Time between feedings?

[fannymanson]

Hello, I have 2 bunnies, both are disabled, with one being more so than the other one. They are 6 year old, un-neutered Mini Rex bucks, who are not bonded. They each have 2 enclosures, one for feeding and one for overnight or when I need to be away. The reason is that it helps me to keep them clean if I can feed them at a specific time and then they produce most of their urine and excrement in the feeding enclosure which is easier to clean than the bedding in their overnight enclosure and then they don't have to lay in their waste overnight.

I am laid off work right now so it is easy for me to check on them continually throughout the day and I check them overnight as well. They are typically in their feeding enclosures from 7:30am until 9pm each day and then into the overnight enclosures. When I go back to work I will possibly need to make some other arrangements.

Their diet is free choice hay and 1/4c-1/2c Nutrena Naturewise premium rabbit pellets per day. I am curious about much time can be allowed between feeding opportunities. If I work close to home, I can come home on my lunch break, if I find work further away I won't be able to check them and clean them as often as needed.

 

[whiskylollipop]

So there's no hay in the overnight area? If there is hay, you can easily leave them for up to 12 hours, but if there's no food at all I wouldn't go more than 6.

If there's a choice between not feeding them for long stretches of time OR having them in the feeding area with food but lying in their waste, always pick lying in their waste. They can be cleaned when you get home, but if their stomach's running on empty then you risk it shutting down and going into stasis, which is a much, much worse problem.

I'm sorry you lost your job, hope you find a new, better one!

 

[fannymanson]

I haven't been putting hay in their overnight areas, but I can certainly start. I just hear so many people saying "don't bathe your bunnies" but they do need baths every 3 days or so. I have to keep them clean, but I do let them get to some degree of dirtiness before I bathe them. It's a fine line. They are so different now that they are disabled. They used to be very self sufficient pets, now they are so utterly dependent.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Bathing bunnies is generally frowned on only because the shock of getting wet (and a panicky human clumsily handling them) can stress a bunny out, and having wet fur will plummet their body temperature in a cold environment. But if you have created a routine where they are used to it, you're well-practiced in quickly and easily washing their dirty areas, and then drying them in a warm room, there's no harm.

 

[fannymanson]

Yep! I have all the bases covered then. Baths are quick, I'm mainly just cleaning the tail, groin, and hind legs. I actually suspect they enjoy it to some degree. I hear tooth purring from one of them during his baths and I can see they both enjoy the warmth from the hair dryer.

 

[JBun]

Yes, generally speaking it is bad to bathe healthy buns, but when dealing with disabled rabbits it's a completely different situation, as they require our help to keep them clean and healthy with lots of hands on care.

With the feedings, it's hard to know what would be best as it obviously has to be tailored to your particular rabbits with health issues, but also keeping into account that it's not good for rabbits to be without food for long. Are you a part of a disabled buns group? They may have some suggestions as to what has worked best for their disabled buns. Is having their bums clipped short a possibility(if you haven't already done it)? It will help keep them cleaner so stuff doesn't stick to their fur so much, and also make bathing easier.

I think you are doing a fantastic job with them and hope you will be able to figure out a feeding situation that will work well for both you and your buns.

 

[whiskylollipop]

That's great! No reason to feel bad for bathing them then. I would caution that bunnies have very delicate skin and hairdryers can burn them, but you seem to know what you're doing so I'm sure they're in good hands!

Putting a small pile of hay in their overnight cage to munch on is a good idea, fibrous poos won't be messy to clean up, so why not.