still not eating all their caecotrophs

hi,
I have two georgous 11 week old bunnies (Daisy & Pebble) , which have been in our care for 4 weeks. They both look healthy and happy but the problem is they are still not eating all their caecotrophs. We have changed there diet from Excel delux to Science selective which has helped a bit but not entriely solved the problem . They have unlimited hay which they enjoy picking the good bits out of. We have even tried Timothy hay but they dont seem to eat much more of that than the cheap petshop stuff. All the books ive read say we should give them unlimited pellets. At the moment they are munching through a whopping 9 tbsps a day each and still act like we're starving them! Are they just being greedy bunnies? Should i reduce this amount? They dont get fresh veg yet (1 week to go) - would this help?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated (or any tips on how to get trappled caecotroph off wooden floorboards!)

:? I know they are babies still, but I think "un-limited pellets" shouldn't mean preicisely that, I think there should still be a limit but I'm not sure, too many pellets with my buns has always led to them not eating theirs. Are they on a "junior" rabbit pellet? I don't know if this would help?

I'm not a rabbit expert but I wonder if perhaps you are feeding them too much of the pellets; my rabbit adores her excel and would eat it all day given the chance but I know she must only have a small amount a day otherwise she could get diarrhea, I also feed her some greens every day, and she does have the occasional nibble of hay. Rabbits are notorious at being picky with their food at times, so I think it's a case of a small amount of pellets, some veg but mainly hay and that should hopefully get their tummies working properly, bearing in mind Lucy is 5 and not a baby so probably the advice for feeding your rabbits maybe slightly different.

I would reduce the pellets, it's important they get into the habbit of eating hay. Try reducing the pellets by 1/3 and leave the bowl empty once they've eaten them. They should start eating more hay to compensate

Tam

The main reason they dont eat them is because they dont need to . They contain calcium and protine that they dont need, so they wont eat them. If you are getting a few then i would change to a lower protine leval. Rabbits dont need a lot of protine and too much will result in looser poos . I feed alen and page breeder and growere pellits. Since i changed two yrs ago i have no toilet problems or tummy ones at all. And that includes the babys. Perhaps an easier change would be on the light brand and feed ad lib till there older. What breed are they? I wouldnt cut there food till there three months. If there mini lops then the adult amout is 2oz 4ox for dwarf lops. They must be encouraged to eat more hay, it may help if you put it in a hay rack or ball to keep it of the floor. They wont eat it if they walk on it it them becaomes part of there bedding and they are less likely to eat it. When there about 4mths then i would rearly meand buiseness about the hay and you could temorily cut there pellits by half untill they do it the hay but watch them eat in case one eats more than the other. val

I know rexy bexy said she doesn't give her babies unlimited pellets, but rather 2 or 3 'meals' - therefore they are forced to eat hay if they want anything else during the day. I would give them a large handful each, 3 times a day.

KerinTravis said:

:? I know they are babies still, but I think "un-limited pellets" shouldn't mean preicisely that, I think there should still be a limit but I'm not sure, too many pellets with my buns has always led to them not eating theirs. Are they on a "junior" rabbit pellet? I don't know if this would help?

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The opposite can easily happen. If a rabbit get into the habit of knowing there is only x amount of pellet on the dish, and once it is gone, it won't get fill until the next day. Then his instinct of filling up may kicks in, and he'll eat them while they are still around and available to him.

The bleeder who sold me my first 2 rabbits said what you stated above. But I always leave a large bowl of pellet. In all of my previous passed away rabbits and the current one, none of them overeat. The last rabbit, a Flemish Giant, is sitting at 15 lb. or so. Because the way I set it up, is that there is always enough pellet on the bowl, so they won't psychologically condition themselves to think that after that meal, there won't be any left until the next day.

well that's not correct rabbit care - as adults they should only have enough pellets for their weight - if they can't eat them all in about 20 mins or so they have too much. Mine eat them in about 5 mins - yes they gobble them down because they haven't had any for a day, but rabbits don't actually NEED any pellets at all, unless they need the vit D being house rabbits. House rabbits don't expend energy keeping warm, so they don't need as much food as outdoor rabbits.

Pellets were originally used by people breeding rabbits for meat and fur, to make them big and fat - pet rabbits mainly need hay and some veg. Baby rabbits obviously need more carbs as they are growing fast, but hay is the most important thing for their health.

Hay needs to be freshy put out 3 times a day for my lot to be interested in it though :roll:

Thanks for all the advice.

Ive decided to reduce their pellets from 9 to about 7 tbsps a day. They are separated till he gets spayed so i am sure they are getting the same share. They already get hay 3 times a day - some in the litter tray and some in a small basket so they cant stand on it (but it seems to be more fun spreading it all around the room than actually eating it) :roll: . I will try the new rations for a week or so as i dont want to switch brands of food again so soon.
If that dosnt work i will try the alen and page stuff - anyone know where i can get hold of it in liverpool?

SS should be ok for them, I think it's the amount rather than the brand. Two of mine have been on Rabbit Royale (way too rich), Excel and Lite before I tried SS and they are fine on that. Oli really had a problem for a little while, but it's totally gone now with SS. I never see any excess droppings at all (but he does sometimes wee on the floor!)

Your buns should certainly be filling themselves up on hay, so don't worry about cutting down the pellets a bit, they won't starve and it will be better for their teeth too :- )

yes Science Selective is just as good as allen and page - slightly less fibre but still good - excel's the one I've heard connected to sticky bums.

Im certainly no expert but mine have 2 meals a day and they have done since ive had them - they are such pigs that i couldnt give them unlimited pellets unless i was there 24/7 or gave them the whole bag to play with ive cut quinns down a bit and hes eating a lot more hay now too