Help, am I feeding my bunnies bad hay?? :o(

I just don't know what to do I don't know what is giving my buns upset tummies, but I'm sure it must be one of the hays I'm giving them. It's just Daisy (outside) and Honey (inside). But those two seem to have more fragile stomachs than Digby and Olly Daisy's last episode was on Christmas Eve and today she's had another. Before that she had it about once a week for a few weeks. I first thought she was eating something in the garden that didn't agree with her, but she's been out every day and been fine for a month. Then I thought it was the excel pellets as they changed the recipe, but I have now changed them onto SS so it can't be that. Honey has been not so bad, she just gets a bit bloated now and again (although not so much since I changed the pellets) and ingests a fair bit of fur which sometimes takes a while to come out.

These stomach 'episodes' seem to just come on all of a sudden which is very strange. This morning Daisy was running and binkying round the garden, then she went quiet and sat inside, changing position etc and obviously uncomfortable, and didnt want her breakfast pellets. She was fine again by lunchtime! Then tonight she was excited about her tea (veg) and gobbled it up with Digby, but now she's a bit iffy again. Not like this morning, but still hunched a bit and her tummy is very gurgly. She has had some metacam this morning.
Honey was fine at teatime but is now sitting under her cardboard box looking sorry for herself and pressing tummy to the floor occasionally. She has had a crunchie though so not feeling too bad. It just seems like too much of a coincidence that they are both not right at the same time.

They all have both cheap baled hay and Hay For Pets Ings hay. I don't know whether the cheap hay has something wrong with it (they love it though) or whether the better hay is too rich?! :? I just don't know what to do

When veg do you feed? I found broccoli, cauli leaves, cabbage and spring greens all gave Mischa and Nutmeg gas. It also upset Mini's sticky bottom. Now they just get home grown herbs and forage.

I think it's time to go back to basics.

Cut out ALL veg and go to pellets one type of hay.

Leave it that way for at least a week, and see how they are. Then perhaps slowly introduce things one at a time, VERY slowly, each for 1-2 weeks i would say.

Is the hay quite fresh/green looking? Does it have anything else mixed in like weeds?

Have you smelt the hay? May seem odd but off hay makes you gag and good hay makes you think of summer! Ive had a couple of bags of bad hay, one was a burns green oat hay and the other was a bag of the dust free hay, I'd describe it as an earthy mushroomy type smell, its quite distinctive. Also does the hay feel slightly damp? I always smell the hay now before I put it out for the bunnies :lol:

Hope you can work out what the problem is.

I'm not too sure about Spenser's latest bag of green oat hay, but he doesn't eat that much of it and it is certainly not damp at all. He had one batch of supermarket hay (I use this for his basin) which smelt possitively dirty, but he didn't seem to mind or come to any harm - again he does eat that much of of it.

Elena said:

When veg do you feed? I found broccoli, cauli leaves, cabbage and spring greens all gave Mischa and Nutmeg gas. It also upset Mini's sticky bottom. Now they just get home grown herbs and forage.

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Olly and Honey just have spring greens and herbs, but Daisy and Digby have a variety of spring greens, kale, broccoli, carrot, watercress and spinach. I don't think that's causing it as they have these all the time and the problem isn't constant :?

GrahamL said:

I think it's time to go back to basics.

Cut out ALL veg and go to pellets one type of hay.

Leave it that way for at least a week, and see how they are. Then perhaps slowly introduce things one at a time, VERY slowly, each for 1-2 weeks i would say.

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Thanks, but I would struggle at the moment giving them one type of hay, as I've just started a new bale which is brown and they don't like it very much and they aren't so keen on the new bag of Ings either. I need a new hay supplier!! :?

Boudicca said:

Have you smelt the hay? May seem odd but off hay makes you gag and good hay makes you think of summer! Ive had a couple of bags of bad hay, one was a burns green oat hay and the other was a bag of the dust free hay, I'd describe it as an earthy mushroomy type smell, its quite distinctive. Also does the hay feel slightly damp? I always smell the hay now before I put it out for the bunnies :lol:

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I always smell the bales before I buy them :lol: they usually smell nice although sometimes quite dusty. The one I started yesterday though is brown and doesn't smell great, smells a bit like horse manure!! :?

I can understand you wanting to go for baled hale when you have four buns, but wonder if it might just be worth trying supermarket bedding hay. Morrisons sell it for £1.60, and although I buy it for Spenser's basin (ie. loo!) he eats it with some relish when he is doing his business. It's meadow hay, very soft and probably not great for teeth, but it might be worth a try.

If it was me I'd do what GrahamL said to do. That way you can see if it's the veg causing the problem. I had a bun with a bit of a sensitive stomach and I found that grass and any "green" veg caused problems so I cut out veg altogether which is probably what stopped her ever getting stasis and bloat again.

With the fresh you buy them, how does it come? Is it prepackaged (I don't know how you spell that!), supermarket stuff? If so, that could easily be your problem because that's something that has been found to be a problem on here before.

Definitely cut out the broccoli from all of them. (It would be cruel if they could smell it but not have any).

susie bun said:

I can understand you wanting to go for baled hale when you have four buns, but wonder if it might just be worth trying supermarket bedding hay. Morrisons sell it for £1.60, and although I buy it for Spenser's basin (ie. loo!) he eats it with some relish when he is doing his business. It's meadow hay, very soft and probably not great for teeth, but it might be worth a try.

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Hi Susie :wave: I have thought about doing that but I just can't afford to buy packaged hay because I use so much! Daisy and Digby's litter tray is 1.2 metres long and takes a lot of hay! I have been looking for a slightly smaller one but can't find one the right size...

Sky-O said:

With the fresh you buy them, how does it come? Is it prepackaged (I don't know how you spell that!), supermarket stuff? If so, that could easily be your problem because that's something that has been found to be a problem on here before.

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I buy baled hay from a local animal feed place, it isn't packaged at all. Sometimes it smells nicer than other times :? I need to buy bales because Daisy and Digby use loads and it's cheap! I could do with finding another supplier but it's difficult

ripminnie said:

I buy baled hay from a local animal feed place, it isn't packaged at all. Sometimes it smells nicer than other times :? I need to buy bales because Daisy and Digby use loads and it's cheap! I could do with finding another supplier but it's difficult

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Not the hay, the fresh food. The spring greens and suchlike.

Sky-O said:

Not the hay, the fresh food. The spring greens and suchlike.

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oops silly me yes it is supermarket packaged stuff apart from the herbs which I buy in pots. But Daisy has been fine for a month and they've had the same veggies.

Oh I need to update, Honey's problem last night was fur again, she passed a big furry poop later on and is fine again now. Daisy is better but nit quite back to normal yet.

Just wondering if we buy the same hay. Mine smells horse manury and I've had both Tilly and Munchkin having 'episodes ' like your buns :?

bunslave said:

Just wondering if we buy the same hay. Mine smells horse manury and I've had both Tilly and Munchkin having 'episodes ' like your buns :?

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Ooh yes you're in Lancashire too! Where abouts are you? I'm in Rossendale and get mine from Eureka near Accrington...

I would find a new hay supplier and strip them back to a hay and pellet diet and then re-introduce other things like Graham said. It might be something with the hay so I woud switch supplier and then let the gut recover and settle