while I was offline for a few months I noticed that Maa, who's a big lop, was getting increasingly desperate for her tiny ration of pellets morning and evening - Tiny ration being what I thought was best for my rabbits, in the aim of getting them to eat mostly hay :?
I had used up the last of the timmy hay a few weeks previously, and since all the other rabbits loved the meadow hay and ate tons, I assumed she would too - not so! :shock:
She got quite aggressive one evening when I tried to get her back in off the grass, and when I felt her she was literally a bag of bones Obviously too stubborn to eat the meadow hay, she was starving herself to death, and was just desperate to eat a bit of grass - Her stomach had been puzzling me for weeks too as she was passing clear, foamy mucus, which was rock solid when dried onto her fur, like glue :shock:
She was also passing very soft, puddingy stools, with normal poops mixed in - and my response to this was to cut her pellets even more so she'd eat more hay - except she didn't.
I finally twigged where I'd seen similar mucus - when my son was violently sick on an empty stomach - and realised that poor Maa must have an empty stomach :shock: And with no food passing through of course the bad bacteria were taking over, settling down and making a permanent home in her guts
Far from encouraging her to eat more hay, cutting back her pellets had nearly killed her! So I increased the pellets over the next week till she was having 4 good handfuls a day, instead of 4 teaspoons! She changed from being frantic at feeding time to being calm, and as she put on weight her poops improved too - I guess the probiotic in Science Selective, plus the high fibre was flushing all the pockets of nasty bacteria out, although she still wouldn't eat any hay at all.
So anyway - after this experience I no longer advocate reducing pellets to increase hay intake, unless your rabbit already loves hay!
I now give all my rabbits more pellets - about 2 handfuls a day - and am reducing Maa's slightly, now she's a big, bouncing bunny again - She's got her favourite timmy hay again too and today, instead of sitting on it and kicking it all over the hutch, I saw her eating it with great enthusiasm!
I had used up the last of the timmy hay a few weeks previously, and since all the other rabbits loved the meadow hay and ate tons, I assumed she would too - not so! :shock:
She got quite aggressive one evening when I tried to get her back in off the grass, and when I felt her she was literally a bag of bones Obviously too stubborn to eat the meadow hay, she was starving herself to death, and was just desperate to eat a bit of grass - Her stomach had been puzzling me for weeks too as she was passing clear, foamy mucus, which was rock solid when dried onto her fur, like glue :shock:
She was also passing very soft, puddingy stools, with normal poops mixed in - and my response to this was to cut her pellets even more so she'd eat more hay - except she didn't.
I finally twigged where I'd seen similar mucus - when my son was violently sick on an empty stomach - and realised that poor Maa must have an empty stomach :shock: And with no food passing through of course the bad bacteria were taking over, settling down and making a permanent home in her guts
Far from encouraging her to eat more hay, cutting back her pellets had nearly killed her! So I increased the pellets over the next week till she was having 4 good handfuls a day, instead of 4 teaspoons! She changed from being frantic at feeding time to being calm, and as she put on weight her poops improved too - I guess the probiotic in Science Selective, plus the high fibre was flushing all the pockets of nasty bacteria out, although she still wouldn't eat any hay at all.
So anyway - after this experience I no longer advocate reducing pellets to increase hay intake, unless your rabbit already loves hay!
I now give all my rabbits more pellets - about 2 handfuls a day - and am reducing Maa's slightly, now she's a big, bouncing bunny again - She's got her favourite timmy hay again too and today, instead of sitting on it and kicking it all over the hutch, I saw her eating it with great enthusiasm!