Advice please

Phoebe & Fletcher were at the vets for thier 6 monthly checkup and thier mixi shots. When the vet was having a look at phoebe, she recommended I bath Phoebe once a week to keep his bum clean (some of you may remember,phoebe has a dodgey stomach and alot of stuff gives him dioreha, which results in a yukky bum) He is used to baths, but im just a little reluctant to do this once a week,esp if there going to live outside soon, it means hes gunna need to come in ATLEAST once a week for half the day to get washed and dried? Using cornflour is no good on him,simply because if he is messy,its ALOT of mess. Opinions please?
Does anybody feed thier bunnies PLANTAIN? Just bought a small bag of it for my lot and they LOVE it, i mix a bit in with thier food and they gobble it down! didnt know it exsisted till I seen it on the shelf at the vets! Was 3 quid, anybody know if you can a) get this cheaper, and in big bags? b) is this actually ok to feed bunnys?

anyone?

mine love plaintain! u can buy it from sally at pampered piggies but she is closed til novemeber, u can prob get it from THE too.

what food r they fed on? i had a boarder here who always has a stickyb um for five years but once she got fed SS she was okay. x

There on a Wagg museli feed, they wont eat anything else, ive tried them with everything else. I give away bags of food because i opened it, used it once and they turned thier nose up at it :roll:

did u try SS? or did that get the same 'im not eating this' result lol

The same " i am not eating this" result which to be quite frank, is annoying, because its better for them, i do feel like im letting my bunnies down by giving them this awful museli but its all theyll eat, literally - but im even limited to what veggies i can give them or it upsets Phoebes tummys

Has the Vet tried to find out why Phoebe gets a mucky bum so often?

Does Phoebe eat a lot of hay?
Has she had a thorough dental examination?

Phoebe is a*cough* he! :lol:
Hes has his teeth checked and there fine, The vet has just come to the conclusion, like a human, he has foods that he dont agree with. She said his weight is normal, though he does seem quite small, which she thinks is just his breed. He has unlimited hay, aswell as veggies (he cant have anything green,cauliflower or brocolli, and if he has cabbage,he really is a stinky boy)
So hes limited to carrots, apples, plantain and very occasional gets dried banana!
but it means the rest of the crew, if i want to give them anything like cabbage, have to be put in the run, then phoebe left in his cage while they eat it

You say he has 'unlimited hay' but how much of it does he actually eat?

He should only have a tiny portion (eggcupful) of concentrated feed a day and the rest of his diet should be hay. If he is filling up on the muesli mix he will be getting way too much carbohydrate and protein and not enough fibre.
All a recipe for a constant mucky bum.

he usally eats quite a bit of the hay, everytime i see him hes at his hay. We weigh the food out according to the instructions on the back of our feed, so effectivley, we put in a measure of food suitable for one bun, for 3 buns

If he has a problem with his tummy he shouldn't ever be given apple, bananna or even carrot really. All three are high in sugars and are probably what is causing him to still have a dodgy tum. I have a bunny who had a similar problem. I put her on SS, limit her to spring greens and a little brocolli and it cleared her up. If she has the tiniest bit of apple or anything else high in sugars the mess is unbelievable.

Also, don't give them an option about what they eat. If they are hungry enough they will eat whatever you give them. Start mixing some ss in with the mix, and if you carry on doing this and not supplementing it with more mix they will quickly learn it's all they are going to get. So long as they have unlimited fresh hay daily they will be fine.

no no lol hes on apples and stuff its just stuff like brocolli and greens. I feel awful if i give them food they wont eat last time i tried it they didnt eat for a full day and i ended up going out and buying a museli from the corner shop half 10 at night to feed them!

Could you cut out the muesli food completely and just feed hay? Mine get such a small amount of pellets they may aswell not have them at all to be honest and its not done my lot any harm

Some days they dont get pellets as their treat and I give small pieces of fruit instead and they dont notice or miss having a bowl full of pellets And on the days they do get pellets I just chuck a tiny handful into the garden and they have to go find them if they want them :lol: Gives them something to do!

I think hay and fresh veg is all they need x

I know Piper my girly rabbit is a bit over weight, my others are ok though. I just dont want them to go hungry I may go and buy a bag of pellets 2morro and try and get them on a pellet diet