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the vet has got me thinking!!

M

Mazda

Warren Veteran
Right, as you all know i took pebble to the vets today and some of the things the vet said has made me think! (god help us all :lol: )

Right she said pebble doesnt need pellets.. but i am not cutting them out of her diet compleatly, cause you guys say not to!! I will cut her pellets down... How will i do that? do i have to do it graduelly??

The vet also says, she needs mostly grass and 'good quality hay.' Now what is 'good quality hay'? Pebble has hay from pets at home, and loves it! But is it good quality? :?

I would like to start growing grass for her in pots and her own veg. Is there anywhere i can get grass seeds? or will ones from the garden centre be ok?

She mentioned about getting pebble spayed, that would cost between £50-£60... mum would say yes... we just need to soften up dad!! She also said about getting her a husbun. And bonding them.. in pebbles hutch!! :shock: Now that is not right surley! Pebble wouldn kill anything that enters that hutch!! im pretty sure of it! the vet also said a rescue bun is not the way to go, now i thought a vet would be pushing for buns to be rescued, and not bought from breeders!! :? I said to mum, if we are getting Pebble a friend, it is going to be a rescue bun! Where it can be bonded at the rescue on neutral ground. Not in Pebbles' hutch!!

:roll: I could be a vet! :lol: I just feel sorry for the people who take her advise and put the new bun in the other buns hutch!! I really do! Tis a recipie for disaster!

sorry if you read my other thread... i kinda mentioned it there to :oops: xx
 
Mai_Roberts said:
Right, as you all know i took pebble to the vets today and some of the things the vet said has made me think! (god help us all :lol: )

Right she said pebble doesnt need pellets.. but i am not cutting them out of her diet compleatly, cause you guys say not to!! I will cut her pellets down... How will i do that? do i have to do it graduelly??

The vet also says, she needs mostly grass and 'good quality hay.' Now what is 'good quality hay'? Pebble has hay from pets at home, and loves it! But is it good quality? :?

I would like to start growing grass for her in pots and her own veg. Is there anywhere i can get grass seeds? or will ones from the garden centre be ok?

She mentioned about getting pebble spayed, that would cost between £50-£60... mum would say yes... we just need to soften up dad!! She also said about getting her a husbun. And bonding them.. in pebbles hutch!! :shock: Now that is not right surley! Pebble wouldn kill anything that enters that hutch!! im pretty sure of it! the vet also said a rescue bun is not the way to go, now i thought a vet would be pushing for buns to be rescued, and not bought from breeders!! :? I said to mum, if we are getting Pebble a friend, it is going to be a rescue bun! Where it can be bonded at the rescue on neutral ground. Not in Pebbles' hutch!!

:roll: I could be a vet! :lol: I just feel sorry for the people who take her advise and put the new bun in the other buns hutch!! I really do! Tis a recipie for disaster!

sorry if you read my other thread... i kinda mentioned it there to :oops: xx
Click to expand...

Wow, she was giving you good advice until she went and ruined it about the bonding :lol:

I think she was right about the diet. Hay and grass should make up most of the diet. I don't know the stuff from P@H but as long as it isn't really dusty it should be ok. If your rabbits love it then I don't see any reason to switch. I think you're right about cutting down the pellets too, there's no real reason to cut them out completely if they are eating lots of hay too.

You can use normal lawn seed from garden centers, sainsburys, wilkinsons, anywhere really and grow it in pots. If you want something that grows even faster get some 'cat grass' which is oat seeds and will grow really quickly.

And I think you're completely right about the bonding. Defo get a rescue bun and do it on neutral ground :)
As long as your bun has had all her vaccines then I would just give her a preventative course of Panacur before the bond and make sure the rescue has had one also (or give him one after).
 
thanks timb0h! i will cut her pellets down. :)

Its not for definate about getting her a friend yet. i need to soften dad up so he will pay for pebble to get spayed. Or get myself a job! :lol: x

Mum thinks im mad... wanting to grow grass in pots! :lol: :lol: But hey ho, anything for my baby! :D

i was really shocked that she said getting a bunneh from a rescue centre wasnt a good thing to do!! :? :? x
 
Good quality hay should still be green and it should smell sweet. From experience the P@H hay in my local store is not good enough. It is very short and brown. The longer the hay the better too as it gets them really chewing which in turn gets those teeth down.

Off to read the rest of the post now :D

----
OMG she said to bond into her hutch!!! That is crazy! and she says not to go to a rescue? did she say why? could it be that rescued buns are neutered and injected and she would lose some money?

