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Pellet free diet

glitterdust

glitterdust

Warren Scout
Jimmy had another dental 6 weeks after the last one, X-ray's showed nothing untoward so the vet is either putting it down to his diet or it could possibly be because of the trauma to his face. Jimmy was bit very badly off another rabbit before i rescued him and that scarred his ears his nose and the side of his mouth on the side the spurs grow.Anyway the vet advised I don't give him pellets anymore and i give him more hay which is what I have been doing and more veg/herbs . I have reduced the pellets down to 10 per day and I give them a romaine lettuce leaf and pak choi leaf each in the morning with the pellets. Then hay hay hay and half a fibre first stick (I don't know if I should be doing that.) Afternoon they get a mix of herbs, kale and spring greens, Then before bed an apple twig each and plantain and dandelion mixed into there hay. I am worried they are not eating enough as they both seem really really hungry. Back to vets in 3 weeks to see how things are going, checking weight and his mouth again to see if his spurs are growing back. If anyone gives there bun a pellet free diet does this seem like enough and is there anything else I can add or takeaway. Thank you

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glitterdust said:
Jimmy had another dental 6 weeks after the last one, X-ray's showed nothing untoward so the vet is either putting it down to his diet or it could possibly be because of the trauma to his face. Jimmy was bit very badly off another rabbit before i rescued him and that scarred his ears his nose and the side of his mouth on the side the spurs grow.Anyway the vet advised I don't give him pellets anymore and i give him more hay which is what I have been doing and more veg/herbs . I have reduced the pellets down to 10 per day and I give them a romaine lettuce leaf and pak choi leaf each in the morning with the pellets. Then hay hay hay and half a fibre first stick (I don't know if I should be doing that.) Afternoon they get a mix of herbs, kale and spring greens, Then before bed an apple twig each and plantain and dandelion mixed into there hay. I am worried they are not eating enough as they both seem really really hungry. Back to vets in 3 weeks to see how things are going, checking weight and his mouth again to see if his spurs are growing back. If anyone gives there bun a pellet free diet does this seem like enough and is there anything else I can add or takeaway. Thank you

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All my Rabbits, apart from my possibly pregnant Doe, have a pellet free diet. I feed them a variety of hays, numerous dried forages/herbs, Readigrass, fresh herbs, and a small amount of Veg.

This diet sheet may be useful to take a look at :

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...heets/recommended-diet-for-adult-rabbits/view
 
glitterdust said:
Jimmy had another dental 6 weeks after the last one, X-ray's showed nothing untoward so the vet is either putting it down to his diet or it could possibly be because of the trauma to his face. Jimmy was bit very badly off another rabbit before i rescued him and that scarred his ears his nose and the side of his mouth on the side the spurs grow.Anyway the vet advised I don't give him pellets anymore and i give him more hay which is what I have been doing and more veg/herbs . I have reduced the pellets down to 10 per day and I give them a romaine lettuce leaf and pak choi leaf each in the morning with the pellets. Then hay hay hay and half a fibre first stick (I don't know if I should be doing that.) Afternoon they get a mix of herbs, kale and spring greens, Then before bed an apple twig each and plantain and dandelion mixed into there hay. I am worried they are not eating enough as they both seem really really hungry. Back to vets in 3 weeks to see how things are going, checking weight and his mouth again to see if his spurs are growing back. If anyone gives there bun a pellet free diet does this seem like enough and is there anything else I can add or takeaway. Thank you

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Hi there :wave:

I hope Jimmy can maintain his weight on a pellet-free diet. Fibafirst sticks contain the right stuff to grind the teeth down so they should be OK :)

I must say though, that even with the best will in the world, if a rabbit has back teeth malocclusion it won't be fixed however much hay he eats.

My vet has a blog that explains this in the cheek teeth:


http://www.twickenhamvets.com/rabbit-dental-problems-part-1-malocclusion-cheek-teeth/

Let me know how you get on :)
 
MightyMax said:
Hi there :wave:

I hope Jimmy can maintain his weight on a pellet-free diet. Fibafirst sticks contain the right stuff to grind the teeth down so they should be OK :)

I must say though, that even with the best will in the world, if a rabbit has back teeth malocclusion it won't be fixed however much hay he eats.

