Yes or No

[Gussy]

I bought a 6 week old bunny from from a breeder last week and he had diarrhea for about a day after I gave him a small slice of mandarin and a small slice of pear. It has since stopped after I stopped giving him fruits. When I told the breeder what had happened this is what she said:

Hi
I just realized I sold you the "wrong" chocolate buck..........the one you have has some issues as a baby-i would like to replace him with a similar aged choc jr buck. He had a digesitive issue(entritis) which can resurface later. I just want you to be happy with them.
c

So what do you think? Should I accept the swap?

Thanks!

 

[TinysMom]

Part of it depends upon how attached you are to this rabbit already. I'm not sure about the long term effects of enteritis - I will try to do a bit of research.

I admire the breeder for contacting you about this and saying they made a mistake - that takes guts!

Peg

 

[katt]

i agree with peg, if you are attached then i would keep him.

i have never heard of long term effects of enteritis, when i bred we had a hand full of babies get this and all recovered fine and lived to adulthood.

the diarrhea you have experiances is strickly because at 6 weeks old arabbits system won't be able to really handle all the sugar you just feed him.

if you choose to keep him, or even get a different bunny or the same age, i would suggest not feeding greens untill at least 4 months of age, and i wouldn't give to many sugar rich foods like fruit. . .

 

[dootsmom]

To begin with, a six week old baby shouldn't have (a) been taken away from its mother, or (b) been given oranges or pears (instant cause for diarrhea)!! Ideally, kits should stay with mom for 8 weeks. I have found that at 7 weeks the moms are sick of having the babies around....it depends upon how much room they have. At 6 weeks, a kit should be fed pellets and hay. Veggies and fruit should be introduced slowly and minimumly. Kits that are born here begin eating pellets and veggies as soon as they can...they "steal" from their mothers"plate". Because they get veggies, at such an early age, their digestive tracts can handle them. The majority of Breeders do not feed their rabbits veggies or fruit...too expensive, to do. So, veggies have to be fed a little at a time....over a period of time.

As to swapping the bun....that is up to you. Personally, I wouldn't. Buns that come here are cured of any ailments before being put up for adoption. I believe that sulfur drugs are used for enteritis. It's also possible that the other bun also has it.

Are you planning to breed?

 

[Gussy]

TinysMom wrote:

Part of it depends upon how attached you are to this rabbit already. I'm not sure about the long term effects of enteritis - I will try to do a bit of research.

I admire the breeder for contacting you about this and saying they made a mistake - that takes guts!

Peg

She only offered after I mentioned that he had diarrhea. I don't have a clue on how breeders house their rabbits where they can have them mixed up that they sold me the wrong one...but who knows?

 

[Gussy]

dootsmom wrote:

Are you planning to breed?

No, I'm not planning to breed. The bunny was born 1/13/2007.

 

[dootsmom]

My birth date, too!!!! Wish I could say the same about the year!!! LOL!!

 

[Gussy]

I finally told her that I'll be keeping the bunny.

 

[JadeIcing]

:bunnydance:I like hearing that. If you need any help feel free to ask.

 

[Haley]

Good for you!

Please keep us posted and let us know if you need any help. For now, I would avoid fruits and veggies and keep the bunny on unlimited pellets and unlimited alfalfa hay. That should help you avoid having to deal with any GI issues.