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Biz doesn't like his mix..........

Thumps

Alpha Buck
but he likes pellets! He's been here since Saturday and I thought this morning right you've settled in fairly well so I'll start changing you over to pellets so put a small handful in and then went off to sort Harley out and there he was munching away at his pellets. I haven't seen him eat any of his mix since he arrived but Saturday night he was too busy making a mess of his bed and covered it all in shavings, so gave him fresh yesterday morning and he didn't touch it but there was a few bits and bobs missing by night time from the dish. So it would seem he doesn't like his mix but does like pellets. So how am I supposed to change his food over? Just start with small amounts of pellets and then build it up if his tummy doesn't play up? I have pro biotics I could give him if that would help, any ideas please? Never had a problem like this normally they just don't want the pellets :lol:

Angela
 
Do you feed them a mix like russell rabbit? When I first got mine they were fed a pet shop brand of this type of food, but they only ate the coloured biscuit bits and a few pellets. When I took them for their jabs a few weeks later, the vet suggested trying excel, which I did, and they loved it!

Because its just pellets, they can't pick out what they don't like, so they eat it all. There is no wastage, and they get the balanced diet it is meant to provide.
 
Hi Anna, I feed the rest of my lot on Excel for the reason you mentioned. I just got Biz from an SSPCA centre on Saturday and he has been fed on mix I assume the whole time he was there (from Last Nov) but he doesn't seem to like it, Im not sure if he has eaten any of it as he had dug a bit into his bed and I haven't seen him eat it.
My main concern is if he likes the pellets over the mix and isn't really eating the mix anyway how do I go about changing the food over without upsetting his tummy?
I've got no idea what mix it is as it was in a bucket.
Angela
 
Keep an eye on his poos, but if he is eating the pellets then it will prob be a quicker transition than most. I would make sure he has plenty of hay and build the amount of pellets up daily until you are at the right amount. As long as he is eating lots of hay his tum should be fine. Ur lucky he likes the pellets!! Pippa my Rex isn't that keen although she will eat some and I've decided to keep her on 1/2 and 1/2 as that way she eats it all!!

Nicola
 
Angela

I would introduce new food gradually, by adding a little more excel to the mix, each day, over about 10 days, this should stop it from upseting his tum.

Good Luck!
 
Violet did this too - I tried to swap her over slowly from mix to Excell but as soon as she tasted the excell she left her mix completely - I still offered her the mix and changed proportions like the packet suggested but every day she left the mix and just ate the pellets. She had some slightly sticky poos but other than that she was fine (she did eat huge quantities of hay too though).

Still offer the mix until the 10days are up but don't worry too much!

From what I have been reading about other rabbits that only eat mix I think we are lucky!!

Caz
 
Caz you are lucky!!! My life would be much easier if she ate all the pellets!! But she is very healthy and is 6 years old so I'm not inclined to change too much now. She mainly eats hay anyway so she has a good diet :D

Nicola
 
I know I couldn't believe it when I heard him crunching away and seen him at the bowl instantly :shock: will stick to offering him both then and see what happens. Forgot to say he does happily munch hay, so that may explain the healthy poops I spotted yesterday. There's something wrong with his front teeth as well so it may be easier for him to pick up his pellets.

Thanks
Angela
 
The mix is just a bog standard pet shop mix, the buns just get fed what ever is donated but they said that most of the buns they get in wont touch excel or SS. What's wrong with his front teeth? (I never got to see him at Petterden).
 
Yay Lynda's back!
Hmmm Im not sure whats happened to his teeth. I can't see any peg teeth, his bottom one's are fine, normal length but errr his top ones are only just there! There's some teeth there but only just poking through his gums, I wonder if he did it when he jumped out of the guys arms when Donna (smurfs mum) was there or something?? Got the vets on Friday so will see if she can get a proper look and make sense of it. He's petrified of being touched anywhere around his ears, shoulders and chest so I can't get a proper look myself as he goes all rigid and pulls his front paws up near his mouth, poor guy! He's fine to pick up as long as you keep a good tight hold of him, much better than some of the other monsters though :lol:

He's still ignoring the mix and prefers the pellets but Im still offering both as he may be picking bits out of the mix that I don't see him do. He chomps away at his hay but makes an awful lot of noise about it :shock: he almost wimpers away.
Having his bed right beside mine might not be such a good idea though, Biz and Harley had me awake about 5 times last night!!!!!! Think I may move his bed so he's away from Harley.
Angela
 
my bunny was just the same, it took me ages to get him off Russel Rabbit mix. He was always picky and eating the brightly coloured mix. My vet recommended that i get him onto Excel, better nutrition, makes bunny less fussy, plus he also said that Russel Rabbit can be quite bad for bunnies teeth and weight. After six pain staking weeks i managed to get him to eat a few nuggets. That was over a year ago now and socks wont touch anything else. You have to be very persistant when getting bunnies to eat pellets only!!! I had to get over the thought of being cruel- he eats the nasty mix and has left the pellets, should i give him more food??? So long as bunny has planty of hay he will be fine, remember when you are really that hungry you will eat anything, same with bunnies, they are just more stubborn!!!
 
Yeah you def have to be stubborn with some of them!! I'm afraid I'm not that stubborn with Pip tho - she gets a half mix and half pellets cos she has done so well on it all her life and loves her mix, don't wanna change it now. Other two are on pellets tho, they don't get any mix. I'm soft when it comes to Pippa!!
 
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