poop talk

[Nicky Snow]

ok hope this isn't too long....

My bun Rue has out of control poop. It started with diarreah, (that'show i found this forum). I had always fed her Bonanza 1 small bowl, andtwo leafy Kales and some carrots. And she always had normal poops.

i noticed after moving to another city, wet/sticky poops. So i tried toeliminate the source,changing her food from the Bonanza (withlots of treats) to regular pellets, she refused to eat them, so i gaveback the Bonanza, i stopped giving her tap water, and changed tobottled water. i stopped giving the kale, started giving her Timothyhay... and her poop went back to normal. please note during this wholetime she seemed very healthy and normal.

Days ago i noticed her poops were small and light brown, again, she wasstill her normal self, so i gave her a bit of celery, and put somevitamin drops in her water...and now her poops are wet and stickyagain. Now i hope to get her poops tested by the vet in the next fewdays...but any ideas? She does seem her normal self running aroundcausing trouble, but i am worrying.

any ideas?

thanks

Nicole

 

[Shuu]

celery may be a little too watery if she's thatsensitive. Try giving her oats, most buns like them and they may helpharder her poop. Also keep at the timothy hay. She just may not be keenon the idea, but it is beneficial for her.

 

[FreddysMom]

You really gotta get her off that bonanza stuff..its like a bag of chex mix...fills you up but not good foryou........if you do it slowly shell get the hint......get a hugeziplock bag and do this each week:

1st week: 3parts of bonanza, 1 part good pellets such as purina or oxbow

2nd/3rd week: 2 parts bonanza, 2 parts good pellet

4th week: 1 part bonanza, 3 parts good pellet

and if you need to..you can continue to add a pinch of the bonanza forawhile as a treat....shell be hungry and has to eventualy eat!

as for the diareahha....keep going with the timothy hay...try some oatsas Shuu suggested..and you can give her some pedialyte to keep her fromgetting dehyrated...i would stop with the veggies for awhile and lether system get back on track and then slowly introduce one thing at atime. goodluck and i hope her poops improve!!

 

[Nicky Snow]

thanks Shuu.

i have been giving her as much hay as she can eat and i just boughtsome oats today, she ate a few, and i left her with some while i'm atwork (night shift sucks!) How much oats should be given and how often?i looked through some old threads, but still not sure.

Nicole.

 

[Nicky Snow]

thanks FreddysMom.

i have been trying for weeks to get her off the Bonanza. i have triedthe mixing, and changing just plain pellets so they are fresh everyday,but she just refuses to eat. i think that she'll get hungry enough, butshe just wont eat for days. and the mummy part of me goes crazy whenshe doesn't eat. the weirdest part is when she just eats the Bonanzaand hay, her poops are normal. She's not over weight, and doesn't overeat.

i will for sure keep trying to faze out the bonanza. i just want her to be heathly and happy. thanks again

Nicole

 

[naturestee]

Just give her a pinch or so of oats.My Mocha, who is very small (~2 lbs) gets about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon aday.

Does Rue eat much hay? You can encourage her to eat more byputting it in toys like a toilet paper tube or in boxes where she playsoutside of her cage.

And do keep trying to switch her food. I switch my buns' foodthe same way Freddysmom does. It works really well.

 

[Nicky Snow]

Rue eats lots of hay, about a big handful a day, and i make sure she's always got some in her cage.

thanks naturestee, i gave the buns each a teaspoon of oats today, but i'll reduce that.

all the support has really made me determined to wean Rue off the bonanza!

Nicole

 

[naturestee]

Nicky Snow wrote:

i gave the buns each a teaspoon of oats today, but i'll reduce that.

Actually, a teaspoon is probably fine. I've never been surehow much to feed, but since your bun is having problems with diarrheashe could have more compared to her weight than my bunny. Ijust feed oats as a supplement because Mocha tends to be skinny.

 

[JimD]

FreddysMom wrote:

You really gotta get her off that bonanza stuff ..its like abag of chex mix...fills you up but not good for you........

I like Chex Mixopcorn:

...cracked me up with this comment, but your right.

 

[JimD]

I give all of my buns 1 or 2 tspns of rolled oats daily.

They actually have less calories than most pellets. A good idea is to reduce the pellets by the ammout of oats given.

Lazyacre wrote:

Oats shouldn't put on fat unless fed too much, it is lower incalories than most feeds. When I feed oats i reduce the amount ofpellets by the same amount as the oats, essentially this reduces thetotal protein and energy fed

To much Protein can be a cause of loose stools as well.

Pellets that have a 12% to 14% are fine for maintaining your bunnies health.

My S'more has been having soft stools and cecotrophes problems for afew months now. She had a GI infection that was cousing a lot of theproblem, but we seem to have taken care of that and her system is morebalance.

