Should I be giving my 1 years old mini lop greens?

[Coopersmama]

Hello everyone,

I recently got Charlie a dwarf mini lop from a shelter. He is 1 year old, and he has been kept mainly on pellets and lots of hay.

The people at the shelter told me to give him greens only as a treat but I'm pretty sure adult bunnies need greens regularly I n their diet. I've tried giving him some herbs and greens to see how his body reacts to them and he seems to be handling it okay (I've seen some of the other type of poos the soft-ish ones but I've read these are normally produced overnight by bunnies and they are not a sign of illness?)

My question is whether you think I should slowly increase the amount of greens I give him, and how much and what greens I should be giving him. My beloved cooper passed away from bloat in July and so I'm very conscious of sensitive bunny tummies

P.s: Charlie is approx. 1.1 kg

 

[Hele]

I would agree with the shelter that buns don't 'need' greens, I only feed them as a treat but I do feed forage items (weeds ect). Wanting greens to form a part of your buns diet is great, but the fact that he is leaving some Cecal poops is showing that either his diet is too rich or just that he is a bit unsettled. Once his diet is right you shouldn't see them any more.

If it were me I would stop the greens for a few days until you stop seeing the Cecal poops and then I would reintroduce the veggies very very slowly. Maybe starting with herbs which are often gentler on a buns digestive system.

How much pelleted food is he getting? As that could be the cause of the Cecals being left rather than the greens!

 

[Tamsin]

Yes, the soft poops are normal but they should eat them so you shouldn't see them laying around. They can produce too many if there food is too rich or sometimes just when adjusting to new foods.

How long have you had him? I suggest giving him a few weeks to settle before making any changes. It's often too much dry food that causes the poop, so decreasing that and adding in some fresh foods might be a good change. It sounds like he's quite a little chap so he shouldn't need more than about an egg cup full of dry food and then lots of hay.

Leafy greens are best (excluding iceburg lettuce), herbs are a good choice If you've got access wild plants like dandelion, blackberry, raspberry, apple, thistle are tasty and very good for them.

 

[Coopersmama]

Good morning both,

Thank you very much for getting back to me, your comments have been very helpful

I've had Charlie for 2 weeks now. I've been giving him half a handful of pellets twice a day - one in the morning and one in the evening and unlimited hay which he absolutely loves (never seen a bun eat so much hay!).

I think you are right, I'll keep an eye on his droppings until I stop seeing them and then I'll reintroduce some herbs slowly and see how he copes with it.

Thanks for your help

Froso

 

[Bunny Magics]

I've had to be careful with my young bun, Forest, he can't really do human veg at all.
Hay, grasses, and dry or fresh herbs gives him great poops .
A few pellets, twice a day. he's sorted. Every bun is different, but I have cut out human veg for mine, and limited the pellets, increasing forage herbage...best poops ever , so far.
I only learnt this from asking poop questions too :thumb: