Pellet slurry instead of hard pellets?

[undergunfire]

I have been making Benson a pellet slurry with 1/4th cup of Oxbow BBT pellets, water, grape pedialyte, oats, and a hint of canned pumpkin. He loves it and prefers to eat this mixture more so than dry Oxbow pellets.

For those that do not know, I have been trying to switch him over to Oxbow from the Kaytee Exact junk food he was on because of his previous owner.

I add the pedialyte into the mix because he seems to have a hard time finding his water bottle and water dish. I tried to syringe him water tonight, but he just spit it back out. Any ideas on how to get him to drink?



Is a pellet slurry okay for now, until he will switch to "dry" Oxbow pellets?

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Curious? why the slurry - why can't he just eat the pellets?

 

[undergunfire]

Bo B Bunny wrote:

Curious? why the slurry - why can't he just eat the pellets?

He won't eat the pellets on their own. I think it may be because the food he was fed before was almost like a crappy dog kibble in texture, so the texture is weird...so he isn't eating them?

Basically...as long as he is eating the Oxbow, does it hurt to let him eat it as a slurry? It's temporary, until he starts eating the pellets on his own.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

No not if he's eating them that way.

I used just a bit of warm water to make them fluffy for Clover when she was a baby. Maybe try that?

 

[undergunfire]

Okay, I took away the pedialyte and made him a pellet slurry with water, little oats, and a dash of pumpkin. He is still eating it and I even noticed today that he actually ate some of the hard Oxbow pellets in his dish.

 

[Maureen Las]

What do you mean he has trouble finding his water bowl?

If he cannot find it he's probably not looking for it


I think that what you're trying to do is switch him over to oxbow bbt any way thatyou can to get him off the Kaytee exact.
I don't think there is any problem with the pellet slurry except that it is a lot more work to fix. I fix a slurry for Beau (dental patient rabbit) everyday which includes pellets , critical care and sometimes pumkin. They make a huge mess when they eat it.
Good luck with the transition from one food to another.
I gave up on BBt because my rabbits didn't eat it.

They will eat kaytee timothy pellets

 

[undergunfire]

Yep, I am definitely trying to get him off Kaytee. I hate this company and the food that he is on right now is absolutely horrid. It looks like dog kibble . I love Oxbow and I know he will switch to it with time.

His poops still look good, he is eating a bunch of hay, and doing well. I don't mind making the pellet slurry at all. I am already making food for my sick rattie, so making a pellet slurry is no problem. The slurry doesn't make a mess either, he keeps it in the bowl, suprisingly .

I think Benson is just still getting used to the idea of a NIC cage and not free-run of a mansion house. He is blind in one eye, so that may be the reason why he has trouble finding his water dish. At least he is getting water through the pellet slurry. I did notice that some water was taken from the bowl this morning, so maybe he is not a big drinker? There is pee in his litter box, though.



ETA: the slurry is just being used now to entice him to eat Oxbow. Once he gets the taste for the hard pellets, I will stop feeding the slurry. The slurry isn't a permanent thing .

 

[Gabby]

honestly though, i don't think there is a big deal about making a slurry, if that what he'll eat..I had one bun who would only eat a slurry for about a year, couldn't find any reason why, she just stopped eating period one day, tried everything, we found no medical reason why she wasn't eating, started force feeding her a slurry, then she stared eating it off a spoon while sitting in my lap, then she started eating it out of a bowl, I always kept a bowl in her house of regular pellets and she wouldn't eat them, or hay, or geens or snacks, just the slurry, after about a year of me making a slurry she one day decided to eat her regular food again..



best of luck with your food change over.

 

[HoneyPot]

Also - just as a side note, if he's eating the pellets in a slurry, then he is likely getting all his liquid needs from that and isn't thirsty. I would slowly cut back on how much water you're adding to the pellets and get him used to eating a somewhat more solid food... and then eventually get him up to the regular pellets.

If his poop is still healthy sized and no small or dry, he is probably getting all the water he needs.



Nad

 

[undergunfire]

I am taking a break from forums for a while, but I got this reply in my email and wanted to let everyone know that Benson is eating hard Oxbow pellets like a champ now .



k, back into "forum hiding" .