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Diet for rabbits who can't eat hay or grass

Beapig

Mama Doe
Hello everyone,

This thread concerns my recently adopted rabbit Plumpkin, who has had two dental surgeries so far (including the removal of two teeth) and is likely to need another soon to help things straighten out.

Whilst my girlie is looking a lot brighter in general, she still doesn't touch hay, and seems to lack the capacity to eat grass. We had to mow her run area today because she can't keep it down and the grass was growing taller than her.

I know that bunnies are meant to have 80% of their diet hay & grass based. So this is obviously a concern to me. But it may be that because of her disfigured jaw, she'll never be able to eat hay or grass in the normal way. This is her diet at the moment:

Morning: 1. A Large cereal sized bowl of fresh veggies (cabbage, kale, spinach, cauliflower leaves, a small amount of carrot and broccoli)
2. A large egg cup's worth of Harringtons pellets
3. 2 x Fibafirst sticks

Evening: 1. Fresh forage (usually brambles, dandelions and herb robert) - a reasonable handful which I pick on my evening walk
2. 1x Fibafirst stick

Just Before Bed: Another large egg cup of pellets

I'm struggling to find a huge amount of information on what to feed a bunny who can't necessarily process grass, and would love any sort of advice that anyone may have on here. Plumps is a little less bony, but still very underweight. I worry about her all of the time. I'm praying that when she's bonded with the other two she picks up eating hay and grass from them, but I understand that it might not be a lack of wanting to so much as a physical disability because her jaw is wonky.

Any advice is very much appreciated, thank you everyone.
 
I can't offer any advice.. but I know plain oats have been said to help put on weight and manage. a friends buns have to have oats to help keep their weight up or they fall underweight so suddenly. it was recommended by her vet - maybe it could be helpful for the future.
 
I'd say you are managing her diet well. I'd maybe increase her fresh forage (though be wary of too many dandelions as they are high in calcium). Whats her poo like?
 
I don’t know what to suggest, but hopefully someone on here can help, but just saying you’re doing a good job with her. Xx
 
I'd say you are managing her diet well. I'd maybe increase her fresh forage (though be wary of too many dandelions as they are high in calcium). Whats her poo like?

Oats is interesting pinkyCodie, will have to look into that!

joey&boo her poo is a nice golden brown most of the time, although her pellets are sometimes more long/less round than the other two who are in good health. More forage is a good call - I'll have to travel further as I've exhausted it all in the surrounding area :oops:

Thank you CometLucy195 <3
 
I'd also increase her forage and I'd try her with some small tree branches with leaves on (Hazel, Willow, Hawthorn, Ash, Maple or Apple). She'll probably eat the leaves first, but she might also be tempted to nibble the bark.
 
I'd also increase her forage and I'd try her with some small tree branches with leaves on (Hazel, Willow, Hawthorn, Ash, Maple or Apple). She'll probably eat the leaves first, but she might also be tempted to nibble the bark.

Thank you Omi, I definitely will. Can rabbits have pear tree leaves and branches too by any chance? Because we happen to have a very large pear tree in our garden. If not, I'll have to go out and see if I can find any of the above.
 
Thank you Omi, I definitely will. Can rabbits have pear tree leaves and branches too by any chance? Because we happen to have a very large pear tree in our garden. If not, I'll have to go out and see if I can find any of the above.


They can definitely have pear tree leaves and branches :D
 
Hello everyone,

This thread concerns my recently adopted rabbit Plumpkin, who has had two dental surgeries so far (including the removal of two teeth) and is likely to need another soon to help things straighten out.

Whilst my girlie is looking a lot brighter in general, she still doesn't touch hay, and seems to lack the capacity to eat grass. We had to mow her run area today because she can't keep it down and the grass was growing taller than her.

I know that bunnies are meant to have 80% of their diet hay & grass based. So this is obviously a concern to me. But it may be that because of her disfigured jaw, she'll never be able to eat hay or grass in the normal way. This is her diet at the moment:

Morning: 1. A Large cereal sized bowl of fresh veggies (cabbage, kale, spinach, cauliflower leaves, a small amount of carrot and broccoli)
2. A large egg cup's worth of Harringtons pellets
3. 2 x Fibafirst sticks

Evening: 1. Fresh forage (usually brambles, dandelions and herb robert) - a reasonable handful which I pick on my evening walk
2. 1x Fibafirst stick

Just Before Bed: Another large egg cup of pellets

I'm struggling to find a huge amount of information on what to feed a bunny who can't necessarily process grass, and would love any sort of advice that anyone may have on here. Plumps is a little less bony, but still very underweight. I worry about her all of the time. I'm praying that when she's bonded with the other two she picks up eating hay and grass from them, but I understand that it might not be a lack of wanting to so much as a physical disability because her jaw is wonky.

