Water intake and stasis recovery

[stephzeff]

Hi. I have two Holland lops that are 16 weeks as of today. I have a male and female that are siblings and they are in separate enclosures for the time being. Both rabbits developed stasis a week and a half ago. Both x rays showed what the vet described as monetarily stuff in their digestive track that was not obstructive but causing the stasis. We had a little improvement but still hunching etc. took them
Back and the vet re x rated and said whatever they ate, we think they were eating too much wood from their hutches ( they have hutches with large corn around for more room )… anyway she said it was moving but she wanted to extend their treatment to make sure we get it all out and she felt good about the chances of them recovering. Well we’ve been keeping up with the treatment meds and critical care (12 ml every 8 hrs) anyway we are seeing much improvement. No more hunching and our little ones seem so much better. Vet had us take away pellets so they get unlimited water, Timothy hay and the cc feedings. Well my little guy has been drinking sooooo much water. I measured the water in his bowl and it’s 16 Oz and he drinks 3/4 of it. And is peeing a lot. I read that that seems like a lot of water for a little bun so I was concerned that something else was wrong? The pee looks good In color. Could it just be from the meds and recovering? I was so glad to see him drinking more water and now I’m like whoaaaaa boy! His sister is drinking more but I don’t think as much as him.

 

[JBun]

How well are your rabbits eating the hay? They should be eating a pile of hay, at least the size of their bodies, per day, but I would actually expect them to eat even more than that with getting no pellets and only limited CC feedings. The amount each is eating needs to be verified, as a rabbit not eating much or any hay, having no pellets, and having limited critical care feedings, could be turning to water to try and fill up their belly instead because they're feeling too hungry without getting pellets. Also, I'm just wondering what amount of pellets your normally fed them before, what type/brand were they, and were they eating hay really well before this(verified, and a pile the size of their body per day)?

What quality and cut is the hay? Green or sun bleached, and is it a soft leafy hay, mix of mostly leaf with some stems, or mostly a coarse hay with hard mature stems?

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Hay
Was a blood test done at all?

 

[stephzeff]

Hi. The breeder gave me Modesto Milling pellets as that’s what she was giving them. They were getting unlimited because of their age. I had tried mixing in some Oxbow youth pellets because the vet prefers that kind. They were picking out the Modesto Milling and only eating those, so she said I could give them more. She had me take the pellets away when the stasis wasn’t improving and just giving bay. I give them a good size amount of hay (looks their body size) and when it looks like they’ve gone through some I replenish. I didn’t think about the water to fill up. I had called the vets office yesterday and asked how li g to continue critical care and she said for a couple more days til poops are normal. I woke up just now and my little guy drank his whole bowl of water that I refilled before bed. So he drank like 24 Oz would be my guess. I’ll call the vet today.

 

[stephzeff]

Also the brand is Eaton Patsture. It is 1st cut. It’s what the breeder recommended. But I just looked at the package and realize it’s Timothy and Orchard grass. I thought it was just Timothy.

 

[JBun]

If it's a possibility they're just drinking more water to fill up, doubling critical care feedings to every 4 hours and increasing the amount fed, could help with this. You could ask your vet about trying this.

I had a new rabbit that something similar occurred with. I put him on a limited pellet free fed grass hay diet, like all of my other rabbits. He was a former breeding rabbit that had mostly just been fed pellets and not really hay, but it seemed to me that he was eating the hay fine when I transitioned him to the limited pellet unlimited hay diet. But I later realized that he wasn't eating enough of the hay when I saw he was losing weight and drinking a lot of water. At first I was worried it might be kidney failure, because he was a little bit older rabbit. But the day before I took him to the vet, I decided to significantly increase his pellet amounts, and immediately the excessive drinking stopped. That's when I realized he wasn't actually eating much of his hay but just spreading it around, and why he was drinking excessively, to try and fill up his belly due to the lack of eating enough food. Once I increased his daily pellet amount, the excessive drinking stopped and he started to put weight back on. I don't know if this is what your rabbits are doing, but having experienced something similar myself, I thought it worth mentioning.

The main thing that's concerning with such a significant increase in thirst with your rabbits, is the possibility of there being kidney or liver damage, especially if you're certain they're eating a large pile of hay each day. They pretty much should be eating hay all day long to make up the calories, due to the lack of pellets.

