Unexpectedly in Possession of a baby bun... Questions?

[NuclearMuse]

Hello!

So, long story short, I have unexpectedly ended up with a bunny who is probably about 6-8 weeks old (more likely six-ish). She's got a nasty eye infection, which she is on medication for, but while I am an experienced rat owner the only time I have care for rabbits is at work. I know the basics, and we are in the process of searching for a permanent cage for her since the one I borrowed from work is too small long term, but I have been doing some research and it seems everybody says different things about the age to begin feeding fresh greens...

I have given her a few little chunks of romaine lettuce as a treat today and she LOVES it. She keeps crawling into my lap looking for more. Is it OK to give her small amounts to help with bonding, even at this age? I have veg on hand for my ratties anyway so I just want to make sure. I know buns have more sensitive stomachs; my rats eat anything. :lol:

Also, I have read different opinions on how much of her diet should currently consist of pellets. She has unlimited alfalfa, and well as unlimited access to Oxbow Young Rabbit--but should I not be giving her as many pellets to encourage consumption of the alfalfa? I've got no idea what she was eating before so her change in pellets may have been sudden, but her appetite is great and her poops are normal looking.

Sorry if similar things have been asked before, I am still navigating the forum but had not seen this question yet

 

[tonibun]

No worries - this is why we are here. You must go very carefully if bunny is only about 6 weeks old with veg. At this young age her tummy can be upset drastically and as you don't know whether she has had any veg before, it would be best not to feed any at all. She needs plenty of pellets and hay at this stage, serious hay eating can be acquired as bunny gets older. You could also give little bits of Readigrass if you wish and when she's a few weeks older you can try her with some tiny pieces of veg. or grass. I hope her eye gets better soon.

 

[NuclearMuse]

Thank you! I still have a lot to learn about rabbits, lol.

What is Readigrass? I've seen it mentioned a few times but I've not heard of it before reading this forum--is it available in the U.S.?

I will refrain from giving her treats for a few weeks then. She seems to be doing really well, so I don't want to mess anything up. When I brought her home, her eye was matted shut and my friend and I had to clean all this pussy gunk off before she could open it. It looks so much better now--though I'm not sure if she can see out of it still so my husband and I are going to have to take her to get it checked out again.

Originally, we had named her Popeye, but when I checked she was actually a female so I renamed her Olive Oil. lol.

 

[tonibun]

Readigrass is dried grass specially produced for rabbits, although you can buy the horse variety. Whether or not you can get it in the US i don't know. They are very hard to sex at times when they are very young, so keep checking now and then because some "girls" are boys. The Vet might want to give her some eye drops. :thumb:

 

[NuclearMuse]

I will look and see if I can find Readigrass, it's worth a try if available She's got some eye "cream" right now, but my husband was saying something about corneal repair drops if she's got a scratch on the cornea or something (he is a vet tech). we will see when we get her over there, though! For now I am just glad that she is doing well. <3 I did notice two or three cecotropes that had gone uneaten, is that normal? It was just a couple and she is still eating both her pellets and hay with gusto so I am not too worried but want to make sure.

Also, she's got oxbow alfalfa hay, but I have noticed she doesn't seem to like the larger, tougher strands. She goes straight for the small, soft green bits and throws the rest on the floor. Will she get enough fiber and wear her teeth down enough this way? I was thinking of maybe mixing another type of hay in, like orchard grass, to try and get her to eat more of the larger bits and work her teeth more... would that be a good idea?

 

[Jbun]

You can't get the brand Readigrass here in the US, though it is possible to buy a bale of regular rye hay if you can find a farmer selling it. I just prefer to feed timothy myself, as it is the most readily available where I live, though I have fed rye hay in the past and my rabbits did really like it.

You may want to consider starting to phase in some timothy hay or other grass hay like orchard, and gradually phase out the alfalfa. If she is getting unlimited(or close to) alfalfa based pellets, there really is no need to also feed alfalfa hay. Plus feeding alfalfa hay in addition to alfalfa pellets, can be a cause for excess uneaten cecotropes due to too much protein in the diet(though it can also just be that she is a baby rabbit and they sometimes get distracted from eating them). Being exclusively on alfalfa hay when they are young can also lead to pickiness with hay and make it difficult when you need to phase it out and get her on a grass hay later on when she is fully matured and no longer should get alfalfa hay. I've never liked the suggestion of feeding baby rabbits alfalfa hay in addition to alfalfa pellets, and much prefer to have them on a grass hay instead. It just seems to work better to start them out on a grass hay.

With how much pellets to feed, it's generally recommended to feed unlimited pellets to baby rabbits until they are 6 months old(for small to medium breeds), but I found that only works if they also are good at eating a pile of grass hay the size of their body, per day. If not, I would slightly limit pellets for the babies that I raised, so that they would run out of them 2-3 hours before their twice daily feeding, then in those few hours they would munch on their timothy hay. This seemed to ensure they were still getting plenty of nutrition from pellets, but also getting the extra fiber from the grass hay. It also helped keep in check any poopy bums which was a particular sensitivity for one batch of babies I raised.

A tiny bit of romaine might not be a problem, but you do need to keep a really close eye out for any signs of digestive upset and changes in poop that could result from feeding it, as babies can be very sensitive to any changes in their diet. And it is always best to introduce new foods(excluding grass hays) very very gradually starting with very small amounts, particularly with baby rabbits. I had a baby rabbit that ate quite a bit of green leafy lettuce without any problems, so it can be ok, but she was also already used to eating it when she came to me.

 

[NuclearMuse]

She definitely is not eating a pile of hay that large once a day, so I will try reducing her pellets gradually and mix some other hay in with the alfalfa until I am out (oops I bought a 9lb box! ). Though it may also be that she is not a fan of the alfalfa; she keeps going for very particular bits and throwing the rest all over her litter tray -_-"

I will buy a small bag of Orchard Hay and Timothy Hay tomorrow and see which she likes more when I mix it in.

 

[Bethy]

Though it may also be that she is not a fan of the alfalfa; she keeps going for very particular bits and throwing the rest all over her litter tray -_-")

I'm not an expert having only been a bunny owner a few months, but that sounds very normal to me! My two eat loads of hay but I still find it strewn all across their cage, and the kitchen floor!

Also, pics pleeeease

 

[tonibun]

I agree mostly with Jbun. I think the thicker strands of hay are just too much for a baby to chew at. I have brought up quite afew rabbits on ordinary hay and they have done really well, also i never worry when they are so young as to whether they are eating a certain amount of hay, as this will come as they get older. :thumb: I also find babies do sometimes leave uneaten cecals, but not sure why, possibly got their mind on something else!

 

[NuclearMuse]

Hah, I won't worry too much abou excess Cecals then unless there are a lot . I've not seen any again, so she probably did just get distracted :3

She won't touch Timothy or orchard hay though (both oxbow brand). -_- she did pick at the oxbow hay stacks with chamomile mixed in though. And I tried oat hay last night, which she seemed to love! So I may see if I can find a way to get oat hay in larger quantities as oxbow only sells the 15 oz bags I will have to see how much of the oat hay she ended up eating when I get home--I am pet sitting right now but I get to go back home tonight (yay!).