Any advice is very much appreciated, thank you everyone.


I get this completely and I've looked after dozens of dental buns who can't eat grass or hay.

I think you're doing an excellent job :) If she were my bunny I would cut down the amount of pellets and increase the fibafirst sticks. Reason being that pellets use an up and down motion for the teeth and hay (within the fibafirst sticks) uses a grinding action. Therefore the fibafirst sticks will provide extra wear for her teeth as well as fibre for digestion.

My rabbits don't get veggies (unless there's some growing in the garden and spare) but loads of forage. It's quite light and easy to eat (on the whole) and excellent fibre. I would up the forage :)
 
As well as increasing the fibrous forage in her diet, you could try cutting the grass up with scissors to see if she can eat more, but in much shorter pieces so she doesn't need to chew it in the same way. I used to make a pile of 1 cm pieces of grass for one of my rabbits with a jaw abscess so he could just hoover it up.

Otherwise, there are some pellets made from just grass.

Grass is useful as it provides most of the fibre in the diet, which is what their guts were designed to run on. It also keeps the teeth ground down. You need to work out the best way of achieving these using things she can actually eat. You may also want to start drying some supplies now so that you have enough to last through the Winter. Tough fibres from other sources, such as bramble or willow leaves will help to keep her remaining teeth worn down, although you may have more regular dentals at the vet as the remaining teeth may not wear evenly.
 
I'd possibly be increasing her fibafirst sticks if she resolutely refuses hay, I believe the sticks can be free-fed, and it'd give her something to munch on periodically.
 
Thank you for the suggestions everyone, I've been giving her more forage daily this week. She's off her food again though, so I think we'll be back to the vets again on Monday :( I have noticed that her poops are sort of purpleish compared to the other two, and they often have a while chalk-like coating on. Does anyone know why this is?
 
Thank you for the suggestions everyone, I've been giving her more forage daily this week. She's off her food again though, so I think we'll be back to the vets again on Monday :( I have noticed that her poops are sort of purpleish compared to the other two, and they often have a while chalk-like coating on. Does anyone know why this is?

Her poo will be darker as she is not eating hay, but I've no idea why it would look purple. Sorry, I've also no idea about the chalk-like coating:?

Did she manage to eat any of the pear tree leaves and/or nibble the bark?

I'm sorry to read that she is struggling again and hope that her vet visit goes well on Monday.
 
Thank you for the suggestions everyone, I've been giving her more forage daily this week. She's off her food again though, so I think we'll be back to the vets again on Monday :( I have noticed that her poops are sort of purpleish compared to the other two, and they often have a while chalk-like coating on. Does anyone know why this is?


There's a few examples of poo here but I'm not sure the one you're describing is pictured?

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm

Aso, medication can cause alterations in the appearance of poop.

Hay makes poo lovely and golden, so forage and fresh grass (if she's eating any) will darken the colour.

White on the poop could be that she has peed on the poop and that explains the chalk colour. Sometimes excess calcium presents like that.

I hope the vet can shed more light on why she's not eating.
My thoughts are with you, it's difficult to know what to do with bunnies and you've been very brave and selfless to take her on.
 
My major concern with a bunny not being able to eat hay would be their gut health - particularly as you say she has stopped eating properly. Bunnies need to keep their gut moving constantly, or it can go into stasis/ileus- one of the main functions of hay in a pet rabbit’s diet is to ensure they eat constantly 24/7. A few meals a day are not enough, so first I would look at the quantity of food she has available, and ensure that she has some fibre-rich food available all day and all night - it needs to be fed ad lib.

For this, I would recommend using the fibafirst sticks- increasing the amount you feed (gradually) to be free-fed as much as she’ll eat. The fibre content is the same as some hays, so it is ideal if she can manage these. It is available year-round unlike forage so makes a good base for her diet. Obviously forage/leafy greens is important as well for tooth wear and fibre, and so continue with all of this as well as the fibafirst. I hope she’s eating well again soon- I’ve always found that it’s a cycle - eating more fibre = better gut movement = better appetite = eating more fibre and so on.
 