And 24 oz overnight for a rabbit that weighs less than 4 lbs, is a LOT of water. Around 4-8 oz. a day would be the normal amount for a rabbit that size. With so much drinking and urination now occurring, this can also cause a dangerous imbalance of your rabbits electrolytes.

The possibility of liver damage causing the excessive thirst, could be an after affect of the stasis and a reduced calorie diet , causing fatty liver disease to develop. Or it's possible that whatever caused the stasis to begin with, also has caused liver or kidney damage, and the wood ingestion wasn't the cause at all. In fact, it would be very unusual for ingesting some chewed up wood to result in two rabbits coming down with stasis at the exact same time. It just doesn't happen like that.

Usually when there is a case of multiple rabbits going off food and getting sick, it will be due to some sort of feed issue or toxin in their environment, or a pathogenic bacteria. It could be the wood they ate had a coating that may have been toxic(eg lead paint coating, pressure treated wood containing arsenic). Or some types of wood can be toxic to rabbits.

But more commonly it has to do with moldy food or hay, veggies with black spots(toxins) or that have spoiled, feed that has some sort of toxicity(vitamin imbalance or toxin mixed in, especially can happen with the cheaper bulk feed brands), or if rabbits get free roaming time in the house or yard, they may have ingested a toxic plant or substance there. So these are some possibilities I would be considering when there are multiple rabbits that fall ill and stop eating at around the exact same time period. Especially with there also being that significant increase in thirst and urination, and especially if it's both of your rabbits that are drinking more.

If you've ruled out lack of hay eating and them just trying to fill up with water, then it would be a good idea to discuss these concerns with your vet and ask that a blood test be done to check kidney and liver function. If your vet isn't a knowledgeable rabbit vet and you decide you need a vet with more rabbit experience, or need a second opinion, you can try checking this list below. If there is some sort of toxicity going on, you likely will need an experienced rabbit vet for this.

https://rabbit.org/veterinarians/

 

[stephzeff]

If it's a possibility they're just drinking more water to fill up, doubling critical care feedings to every 4 hours and increasing the amount fed, could help with this. You could ask your vet about trying this.

I had a new rabbit that something similar occurred with. I put him on a limited pellet free fed grass hay diet, like all of my other rabbits. He was a former breeding rabbit that had mostly just been fed pellets and not really hay, but it seemed to me that he was eating the hay fine when I transitioned him to the limited pellet unlimited hay diet. But I later realized that he wasn't eating enough of the hay when I saw he was losing weight and drinking a lot of water. At first I was worried it might be kidney failure, because he was a little bit older rabbit. But the day before I took him to the vet, I decided to significantly increase his pellet amounts, and immediately the excessive drinking stopped. That's when I realized he wasn't actually eating much of his hay but just spreading it around, and why he was drinking excessively, to try and fill up his belly due to the lack of eating enough food. Once I increased his daily pellet amount, the excessive drinking stopped and he started to put weight back on. I don't know if this is what your rabbits are doing, but having experienced something similar myself, I thought it worth mentioning.

The main thing that's concerning with such a significant increase in thirst with your rabbits, is the possibility of there being kidney or liver damage, especially if you're certain they're eating a large pile of hay each day. They pretty much should be eating hay all day long to make up the calories, due to the lack of pellets.

And 24 oz overnight for a rabbit that weighs less than 4 lbs, is a LOT of water. Around 4-8 oz. a day would be the normal amount for a rabbit that size. With so much drinking and urination now occurring, this can also cause a dangerous imbalance of your rabbits electrolytes.

The possibility of liver damage causing the excessive thirst, could be an after affect of the stasis and a reduced calorie diet , causing fatty liver disease to develop. Or it's possible that whatever caused the stasis to begin with, also has caused liver or kidney damage, and the wood ingestion wasn't the cause at all. In fact, it would be very unusual for ingesting some chewed up wood to result in two rabbits coming down with stasis at the exact same time. It just doesn't happen like that.

Usually when there is a case of multiple rabbits going off food and getting sick, it will be due to some sort of feed issue or toxin in their environment, or a pathogenic bacteria. It could be the wood they ate had a coating that may have been toxic(eg lead paint coating, pressure treated wood containing arsenic). Or some types of wood can be toxic to rabbits.

