Dilemma....feeding a dental bun & maintaining bond

[fruitandnutcake]

So I now have Pebbles eating dry pellets after a week, having had dental. He doesn't eat hay (hasn't done in 3 years apart from odd nibble) and unlikely to eat hay, so he needs constant access to pellets 24/7 to maintain his gut movement and keep his molars down for as long as possible.

However, I'm having to feed him seperately several times a day, and keeping him seperate from his wifey bun during the night seems to be making them unsettled (constant humping from Pebbles when he is with Poppy) and a bit of territorial lunging from Poppy...aimed at me, not at Pebbles :roll:

So, what do I do? Continue to remove Pebbles to allow him to feed seperately ( Poppy would nick all the food before he gets to eat his share), or do I keep Pebbles & Poppy together and just provide them both with a huge bowl of pellets, so Pebbles has constant supply to graze on day and night?

At the moment Poppy has 6g ss pellets a day as treats (and a few sticks of vetcare plus digestive formula ) ...Pebbles has 60-100g of SS pellets.

Thoughts, ideas & suggestions welcome...apart from how to get pebbles to eat more hay...believe me, I've tried everything possible :lol::lol:

 

[RogerRabbit999]

Have you tried Readigrass or do you have a Range near you? It's just that I had exactly the same problem with one of my buns, and then I happened to go into a new Range that opened where I live, and I have FINALLY found hay that ALL my buns eat. It's Devon Meadow Hay, and it really is lovely smelling hay. I personally would not be separating them at night, and instead of leaving them pellets, I would only leave hay or Readigrass. Would be great if Pebbles liked the hay from The Range as well, but to try and tempt him I would mix in his favourite herby stuff into the hay, so that as he is getting that out to eat, he's going to be eating at least some hay as well. Another thing I have done in the past as well, which believe it or not really did work, was make up a weak solution of orange squash and put it in something you can spray it over the hay with. Sounds mad I know, but I had a glass of squash one day, put it down and when I came back Roger was drinking out of the cup and seemed to really like it, so I sprayed it over the hay and he ate quite a bit of it. Let us know how you get on please.

 

[fruitandnutcake]

Have you tried Readigrass or do you have a Range near you? It's just that I had exactly the same problem with one of my buns, and then I happened to go into a new Range that opened where I live, and I have FINALLY found hay that ALL my buns eat. It's Devon Meadow Hay, and it really is lovely smelling hay. I personally would not be separating them at night, and instead of leaving them pellets, I would only leave hay or Readigrass. Would be great if Pebbles liked the hay from The Range as well, but to try and tempt him I would mix in his favourite herby stuff into the hay, so that as he is getting that out to eat, he's going to be eating at least some hay as well. Another thing I have done in the past as well, which believe it or not really did work, was make up a weak solution of orange squash and put it in something you can spray it over the hay with. Sounds mad I know, but I had a glass of squash one day, put it down and when I came back Roger was drinking out of the cup and seemed to really like it, so I sprayed it over the hay and he ate quite a bit of it. Let us know how you get on please.

Thanks for the advice, but as I have said, I have tried all methods to get him to eat hay/grass over the last 3 years! That includes mixing his pellets in with herbs & hay & readygrass etc. coating hay with his favourite organic carrot babyfood...chopping it up small and mixing it with pureed banana/apple.....he just lickes aeverything off, he can pick his favourite herbs out from the hay, and easily picks out pellets without having to eat the hay!

I will get a bag of Devon Meadow Hay from the range, as it is just round the corner from me...but to be honest, he has turned his nose up at Ings and the renowned Timothy & Rye hay from HayForPets, and the yummy Oat Wheat & Barley Hay from the hay experts...he never touched any of the excell range (birch dandelion or the chamomile ones). He won't touch hay cookies anymore either. he wouldn't touch any hay from any sample pack, though I will order some more.

So really, as I said before, this isn't about getting Pebbles to eat hay, it's about maximising his quality of life, as judging by this last week, he may not be around for the many years I was expecting him to be.