I'l be switching her over to new pellets soon and anticipate that shewon't be happy with this. She's on limited Purina (green bag) alfalfabased, right now.

FreddysMom wrote:

1st week: 3parts of bonanza, 1 part good pellets such as purina or oxbow

2nd/3rd week: 2 parts bonanza, 2 parts good pellet

4th week: 1 part bonanza, 3 parts good pellet

I'll be following this ...Thanks FreddysMom!!! I'm going to try theKaytee timothy pellets. They're a little lower in protien than theothers. Kaytee ie 13%. Oxbow is 14%. Purina Greenbag is 16%.

~Jim

 

[JimD]

There's got to be SOME good stuff in the Bonanza.

Can you try picking out some of the bad stuff to start with...kind of a pain, but just a thought.

~Jim

 

Jim D When you first openthat bag of KayTee Timothy Complete takea good deep smell of it, it actually smells like a big baleof Timothy hay , My crew loveit but with as many rabbitsas I have itgets too pricy to buy it byhte small bags . Ireally wish Kaytee would produce it in # 50bags , it would make life somuch easier !.

 

[bunnydude]

I have heard that the best bet is to feedpellets from feed stores rather than pet stores. Devon and Amber have a1/4 cup of Agway Commercial Rabbit Blend each day, along with a cup ofvegetables and unlimited hay.

 

[Nicky Snow]

i got home this morning and Rue had eaten allthe Bonanza food and left the other pellets! So I put some fresh plainpellets and lots of hay. She ate all the hay and left the pellets. butthis time i'm gonna be strong. No more Bonanaza! I think she's aBonanza addict, and i also think that she is a brilliant strategist.She was so cuddly and sweet today,She'll try and wait me outtill i give in, but i'm doing it for her own good.

Should i continue to give her unlimited Hay when she eats it and no pellets? Or should i only give her Hay once a day?

Jim, there is good stuff in the Bonanza, or so says the package, and ithas about 13% protein. My Rue likes to eat all the treats first, thenthe dried corn, and last the pellets. Good luck with your switch.

Nicole.

 

[Mr. Stee]

I have been always told by every article, book, and person that a rabbit should have unlimited hay available always.

 

[FreddysMom]

Jim,

That's a really basic recipe for switching over feed for any animal andthe least disruptive to their system...sometimes just trying to switchover will cause diareaha ...if you notice that you can dragit out more or if they are being really finicky..say in like1/6 ths if need be..

and i LOVE chex mix...we have it on the bars at work and its sooooo hard not to eat it all shift long lol

Just keep pushing Nicole...if youre able to determine her diareaha isntfrom too much protein, you can switch over to alfalfa hay during thetime being so that way if she doesnt eat her pellets, shell at leastbeing getting some protein from her hay. good luck!

 

[Nicky Snow]

Sooo, my whole being strong thing isn't working.Last Friday i gave Rue fresh plain pellets, she didn't touch them, nordid she eat the fresh pellets on Saturday or Sunday, by Sundayafternoon i was starting to freak. she still had little, light brownpoo. i bought some oats (Kweli loved them) Rue didn't touch them.

On monday, i decided to mix some Bonanza with plain, she ate thebonanza, left the plain, so i left the plain for her to finish Tuesdaynight it was still there, so i gave her some fresh plain and oats. Sheate nothing!!! So, tonight, (Wed)i broke down and gave her abowl of bonanza, she gobbled it up.

After her really not eating anything but hay for those days, i was loosing it. i broke, i know, but i couldn't watch her starve.

what do i do now?

Nicole (trying to be a good mum)

 

[naturestee]

Maybe you could get her used to eating less ofthe treats? It'll take out time, but sift out at least halfof the crud in the Bonanza. When she's used to that, give heronly the pellets from the Bonanza. Then follow Freddysmom'sformula to switch her over to the new stuff.

Does she eat hay? Make sure she has plenty.

 

[Nicky Snow]

she eats as much hay as she wants. i'll try taking the treats out, that's a good idea.

thanks naturestee!

Nicole

 

[FreddysMom]

I know you mean best for your bun and want toget her off the Bonanza stuff..but you cant do it cold turkey likethat....even if she took to the new pellets theres a large chance thatshell geta good bout of diarreaha from the sudden switch ..like when you try a new kind of food such as indian or thai...you bodyisnt used to the spices used and viola!.. youve got a nice case ofbubble guts the first few times you eat it.

try following one of those formulas .. i think (although it will takelonger) the 1/6th (6 weeks instead of 4)formula will workbetter for you. i know this is going to be a pain, but maybe if youremoved all the treats and left the corn in with the bonanza pelletsand the new pelletsit could help her adjust better. it willhappen .. just give it time