My vet has a blog that explains this in the cheek teeth:


http://www.twickenhamvets.com/rabbit-dental-problems-part-1-malocclusion-cheek-teeth/

Let me know how you get on :)
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How many fibre first sticks would you suggest I give him? I have resigned myself to the fact this will be an ongoing problem. Petplan have paid up so that takes the edge of the worry. This time they said he was alot worse in recovery and they kept him in over night. Sometimes I think when they know the pet insurance are paying they take the cost to the extreme..


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glitterdust said:
How many fibre first sticks would you suggest I give him? I have resigned myself to the fact this will be an ongoing problem. Petplan have paid up so that takes the edge of the worry. This time they said he was alot worse in recovery and they kept him in over night. Sometimes I think when they know the pet insurance are paying they take the cost to the extreme..


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It depends on what else he's eating. You don't want to detract from him eating hay but you also want to make sure he keeps his energy up. Especially if he has to have GAs for repeat dentals quite frequently.

I would start with a couple a day and see how he goes.
 
MightyMax said:
It depends on what else he's eating. You don't want to detract from him eating hay but you also want to make sure he keeps his energy up. Especially if he has to have GAs for repeat dentals quite frequently.

I would start with a couple a day and see how he goes.
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OK thank you x

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Both my girls are pellet free due to Phoebe.
She was having dental ops every 6 weeks and since going pellet free her teeth have been great.

The main thing I found in my research is that a variety of hay is really important as each holds a different level of nutrition.

So my girls now routinely have meadow hay, Timothy hay and green oat hay available at all times for them to chose between. We do also supply them with readigrass. If we have an empty hay feeder they'll get readigrass 24/7, otherwise they get a big bowl full each night with their evening forage.

It sounds like they're getting plenty of variety. Much more than my girls.

My girls simply get a handful of black kale in the morning and all their hay topped up. (Once they eat the veg they go and munch on their hay).
In the afternoon they get some herbs, in the summer they'll get some forage. (Normally a branch of hawthorn).
In the evening to replace when they got their pellets they'll get some dandelions, plantin & willow. If not all this is available fresh they'll get the dried version or something similar fresh.
Just before bed they get a handful of dried forage mixed into hay.

After each meal they do go and munch on their hays, and we often see them nibbling through out the day. They've been on this diet around a year now and both have had health checks and all has been well with them physically, teeth are slightly spurred, but they're classed as normal spurs and require no action.

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daphnephoebe said:
Both my girls are pellet free due to Phoebe.
She was having dental ops every 6 weeks and since going pellet free her teeth have been great.

The main thing I found in my research is that a variety of hay is really important as each holds a different level of nutrition.

So my girls now routinely have meadow hay, Timothy hay and green oat hay available at all times for them to chose between. We do also supply them with readigrass. If we have an empty hay feeder they'll get readigrass 24/7, otherwise they get a big bowl full each night with their evening forage.

It sounds like they're getting plenty of variety. Much more than my girls.

My girls simply get a handful of black kale in the morning and all their hay topped up. (Once they eat the veg they go and munch on their hay).
In the afternoon they get some herbs, in the summer they'll get some forage. (Normally a branch of hawthorn).
In the evening to replace when they got their pellets they'll get some dandelions, plantin & willow. If not all this is available fresh they'll get the dried version or something similar fresh.
Just before bed they get a handful of dried forage mixed into hay.

After each meal they do go and munch on their hays, and we often see them nibbling through out the day. They've been on this diet around a year now and both have had health checks and all has been well with them physically, teeth are slightly spurred, but they're classed as normal spurs and require no action.

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Thank you, I now have oat, timothy, meadow and readigrass available at all times, do you just mix them all together in any old fashion or put them all separate. I normally put the dried dandilions and plantain in with there hay but I might give it to them in a separate dish. I went in this morning with some kale and they kept jumping up at me as if to say is this all I am getting . I just need a routine of some kind I think. [emoji4]

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glitterdust said:
Thank you, I now have oat, timothy, meadow and readigrass available at all times, do you just mix them all together in any old fashion or put them all separate. I normally put the dried dandilions and plantain in with there hay but I might give it to them in a separate dish. I went in this morning with some kale and they kept jumping up at me as if to say is this all I am getting . I just need a routine of some kind I think. [emoji4]

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Each in a separate container.