But more commonly it has to do with moldy food or hay, veggies with black spots(toxins) or that have spoiled, feed that has some sort of toxicity(vitamin imbalance or toxin mixed in, especially can happen with the cheaper bulk feed brands), or if rabbits get free roaming time in the house or yard, they may have ingested a toxic plant or substance there. So these are some possibilities I would be considering when there are multiple rabbits that fall ill and stop eating at around the exact same time period. Especially with there also being that significant increase in thirst and urination, and especially if it's both of your rabbits that are drinking more.

If you've ruled out lack of hay eating and them just trying to fill up with water, then it would be a good idea to discuss these concerns with your vet and ask that a blood test be done to check kidney and liver function. If your vet isn't a knowledgeable rabbit vet and you decide you need a vet with more rabbit experience, or need a second opinion, you can try checking this list below. If there is some sort of toxicity going on, you likely will need an experienced rabbit vet for this.

https://rabbit.org/veterinarians/

Hi. I called the vet this morning. They are an exotic pet vet and listed on rabbit.org they are not free roaming rabbits do to our dog but have large rabbit hutches with an attached x pen. The only thing in their enclosures are hay, water and pellets and oxbow hay toys. The hutch is non toxic (Autivian brand) I showed the hitvh to the vet and she said wow they’re reallllly eating it. The water intake just started a day ago when his mood finally seemed improved. The vet said it could be do to him just eating hay and yo continue the unlimited hay and the critical care feedings and in a couple days I could try adding some pellets back in if his poops are still good. My other rabbit has been drinking more water but I’m now struggling to get her to take the critical care and she’s some how able to wiggle out of the burrito method. I’m going to put more hay in there and watch his water intake and if by Friday it’s still happening I’ll see if I can get in ti have them look at blood work or something. They both had 2 X-rays that showed something in their system that was causing the stasis that we needed to push out. I’ll try doing more critical care. He’s pooping a ton! And the water intake was over 24 hour period, but yeah it’s a lot!

 

[stephzeff]

Also, my female rabbit is not wanting to take the critical care anymore. I wrap her like a burrito and hold her firmly in my lap but she’s still able to wiggle out and I think it’s really stressing her out. She’s on the Apple/banana flavor. I saw the papaya one at the store but it says it’s finer grain. Would it be ok to try it or is the finer grain a problem?

 

[JBun]

It's probably not the flavor that's the issue with her, but just being force fed. If she's not having any issues eating lots of hay, I wouldn't see any reason to continue with force feeds, in my opinion. Force feeding is for when they aren't eating enough on their own. I would either offer some critical care mush in a dish to her(made up fresh each time, and not left out for more than a few hours) to see if she'll eat it on her own, or offer a little bit of the pellets to see if she'll eat those, the oxbow pellets if you plan on permanently switching to those.

If you want to try the papaya flavor fine grind, it may be ok. The smaller particle size might not be an issue, especially with all the hay they're eating, though it is possible the smaller particles could cause some slower motility issues for some rabbits. If you decide to try it, I would still try and see if she'll eat it from a dish on her own though.

Which pellets to feed is up to you. Modesto isn't too bad a feed, for a bulk feed. It has pretty decent ingredients and is organic(if these are the ones you have), but it is higher in protein and fat and lower in fiber than oxbow. Less modesto pellets would need to be fed than you would of the oxbow, so more hay is consumed to balance things out. Also, if you're not decided on pellet brands, sherwood is another good pellet brand to consider.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/pellet-food.html
Critical care and pellets aren't all that different usually. They're both hay mixed with vitamins and a few other ingredients, though bulk feed pellets do tend to be lower in quality/fiber and higher in carbs than some better quality pet brands like oxbow, but the modesto do seem to be a better quality bulk feed. I wouldn't personally see a problem substituting the Critical Care with a little pellets, if she'll eat the pellets fine on her own. But this is just my opinion. Always consult with your vet if you have any concerns.

The important part with pellets right now and trying to get past the stasis issues, is the amount fed and the amount of hay/fiber consumed. You usually don't want to feed an excess of pellets, as it's the indigestible fiber in the hay that stimulates gut motility, and so is what helps push the gut contents through. This is why your vet is having you focus on mostly feeding hay, for the fiber.

I thought I would also mention something about the hay. If your hay is a first cut hay, that tends to be a coarser hay. If yours is a bit coarse and not as leafy, then you may need to feed more pellets in your rabbits diet to help balance it out. The reason is because coarser hay with mostly crunchy stems, is lower in protein and nutrients, so it could cause weight loss and health issues if enough protein and nutrient rich food isn't also being fed, like from pellets. This is especially the case with young rabbits that need more protein.