But I don't really want to comprimise Poppy's very good diet of about 99% hay .

But I tried it last night, mixing a large bowl of pellets with a large bowl of Oat Wheat and barley hay...and Poppy went mad for the pellets (also picking them out from the bottom of the hay) ...and low and behold, she produced excess ceacal poops.

 

[fruitandnutcake]

I went and bought some Devon meadow hay from the Range (2x4kg bags for £6) so very cheap...unfortunately, none of my buns like it at all...and I don't blame them after they have had the luxury of timothey & rye hay...even I can smell the difference!

Maybe I just have really fussy buns, but if Bugsy, Poppy & Chloe won't eat the Devon Meadow Hay, then Pebbles certainly won't :lol:

I'm just hopping my piggies will eat it!

 

[Amy104]

Are you able to put him in a seperate space alongside her at the times they are seperated. I'd be wary of free feeding both as you wont know how much he's actually eating as she may just steel it all, which may compromise her health/weight.

If they could still see/smell each other they may feel more relaxed in the time they are apart.

(I'm guessing you've also tried fresh grass instead of hay?)

 

[fruitandnutcake]

I think I'm going to have to find a way to partition the hall from the living room with a puppy panel, though I'm not sure if it will work well, as I'm sure most of the night they usually spend together under the settee.

Unfortunately as Pebbles seemed to be eating dry solid foods OK for a couple of days on metacam, I stopped the metacam, and he isn't eating half as much now...so I've put him back on metacam and looks like I'll be back to the vets again tomorrow.

I've tried grass before without success. He always loved dandelions, but struggling to eat them at the moment. Even at his best, I have mixed in cut grass amongst a selection of his favourite weeds and he has always picked out the weeds and left the grass :roll:

He has always been fine on 3 meals of 20g (8 am, 3:30pm and about 9pm) and would go overnight without pellet food without any problem, but during the last month, his poops get really small over night, which is why I want to make sure he has constant access to food.

Poppy would pig out on all the food if she could get to it, and I really do need to monitor exactly how much he does eat ...so will just have to find away to keep them close enough to see each other.

 

[fruitandnutcake]

Oh he is such a worry....:lol:

I have managed to find a tall panel and sectioned off what is left of the dining room (piggies have a 2ft by 5ft pen made of puppy type panels) so Pebbles has the area where the Dining room table & chairs are (that we don't use as the piggy pen is in the way :lol and a bit down the side, so he can still see Poppy if she goes in to the dining room. I could slowly move their litter trays round so they are next to the panel, one on each side.

This is just going to be for night time, as during the day I can pop him in and out to feed easily.

But, since he has had his metacam this morning and again at 3:30pm, he has started eating better...so I think he must still be experiencing some gum/dental pain. I'll have to discuss long term pain relief with the vet as I think he needs to continue with it until he can manage to eat normally again.

 

[Amy104]

Does he like things like plantain? I'm trying to think of plants that are high in fibre you which might help him. Have you tried pro fibre pellets?

 

[fruitandnutcake]

Yes, he has had a scoop of pro-fibre today in addition to his pellets. He is eating those easier as they are smaller, but i don't think they will help his teeth much as they are quite soft and crumbly ( I just bit one to see :lol::lol

He would probably try to eat plaintain when he is feeling better, but at the moment he is struggling with weeds. I picked dandelion, oxtongue, groundsel and milk thistle ( I haven't got plaintain growing yet). Raspberry & strawberry leaves are just starting to sprout, so he can have those soon.

I will try him again with more foraged weeds in the morning before I call vet for appointment. At least I know he will eat when on metacam, so his gut won't slow down & stop.

 

[fruitandnutcake]

I'm not so concerned about the fibre at the moment...I know as long as he eats enough he will be OK...I'm more concerned about his bond with Poppy during this episode. But now I have found a way to keep him in the same room as Poppy so they can see and smell each other during the night, I am much happier. It's really only from 11pm till 7am then they can be together during the day while I'm off work.

 

[Amy104]

Thats good then, fingers crossed they are more settled.