Cutting pellets back is fine as long as you have the grass, hay and veg to balance it out. If your bunny is a good weight then cutting back will cause weight loss. I'd look into getting better hay, or even in P@H they sell Herbage which is a nice blend of Herbs and Hay and my bunnies love it.
 
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Kay said:
Good quality hay should still be green and it should smell sweet. From experience the P@H hay in my local store is not good enough. It is very short and brown. The longer the hay the better too as it gets them really chewing which in turn gets those teeth down.

Off to read the rest of the post now :D
Click to expand...

hm.. ok. So can hay be changed straight away or gradually?? xx
 
Hiya you can change hay straight away hun. Do you have anywhere else to get it from? Farm shops often sell nice hay :D
 
Kay said:
Hiya you can change hay straight away hun. Do you have anywhere else to get it from? Farm shops often sell nice hay :D
Click to expand...

hm.. i will have a look around. there is afarm shop in chepstow, but im not sure if it sells hay :?
 
It's a good job you know your stuff about bonding :shock: I've found with some vets they know the medical/diet type stuff (from training) but not so much about the 'social' side for bunnies (because they don't have bunnies themselves), so the other advice was good but the bonding... not good!

The great thing about getting a bunny from rescue is that they can do the bonding and choose the right bunny (I'm sure you already know all this though!), which is why I'm so shocked the vet didn't think it was a good idea. I saw your other thread about your trip to the vets, it must be quite hard being young and knowing your stuff because you feel rude or cheeky telling the vet they don't know what they are talking about! I usually say, "Is that right? because I thought ..." Most of them don't mind too much because they are glad that you've bothered to do some research and obviously care. Hopefully most vets won't mind this approach, even from someone younger.

I can recommend Cat Grass seeds, my bunnies like coarse grass and this is just the sort they like.
 
Seems like decent advice really, I agree that P@H hay is pretty awful - my rabbits wont touch it. Because shes a vet doesnt automatically mean she should be pro-rescue, that in theory isn't her forte. Its bad that she gave terrible bonding advice but again, not really her area & although she should've had better knowledge on that - it doesnt mean she's a bad vet. Hope your dad lets you get Pebbles speyed :D X
 
hmm... i will change her hay.

hopefully dad will let me get her spayed! If he doesnt pay... i will get a job! :lol: x

Bunny Buddy - yep.. its a bit aurkward! :lol: speicially when mum was there! if she wasnt i would of said something!! :oops: :lol: xx
 
It's fine to feed a hay/grass only diet as long as you feed a good variety or plants/veg with it so they get a full range of vitamins/minerals. If you think about it wild bunnies don't pop to the shop for pellets ;)

However for most people it's more convenient (and reasuring) to feed a small quantity pellets to get the basic vits&minerals.

If your growing grass then timothy grass is best. It's very rough it texture so wears the teeth well and is tasty too. You can mix in a variety of plants/weeds if you want. You can by mixes of rabbits seeds on ebay or from the rabbit shops.

Tam
 
vets

Firstly let me say dont believe vets and if she says any other WRONG stuff I would seriously reccomend finding a new 1.
We had similar problem with a vet which you lot will thinks crazy I was told my bunny couldn't be ill...why? Because if he was ill he would have been sick!
Seriously! Thats not the only problem he was also scared to touch them! He gave him 4 medicines as he didnt know aht was wrong no examination. Then when Angel had eye flush he kept missing hole and she had to have several injections for pain as when he had finished her inner eyelids were now outside her eye and you couldnt see her eyeball. To say the least we did not go back there!
However pellets are bad as it makes bun lazy and they crunch, whereas hay/grass they grind there teeth making less likely for tooth problems and great digestive systems. We use both and its not the most expensive just look for the nicest fresh sweet smelling hay greener looking the better with less dust. Mine wont eat decent pellets I have to buy the cheap pets at home ones it just depends what bun likes. (although it does save money)Mine are both rescues and Winnie went and chose his girl at her rescue. It was like blind date he had 3 to chose from. check out my web page www.hoppybunnyrabbit.com
 
Tamsin said:
It's fine to feed a hay/grass only diet as long as you feed a good variety or plants/veg with it so they get a full range of vitamins/minerals. If you think about it wild bunnies don't pop to the shop for pellets ;)

However for most people it's more convenient (and reasuring) to feed a small quantity pellets to get the basic vits&minerals.