It's all about feeding the right balance of protein/nutrients for good weight maintenance(and growth for young rabbits), and enough indigestible fiber for good gut health and motility. Too much protein and not enough fiber can lead to health issues, not enough protein and too much fiber can lead to other health issues. So it can be a little tricky finding the right balance for your rabbit. But if the hay is pretty soft and leafy or a mix of mostly leaf and some stem, then it shouldn't be an issue, as it will have higher protein and nutrients to provide what is needed in the diet when pellets are being fed in limited amounts. Though I would suggest monitoring your rabbits weight gain and also body condition, to make sure proper growth is maintained and a healthy body condition.

Monitoring your rabbits weight

 

[stephzeff]

It's probably not the flavor that's the issue with her, but just being force fed. If she's not having any issues eating lots of hay, I wouldn't see any reason to continue with force feeds, in my opinion. Force feeding is for when they aren't eating enough on their own. I would either offer some critical care mush in a dish to her(made up fresh each time, and not left out for more than a few hours) to see if she'll eat it on her own, or offer a little bit of the pellets to see if she'll eat those, the oxbow pellets if you plan on permanently switching to those.

If you want to try the papaya flavor fine grind, it may be ok. The smaller particle size might not be an issue, especially with all the hay they're eating, though it is possible the smaller particles could cause some slower motility issues for some rabbits. If you decide to try it, I would still try and see if she'll eat it from a dish on her own though.

Which pellets to feed is up to you. Modesto isn't too bad a feed, for a bulk feed. It has pretty decent ingredients and is organic(if these are the ones you have), but it is higher in protein and fat and lower in fiber than oxbow. Less modesto pellets would need to be fed than you would of the oxbow, so more hay is consumed to balance things out. Also, if you're not decided on pellet brands, sherwood is another good pellet brand to consider.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/pellet-food.html
Critical care and pellets aren't all that different usually. They're both hay mixed with vitamins and a few other ingredients, though bulk feed pellets do tend to be lower in quality/fiber and higher in carbs than some better quality pet brands like oxbow, but the modesto do seem to be a better quality bulk feed. I wouldn't personally see a problem substituting the Critical Care with a little pellets, if she'll eat the pellets fine on her own. But this is just my opinion. Always consult with your vet if you have any concerns.

The important part with pellets right now and trying to get past the stasis issues, is the amount fed and the amount of hay/fiber consumed. You usually don't want to feed an excess of pellets, as it's the indigestible fiber in the hay that stimulates gut motility, and so is what helps push the gut contents through. This is why your vet is having you focus on mostly feeding hay, for the fiber.

I thought I would also mention something about the hay. If your hay is a first cut hay, that tends to be a coarser hay. If yours is a bit coarse and not as leafy, then you may need to feed more pellets in your rabbits diet to help balance it out. The reason is because coarser hay with mostly crunchy stems, is lower in protein and nutrients, so it could cause weight loss and health issues if enough protein and nutrient rich food isn't also being fed, like from pellets. This is especially the case with young rabbits that need more protein.

It's all about feeding the right balance of protein/nutrients for good weight maintenance(and growth for young rabbits), and enough indigestible fiber for good gut health and motility. Too much protein and not enough fiber can lead to health issues, not enough protein and too much fiber can lead to other health issues. So it can be a little tricky finding the right balance for your rabbit. But if the hay is pretty soft and leafy or a mix of mostly leaf and some stem, then it shouldn't be an issue, as it will have higher protein and nutrients to provide what is needed in the diet when pellets are being fed in limited amounts. Though I would suggest monitoring your rabbits weight gain and also body condition, to make sure proper growth is maintained and a healthy body condition.

Monitoring your rabbits weight

Hi. The vet said no pellets til eating plenty of hay on their own. I think my little guy might be about ready for that. Stil just trying to figure out the water drinking with him. My little girl who is t taking the critical care (she loved it until a couple days ago) has started pooping less so inneed to try to keep up with cc. I tried the papaya and she took it no prob. I’ve given her 24 ml of that today total. I didn’t know the small grain would cause motility issues. I hope I didn’t make thigg BFF s worse. I’ll try to do the other one again for her next feed. This has been so stressful. I move hardly gotten sleep the past two weeks we’ve been dealing with this. We’ve only had them 5 weeks and bunnies are new to us. I had done a ton of research before getting them but I’m feeling overwhelmed. I just bought all the hay/pellets the breeder had said.

