eating hay it's okay for a while. Hay provides fiber to help with gut motility, but doesn't provide much nutrition otherwise. You could try putting something on top of the pellets to encourage her to start eating them again (assuming they're still good). Sometimes we'll put rolled oats or black oil sunflower seeds on them. I think others on the forum have used other things to 'jumpstart' their buns eating them again.

 

[PixelGirl2dot0]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I did try putting some teeny bites of dried papaya (her extra special treat) on top, and she won't even touch it on top of the pellet, but she'll take it from my hand just fine. Tried to trick her too by offering a bite of papaya, then a pellet by hand. No go. I'm really starting to think there's something wrong with the second half bag of pellets. :/

 

[Imbrium]

it would be really weird for something to be wrong with only half the bag of pellets. I would give it a couple days and see if she starts eating them again, then try a new bag of pellets if she doesn't.

I wouldn't worry too much about her not eating pellets as long as she's got her normal appetite when it comes to hay and veggies and is getting a nice variety of leafy greens each day (you might wanna give her extra until she's back on her pellets).

 

[missyscove]

If she doesn't eat the new bag of pellets either, you might want to take her in and have her teeth checked. I'd expect her to stop eating hay first, but there's no harm in checking them out.

 

[PixelGirl2dot0]

Thanks everyone for the help! I'm very happy to say the Pellet Protest has been lifted!

Of course, this was after a trip to the grocery last night to procure the biggest and tastiest-looking box of fancy mixed variety leafy greens I could find, thinking this protest would continue, and wanting to give her a little more variety than she normally gets (summer is bountiful by far with our garden but winter by the grocery not so much). By this morning, all the greens were gone, her hay was mowed down... and the handful of pellets I'd left as a "just in case" in her other dish were gone as well. I gave her a handful more pellet this morning with her greens and they're half gone already. What the heck?

This bunny. I swear she waits until I start to panic, then is all "Hey whatever mom... I'm totally fine!"

 

[Imbrium]

hehe, see, we told ya it's not that weird for a bunny to go off pellets for a couple days . I'm glad she's back to normal... I swear they really do feign things that look like symptoms of something being wrong just to get extra attention and/or noms, lol. my Gazzle was once exhibiting symptoms that looked like pre-stasis (still eating, but eating less than normal and not rushing to the food the second I set it out like the greedy little chub-bunn she is)... I'd dose her with something (metacam and simethicone at first, then probiotics once I remembered about them) and then *right* after I gave it (faster than it could've taken effect), she'd rush off to chow down on food. on day three, I gave her some probiotics (and again, she rushed off to eat) and after that, she was back to normal for good.