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I think that Plumpkin's poops are okay, looking at that website for reference - they're nice and big and round, just darker brown than Ham and Bea's. I think the powdery white is dried wee - she toilets in one area and the grass is yellow and dead underneath it, suggesting that she has peed on top of it. When she pooped fresh this morning I had a peek and they didn't have any of the white powder, so I think that solves it.

To clarify nessar, she is still eating, just much more slowly and periodically inbetween grinding her jaw, which is a sure sign that she needs to go back to the vet :( Thanks so much for the recommendations on food - I'm giving her fibafirst sticks throughout the day and also a load of forage. She'll be back to the vet on Monday, so hopefully we can get to the bottom of what is causing her discomfort this time.

Does anyone know if you can get pellets that are made of just grass? I've seen them for horses and sheep but I don't know if those would be suitable for bunnies. Just another thought!
 
I think that Plumpkin's poops are okay, looking at that website for reference - they're nice and big and round, just darker brown than Ham and Bea's. I think the powdery white is dried wee - she toilets in one area and the grass is yellow and dead underneath it, suggesting that she has peed on top of it. When she pooped fresh this morning I had a peek and they didn't have any of the white powder, so I think that solves it.

To clarify nessar, she is still eating, just much more slowly and periodically inbetween grinding her jaw, which is a sure sign that she needs to go back to the vet :( Thanks so much for the recommendations on food - I'm giving her fibafirst sticks throughout the day and also a load of forage. She'll be back to the vet on Monday, so hopefully we can get to the bottom of what is causing her discomfort this time.

Does anyone know if you can get pellets that are made of just grass? I've seen them for horses and sheep but I don't know if those would be suitable for bunnies. Just another thought!
The ones I use are mostly grass and Loobers uses them too now.

Beaphar natural rabbit. My buns love them and they have a really high fibre content. Would be good for Plumpkin. Although they are large pellets that she'd have to break down. They aren't little like normal bun pellets. More like a nugget :)

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I think that Plumpkin's poops are okay, looking at that website for reference - they're nice and big and round, just darker brown than Ham and Bea's. I think the powdery white is dried wee - she toilets in one area and the grass is yellow and dead underneath it, suggesting that she has peed on top of it. When she pooped fresh this morning I had a peek and they didn't have any of the white powder, so I think that solves it.

To clarify nessar, she is still eating, just much more slowly and periodically inbetween grinding her jaw, which is a sure sign that she needs to go back to the vet :( Thanks so much for the recommendations on food - I'm giving her fibafirst sticks throughout the day and also a load of forage. She'll be back to the vet on Monday, so hopefully we can get to the bottom of what is causing her discomfort this time.

Does anyone know if you can get pellets that are made of just grass? I've seen them for horses and sheep but I don't know if those would be suitable for bunnies. Just another thought!

Yes, you can :thumb: I think that loobers25 mentioned the ones in Galens Garden, so she might have experience of them https://galensgarden.co.uk/shop/forage-bricks/ or https://galensgarden.co.uk/shop/forage-pellets-cobs/
 
I think that Plumpkin's poops are okay, looking at that website for reference - they're nice and big and round, just darker brown than Ham and Bea's. I think the powdery white is dried wee - she toilets in one area and the grass is yellow and dead underneath it, suggesting that she has peed on top of it. When she pooped fresh this morning I had a peek and they didn't have any of the white powder, so I think that solves it.

To clarify nessar, she is still eating, just much more slowly and periodically inbetween grinding her jaw, which is a sure sign that she needs to go back to the vet :( Thanks so much for the recommendations on food - I'm giving her fibafirst sticks throughout the day and also a load of forage. She'll be back to the vet on Monday, so hopefully we can get to the bottom of what is causing her discomfort this time.

Does anyone know if you can get pellets that are made of just grass? I've seen them for horses and sheep but I don't know if those would be suitable for bunnies. Just another thought!


Yes you can, but they may need soaking for a dental rabbit, and that may make them fairly unpalatable. I would ask for a sample before investing, as not all rabbits will eat them!

Fibafirst sticks have loads of fibre, and I also whizz up grass alongside veggies for dental rabbits and they actually eat grass that way :)
 
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