 

[JBun]

It depends on the particle size and other fiber consumed. I just know about this based on some artcles I read, and how it could lead to problems in some instances. But this may not be the case with the critical care fine grind. I would think oxbow would be very conscious of this risk and keep the particle size large enough to prevent issues. If you're concerned you could ask your vet, or even contact oxbow.

https://rabbit.org/journal/3-3/digestibility.html
I would suggest to continue monitoring the fecal balls closely. If they get smaller, then that could be an indication things are starting to slow down too much. Her pooping less initially, may just be due to the stress of the critical care feedings. Stress can affect a rabbits digestion in this way, causing a change of microflora and slowing down the gut. Now that she is eating the critical care on her own, this will stress her less and hopefully poops will return to normal.

Are they not already eating plenty of hay? The problem with saying not to feed pellets so a rabbit will eat their hay instead, is that some rabbits that aren't used to or may not like eating hay(or have dental problems), can actually starve themselves when pellets are limited or removed from the diet. You would think that with pellets removed, the rabbit would naturally turn to the hay and gladly eat it, but some rabbits won't because it's not what they're used to, or they have dental issues causing mouth pain from eating hay. They will actually go into stasis and starve themselves even being surrounded by good hay that they could be eating.

So if your rabbits aren't already eating a lot of hay, then they would normally need an increased critical care feeding amount to make up for the lack of hay eating, until the hay eating situation can be figured out. You can tell if they're eating hay well if they jump right in when you refresh their hay and start munching away consistently.

I had a new rabbit that absolutely refused to eat any and all loose hay, because he was a breeding rabbit unused to hay and so would only eat pellets. Problem was he developed a sensitivity to pellets that caused him to repeatedly go into stasis, so I had to find an alternative quickly. I ended up feeding him a plain hay pellet(just chopped hay). This kept him healthy until he eventually got used to loose hay and started eating it without issue. But if I had just done a no pellet free fed hay diet, he would have starved and gone into stasis.

I'm explaining all of this because there are these kinds of considerations that have to be made whenever trying to alter a rabbits normal diet. And sometimes vets don't understand this or take this into consideration, even experienced rabbit vets. Yes, good hay eating is the ideal, but sometimes it's a journey to accomplish that goal, and not something that can be prescribed outright without any consideration for the rabbits eating habits.

So if your rabbits are still struggling to eat enough hay, I personally wouldn't be cutting back on critical care feedings, until hay consumption was also improving. Then as hay consumption improves, critical care feedings can decrease. An alternative to try if they are reluctant to eat much loose hay, is a different variety of grass hay like oat. But if that doesn't work, trying a plain hay pellet may be a temporary solution to add enough fiber to the diet. For young rabbits, an alfalfa/timothy pellet may be an option, though they are a larger size pellets, so may need to be crushed or soaked first to make them easier to eat, though my rabbit never had an issue eating them. Standlee is the brand I used.

Dealing with stasis is stressful. It's why most of us dedicated rabbit carers are so obsessed with diet and poop. Because if you aren't vigilant about it, things like this are more prone to happen. Though they still can even being vigilant, but just are less likely to. If you can get both buns eating the critical care on their own from a dish, this should help lessen the work and stress.

 

[stephzeff]

Thank you for the info. I’ve been calling the vet often and I think they’re probably sick of memy little guy loves the critical care. He practically sucks it out of the syringe. I don’t hold him or anything. My female had loved it and started not taking it and poops slowed down and today she hunched once so we tried burrito and she got stressed/upset. I got the papaya kind and did 2 feedings of that which she took no prob, but I didn’t know about the grain size being an issue so now I’m worried. I remembered I have the anise one as well. I mixed that up for her next feeding and she took that no problem so I’m hoping that will help keep things moving of the small grain papaya is an issue. I also offered a little Timothy bay to each bun because they 16 weeks and both munched on that. My little guy has been eating a good amount of hay and lots of poops and the crazy amount of water so I think tomorrow I’ll try offering him some pellets. How much should I try? I was going to try to offer the Oxbow Organic youth one. I think I’m going to wait a bit on my female and keep up with the critical care a couple more days

 

[JBun]

If she's eating hay I wouldn't worry about the fine grind. The fiber from the hay should balance it out. And I have used the fine grind. It was a while ago, but I don't remember it causing any problems for my rabbit, besides my rabbit hating the anise flavor. If your bun is happier with the papaya and anise flavor, I would be inclined to stick with it myself. Not worth stressing the girl with forced syringe feedings if she'll eat the other kind willingly.

