how do you stop the buns eating the grass?

my garden needs mowing desperately and im going to have to pay someone to retame it

the buns stopped going out as bertie had terible tummy probs a few months back and every single time him n bif go out into the garden..no matter how much i try to distract them they mucnh on the grass...which leads to upset tums whish stops their going in the garden etc....and i dont know what to do anymore.

im going to have to get a large cat flap for my two mogies...the gardens cat proofed as much as i could to keep them in andother mogs out.....so the cats run riot with the buns....

i guess bertie will use the flap too despite his poor eyesight....

bif wont or wils he when she realises the gardens through there:lol:

i odnt have concrete or patio etc to make them go on..they run free or in berties case..sleep free:lol: bif pings around like apiece of popcorn! shes a nightmare to get in too...i look like the barclays ad...only its bif not piggy banks:lol:

i kept them indoors way too much as bertie cant handle the heat and enither can my kitty salem whos had a heart murmur prob since he was 12 motnhs old..hes now 3. but the worst of the heats gone now so i want to let them back out but dont know how to avoid the grasssy gassy poopy belly problems.

never was bad before..only bif...but shes always got tum probs..but since bertie got seriosuly ill after losing willow almost a year ago..hes had a dodgy tum ever since and hes had the runny bum tummy prob twice now.

so no free grazing like he used to.

please help i feel so guilty keeping them back indoors without decent acess tot he garden......they love it running riot...well bertie..snoring riot

I would think the issue isn't so much eating the grass as not eating the grass. Where they don't have regular access when they do go out and splurge its like feeding handfuls of brand new food all of a sudden.

Try cutting very small quantities to feed daily and build up the amount gradually. Then when they do go out it won't be a shock to their guts.

Grass is actually good for guts as it's high fibre, it's just the sudden change that's a problem and is probably why he was fine before when eating it regularly.

Agree! Grass is their main/natural food in the wild. If you build up to it gradually they shouldn't have a reaction, then you have no need to mow as they'll be doing it for you and it's good for their teeth at the same time!

I agree with Tinsel and Tamsin: I think their gut flora needs to be given the opportunity to adapt to grass by gradually increasing their exposure to it and making sure they get some every day.
My 5 get through a large carrier bag (bag-4-life) stuffed full of coarse grass every day without problems which means I have to go and pick it for them even in the middle of winter :roll::lol:

agree build it up slowly and you will have no problems x x

I agree with the above too Debbie You just need to introduce it daily at a few blades the first day cut with scissors or picked by hand and build it up to a handful or two by the end of the week. Any upset stop it for a day or two and then start again using just a pinch. Once they've had a good handful of grass with no upset you can let them out to munch on the grass but just for 5-10 minutes, no longer. Build it up to half an hour by the end of the first week and then move up to an hour or two the next week. Given a few weeks they'll be out all day and will have mown your grass for you!

Lilbun I keep reading about your carrier bags of lovely long grass and wondering where you pick it from? Do you live in the Country? Me and the buns are very jealous

Nothing to add really except supporting everyone else's replies :wave:

prettylupin said:

Lilbun I keep reading about your carrier bags of lovely long grass and wondering where you pick it from? Do you live in the Country? Me and the buns are very jealous

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Sorry, I do keep banging on about it don't I? - I live in the city. The place I pick it from is just a quiet corner of a large local park, where there are no wild rabbits and the grass grows to long for the dogwalkers to bother walking through, for the most part. Here it is:

lilbun said:

Sorry, I do keep banging on about it don't I? - I live in the city. The place I pick it from is just a quiet corner of a large local park, where there are no wild rabbits and the grass grows to long for the dogwalkers to bother walking through, for the most part. Here it is:

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Wow!! :shock: That's a fab looking city meadow! We have a park with areas like this and no rabbits - I should be more adventurous! :lol:

:shock: looks like my garden:lol::lol:

thank you for the advice..obvious now..but before..doh..slaps head.

ha ha id like to see me try and tell bif its for ten mins only..i can never ever catch her!!:lol: and berties too big for a pen....:roll::lol:

thank you all..now i know..im such a dufuss....

merlin says he will eat the grass to the roots..and the weeds...but ill never catch him again either...lol.

hmm plans to invent bunny catcher........

purplebumble said:

:shock: looks like my garden:lol::lol:

thank you for the advice..obvious now..but before..doh..slaps head.

ha ha id like to see me try and tell bif its for ten mins only..i can never ever catch her!!:lol: and berties too big for a pen....:roll::lol:

thank you all..now i know..im such a dufuss....

merlin says he will eat the grass to the roots..and the weeds...but ill never catch him again either...lol.

hmm plans to invent bunny catcher........

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I wonder if there is a kind of repellent that stops them eating the grass. Would be usefull for jumping.

purplebumble said:

:shock: looks like my garden:lol::lol:

thank you for the advice..obvious now..but before..doh..slaps head.

ha ha id like to see me try and tell bif its for ten mins only..i can never ever catch her!!:lol: and berties too big for a pen....:roll::lol:

thank you all..now i know..im such a dufuss....

merlin says he will eat the grass to the roots..and the weeds...but ill never catch him again either...lol.

hmm plans to invent bunny catcher........

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you're not a dufuss, you're right to be cautious as grass will upset a bunny's tum if they are not used to it but hopefully you'll be able to build up there tolerance so that you won't be needing a lawnmower xx