Yes, my bun gets worse as he needs a dental too. I reckon that when the spurs start to hurt he eats less. The reduction in natural fiber slows the gut down, & the wrong bacteria start to multiply in the caecum.
I'm fascinated by this thread because no 2 buns are the same in terms of the initial cause of gut slow down, but all respond to reducing high nutrient foods (pellet & human veg) & increasing low nutrient high fiber foods from the wild.
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/sh...ht=tree+leaves.
Although wildies probably eat Blackthorn leaves & we've used them for 4 years, & a herbalist vet uses them for buns, I've found no general reference to their use. Thumper showed me that they only work for dysbiosis if gathered during a specific period of about 6 weeks. (Hitherto unknown) they probably work by their high tannin content.
Because it's so new, I'm only recommending blackthorn leaves to get buns in stasis like Petie to start eating again.
We can't buy effective leaves. I guess I've got the worlds largest supply of effective leaves but need them for my own bun.:lol:
Blackberry (bramble) & raspberry leaves are very effective too & the traditional method of treating this condition in the past. They can be bought at several internet sites like Galen's garden. More economically brambles grow in cities in any overgrown hedge. (I could get all my supplies from the city) Cemetaries, cycle paths, country parks, allotment hedges, canal tow paths, & waste ground (but not landfill sites where there may be toxic chemicals in the ground) are good sites. Just gather them away from traffic fumes & above the level dogs can wee to!
Yes, they're thorney, so some folk need gloves & certainly tough scissors or clippers to get them. I have to rub the thorns off each leaf using a thimble for my bun. Most folk just mix them in with the hay.
I find that most bunnies know what they need. If they go crackers for tree/shrub leaves introduce them gradually & free feed like hay. If they don't, then no worries, it's not for them. I also find that most buns stabilise out with daily hawthorn leaves. Hawthorn is also common in cities in non ornamental hedges.
When it comes to wild plants bunnies know what they need. I can now tell more abut Thumper's tummy by what he eats than his litter tray. :shock::lol:
There's also the foragers threads which are both fun & full of tips eg.
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=274136
& Chelle's thread last year.
On current threads GrahamL is using bramble leaves to help improve gut motility in Ginger who has kidney failure.