So meadow is downstairs in the litter tray, Timothy for their upstairs tray, oat in the hay rack above the den and the hay tower normally gets either meadow or Timothy with some readigrass mixed in.

The girls used to be upset at only getting a handful of veg, but they have the routine now so it's not much of a issue.

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daphnephoebe said:
Each in a separate container.

So meadow is downstairs in the litter tray, Timothy for their upstairs tray, oat in the hay rack above the den and the hay tower normally gets either meadow or Timothy with some readigrass mixed in.

The girls used to be upset at only getting a handful of veg, but they have the routine now so it's not much of a issue.

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Thank you it will be worth it in the long run. Very helpful thank you

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glitterdust said:
Thank you it will be worth it in the long run. Very helpful thank you

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I am finally getting into some kind of routine,i have 2 worries, the readigrass is available 24/7 in a hay rack as well as the other hays, they eat it all, is this ok? also I give them 1 apple or pear twig each night before bed, Norah just eats the bark off hers but Jimmy literally eats the whole thing, is this safe for him? The best thing I ever did was buy Timothy hay from Timothyhay.co.uk. I originally couldn't give them it because of my allergies but I have been prescribed antihistamines and they work fantastic , They eat this Timothy hay like it is going out of fashion. Jimmy's poops are not so dark now either, I can see hay in them. [emoji16]

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glitterdust said:
I am finally getting into some kind of routine,i have 2 worries, the readigrass is available 24/7 in a hay rack as well as the other hays, they eat it all, is this ok? also I give them 1 apple or pear twig each night before bed, Norah just eats the bark off hers but Jimmy literally eats the whole thing, is this safe for him? The best thing I ever did was buy Timothy hay from Timothyhay.co.uk. I originally couldn't give them it because of my allergies but I have been prescribed antihistamines and they work fantastic , They eat this Timothy hay like it is going out of fashion. Jimmy's poops are not so dark now either, I can see hay in them. [emoji16]

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Wow, all this seems very good indeed! :D

Regarding the readigrass ... I have free fed it for over 20 years to every rabbit who has come near me (hundreds and hundreds!) and not had one with a problem with it. There are some rabbits for whom it wouldn't suit, but that's true of everything :)

Regarding the apple sticks - absolutely fine for them to eat the whole thing :D

And I'm glad they are liking the timothy hay. It's really good stuff and I should order some more before your lot take it all :lol:
 
glitterdust said:
I am finally getting into some kind of routine,i have 2 worries, the readigrass is available 24/7 in a hay rack as well as the other hays, they eat it all, is this ok? also I give them 1 apple or pear twig each night before bed, Norah just eats the bark off hers but Jimmy literally eats the whole thing, is this safe for him? The best thing I ever did was buy Timothy hay from Timothyhay.co.uk. I originally couldn't give them it because of my allergies but I have been prescribed antihistamines and they work fantastic , They eat this Timothy hay like it is going out of fashion. Jimmy's poops are not so dark now either, I can see hay in them. [emoji16]

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Free feeding readigrass is fine :) Watch for excess caecotrophes... if you do notice them then limit the readigrass.

Eating the whole branch is fine and won't do any harm at all :)

Very glad they enjoy the Timothy hay. My girls hated it until I got it from Timothy hay. Co. UK

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daphnephoebe said:
Free feeding readigrass is fine :) Watch for excess caecotrophes... if you do notice them then limit the readigrass.

Eating the whole branch is fine and won't do any harm at all :)

Very glad they enjoy the Timothy hay. My girls hated it until I got it from Timothy hay. Co. UK

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It's the first time I have ever seen an empty hay rack with the Timothy hay. Must be tasty stuff.[emoji16]

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daphnephoebe said:
Free feeding readigrass is fine :) Watch for excess caecotrophes... if you do notice them then limit the readigrass.

Eating the whole branch is fine and won't do any harm at all :)

Very glad they enjoy the Timothy hay. My girls hated it until I got it from Timothy hay. Co. UK

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I agree with this. A few of my Rabbits have had problems processing the higher protein content of Readigrass and they have produced excess cecals as a result. But some of my Rabbits could eat a ton of readigrass (given the chance !!) and not have a problem. It's a case of learning the specific needs of the individual Rabbit :)
 
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