confused over feeding 2 bunnies 2 diets

Hello

I'm currently feeding my wild bun supa rabbit excel junior and my new domestic bun allen and page museli mix (as previously given to him by his rescue centre) plus mixing both of these feeds with the natural pellets by allen and page.

Both do not seem keen on these natural pellets at all, choosing to eat their other food first and then eat them later on in the day when they have no choice!

Spudsey eats loads of oat hay but Squirrel isn't a good hay eater. So would it be best to keep spuds on the supa rabbit excel stuff as shes obviously not lacking in fibre (a & p pellets are 23% fibre) ???

Unsure what to do about Squirrels diet, he obviously is relying too heavily on his gp mix, he has veg each evening too but he is producing excess cacetrophs.

Both are hopefully going to be living together in a few weeks so I really need to get them both eating the same stuff!

Thanks in advance
Suzanne

maybe a mix of the supa rabit and allen an page naturals?

bandit was on a mix when i got him from the rescue and then became a mix of alen and page and his mix till id weaned him of totaly onto allen and page natural rabbit pellets..the poos are enormous and no soft pos since i swoped him over! and hes finaly eating hay too im so chuffed!
know what you mean tho..when bonding begins....bif bertie and bandit are on allen and page natural rabbit pellets whilst wilows on the breeders andgrowers allen and page.has to be till shes 18months old the vet said..hmm gonna be fun!:shock:

I would cut out the veg and see if the caecotroph problem stops.

I think you have to perservere with the food switch over. Have you tried Science Selective? if they aren't keen on A&P

Nicola

If they're not keen on the Allen and Page then maybe try them on Science Selective? Since I started feeding my buns SS there have been no excess caecotrophs and they all love it as well

I would perservere with transfering them over to a pelleted food.

Have you weighed out how much food you are giving them? If you havent do ensure that you are only giving them a maximum of 50g s for each rabbit a day of this combined food. If you are giving them in excess of this it can be extreemely difficult to transfer them over to a new diet.

I'd try SS too. My lot still have a small amount of their beloved Wagg food twice a day but they also get a couple of SS pellets each and they like them.

I know what you mean though, I've had a similar problem in the past. I found that because bunnies (or my lot anyway) tend to eat their pellets/mix quickly, you can feed them in two separate bowls and within 15 minutes, they're finished.

Re the excess caecotroph problem, if a slight reduction in veg doesn't work, I've had really good results with feeding dried raspberry leaves, it may be worth a go.

jrn1310 said:

I would perservere with transfering them over to a pelleted food.

Have you weighed out how much food you are giving them? If you havent do ensure that you are only giving them a maximum of 50g s for each rabbit a day of this combined food. If you are giving them in excess of this it can be extreemely difficult to transfer them over to a new diet.

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Think I've been giving Squirrel 60g??? Everyday he eats his gp food then the rest either remains uneaten or tipped out over his hutch floor....he doesn't often touch the allen and page pellets.

Doesn't seem to like oat hay, or forage or even touch much grass!!! I'm going to have trouble with this one!

Should I cut out veg altogether? if not which is best for excess cacetrophs? I have given him raspberry leaves plus a huge variety of veg as we have an allotment. carrots, carrot tops, cabbage, cauliflower leaves, basil, curly kale, only very small amounts of each though.

I wouldn't cut out veg altogether but just reduce the amounts further. If not, if you have been feeding a variety, you could try eliminating one type at a time and seeing if that makes a difference. I know with Smokey cabbage gives her runny poo but she is fine with spring greens.

He should start eating more hay/forage if he has less hard food, in theory anyway!

Good luck!

FriskyClover said:

I wouldn't cut out veg altogether but just reduce the amounts further. If not, if you have been feeding a variety, you could try eliminating one type at a time and seeing if that makes a difference. I know with Smokey cabbage gives her runny poo but she is fine with spring greens.

He should start eating more hay/forage if he has less hard food, in theory anyway!

Good luck!

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Have cut out all his veg, but have been giving him a bowl of grass instead which he has been eating plus he has been eating some more forage! yay!

suzynick said:

Have cut out all his veg, but have been giving him a bowl of grass instead which he has been eating plus he has been eating some more forage! yay!

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Glad he's munching a bit of forage and grass! They do like to worry us, don't they?!

FriskyClover said:

Glad he's munching a bit of forage and grass! They do like to worry us, don't they?!

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yes they do! Spudsey is really good bless her, but Squirrel needs some training! At present he keeps doing all his droppings in his bed aaaaahhhhh!!!