I would start out with half a tsp of pellets with your 3 syringe feeds, of what ever pellets you plan on being their normal daily feed. If after 3 days of this, poops and digestive function seems normal, then gradually increase the amount each day over a two week period. If you feel you need to start out with less, go with your own gut and observations on how your bun is doing.

For the final daily pellet ration, because they developed this stasis being on free fed pellets, which probably left them not eating enough hay in favor of eating their pellets, I would feed a rationed amount of pellets instead, with free fed hay. The guide I used for feeding my baby rabbits was just enough pellets that still kept them eating a pile of grass hay the size of their body per day, while also maintaining a healthy weight(spine, back, and hips shouldn't feel boney) and healthy looking fecal balls. They were small breed rabbits, and I think it ended up being around 1/3 cup each rabbit, split into twice a day feedings. They basically had enough pellets to last half the day, then they ate hay the next half until the next pellet feed(12 hours apart).

https://bunssb.org/bunnies/guide-bunny-poops/
I did this until 5 months old, then transitioned them to adult pellets over 2 weeks, and also reduced the amount to about 1/8 cup a day, with free fed second cut medium coarse(mix of mostly soft, and some crunchy stems) timothy hay. This is what I fed until I ended up having to switch to a no pellet diet due to some rabbits in the group being sensitive and having genetic digestive disorders.

So if you find pellets are continuing to cause issues for your buns, a no pellet or reduced pellet diet is possible, you just have to be much more careful about feeding a balanced diet with the right cut of hay that has enough protein, along with a good balance of some veggies properly introduced into the diet, and always monitoring body condition and health to make sure the diet is the right balance for your buns. Just sharing this in case you find yourself in this position.

Some rabbits can be more difficult to manage their diets in order to keep them healthy. I found Holland lops to be one of those breeds that can be more sensitive to developing digestive issues. So the right diet can be important for them.

 

[stephzeff]

If she's eating hay I wouldn't worry about the fine grind. The fiber from the hay should balance it out. And I have used the fine grind. It was a while ago, but I don't remember it causing any problems for my rabbit, besides my rabbit hating the anise flavor. If your bun is happier with the papaya and anise flavor, I would be inclined to stick with it myself. Not worth stressing the girl with forced syringe feedings if she'll eat the other kind willingly.

I would start out with half a tsp of pellets with your 3 syringe feeds, of what ever pellets you plan on being their normal daily feed. If after 3 days of this, poops and digestive function seems normal, then gradually increase the amount each day over a two week period. If you feel you need to start out with less, go with your own gut and observations on how your bun is doing.

For the final daily pellet ration, because they developed this stasis being on free fed pellets, which probably left them not eating enough hay in favor of eating their pellets, I would feed a rationed amount of pellets instead, with free fed hay. The guide I used for feeding my baby rabbits was just enough pellets that still kept them eating a pile of grass hay the size of their body per day, while also maintaining a healthy weight(spine, back, and hips shouldn't feel boney) and healthy looking fecal balls. They were small breed rabbits, and I think it ended up being around 1/3 cup split into twice a day feedings. They basically had enough pellets to last half the day, then they ate hay the next half until the next pellet feed(12 hours apart).

https://bunssb.org/bunnies/guide-bunny-poops/
I did this until 5 months old, then transitioned them to adult pellets over 2 weeks, and also reduced the amount to about 1/8 cup a day, with free fed second cut medium coarse(mix of mostly soft, and some crunchy stems) timothy hay. This is what I fed until I ended up having to switch to a no pellet diet due to some rabbits in the group being sensitive and having genetic digestive disorders.

So if you find pellets are continuing to cause issues for your buns, a no pellet or reduced pellet diet is possible, you just have to be much more careful about feeding a balanced diet with the right cut of hay that has enough protein, along with a good balance of some veggies properly introduced into the diet, and always monitoring body condition and health to make sure the diet is the right balance for your buns. Just sharing this in case you find yourself in this position.

Some rabbits can be more difficult to manage their diets in order to keep them healthy. I found Holland lops to be one of those breeds that can be more sensitive to developing digestive issues. So the right diet can be important for them.

Thanks so much for the helpful info!