If your growing grass then timothy grass is best. It's very rough it texture so wears the teeth well and is tasty too. You can mix in a variety of plants/weeds if you want. You can by mixes of rabbits seeds on ebay or from the rabbit shops.

Tam
Click to expand...

Thanks tasmin. :)
im going to grow some stuffs for her :lol: x

winnies angel - thanks for the link to your site :) Ill have a look later. x
 
pebble doesnt need pellets..
Well technically she is right, you could keep her on hay, grass and a good selection of vegetables. Many people try and limit the amount of pellets that they eat to about 1-2 egg cupfuls a day but you could take them out completely.

needs mostly grass and 'good quality hay.

Their diet should be 80% hay. The greener and fresher the hay the more nutrients she will get from it but one of the main reason for giving hay is to wear down the teeth and boost fibre levels to keep the guts working well. As such it doesn't matter so much what hay she is eating as long as she's eating lots. If you do take her off pellets you might want to give her some of the fancier hay like excel superforage or just plain of good hay from somewhere like a farm shop/horsefeed merchant or the dust free hay company to increase nutrients but you might find then if you feed superforage that all she wants to eat if the forage and nothing else as it's so yummy.

She mentioned about getting pebble spayed, that would cost between £50-£60... mum would say yes... we just need to soften up dad!!

Good plan....a spay now will be cheaper than trying to resolve cancer that a high majority of unspayed does will get before they are three.

She also said about getting her a husbun. And bonding them.. in pebbles hutch!! :shock:

No that is wrong. You'd need to wait till she was spayed and less hormonal then bond in a neutral space like your bathroom.


vet also said a rescue bun is not the way to go, now i thought a vet would be pushing for buns to be rescued, and not bought from breeders!! :?

It's always up to you but I'd go for a rescue which will save you on the neutering cost and you will have a good idea of what sort of temperement your buns will have and if there are any underlying medical conditions. They may also help you bond you bunny and may be able take you on a speed dating trip if it doesn't look like your first choice is working out.
 
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I recently switched my buns hay from the P@H brand to "Pure Pastures" hay, it's longer strands and feels a much better quality, and they're actually eating it (they didn't seem to touch the P@H brand)

Although, if they're getting enough hay that's the important thing. If you can find another brand somewhere you could always try it out and see if she likes it :)
 
ecudc said:
pebble doesnt need pellets..
Well technically she is right, you could keep her on hay, grass and a good selection of vegetables. Many people try and limit the amount of pellets that they eat to about 1-2 egg cupfuls a day but you could take them out completely.

needs mostly grass and 'good quality hay.

Their diet should be 80% hay. The greener and fresher the hay the more nutrients she will get from it but one of the main reason for giving hay is to wear down the teeth and boost fibre levels to keep the guts working well. As such it doesn't matter so much what hay she is eating as long as she's eating lots. If you do take her off pellets you might want to give her some of the fancier hay like excel superforage or just plain of good hay from somewhere like a farm shop/horsefeed merchant or the dust free hay company to increase nutrients but you might find then if you feed superforage that all she wants to eat if the forage and nothing else as it's so yummy.

She mentioned about getting pebble spayed, that would cost between £50-£60... mum would say yes... we just need to soften up dad!!

Good plan....a spay now will be cheaper than trying to resolve cancer that a high majority of unspayed does will get before they are three.

She also said about getting her a husbun. And bonding them.. in pebbles hutch!! :shock:

No that is wrong. You'd need to wait till she was spayed and less hormonal then bond in a neutral space like your bathroom.


vet also said a rescue bun is not the way to go, now i thought a vet would be pushing for buns to be rescued, and not bought from breeders!! :?

It's always up to you but I'd go for a rescue which will save you on the neutering cost and you will have a good idea of what sort of temperement your buns will have and if there are any underlying medical conditions. They may also help you bond you bunny and may be able take you on a speed dating trip if it doesn't look like your first choice is working out.
Click to expand...


Thank you Ecudc. :D
thats great, i really apriciate it :D x
 
Completely agree with everything the vet said apart from bonding :lol:
The pellets thing is a good idea, although i wouldn't cut them out all together.
I give mine a tiny handful a day and it's made their poos literally golden yellow and Ghostie's eating all her catoracs.
Spaying will make her calmer and stop the 'killing when entering hutch' it will make her happy having a friend and having somebun to relate to. it's like you living on your own
Oh yeah. and RESCUE!!!!! fullstop!
 
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