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Teeth!

Orenoko

Mama Doe
So I have had rabbits in the past and never had any dental problems with them. I've had Lilac and Teddy since December, Lilac had a dental in March, and Teddy just had a dental yesterday.

I know some rabbits can be more prone to dental issues, but I wanted to detail what I'm feeding, see what people think and if I need to change things.

Morning and evening they get 30-40 grams of nuggets shared between them, a hay top up if needed, and a cereal bowl full of veg to share. In the evening I also tend to give them a handful of readigrass.

If I'm home during the day I will only give veg once a day, but I wonder if I'm giving too much? Should they have veg free days? Should I weigh out their veg and give less?

I also give hay cookies as Teddy especially is not a big hay eater. I give Fibafirst as well maybe every other day. Teddy gets a joint supplement 'biscuit' each morning too, I try to do this out of sight of Lilac but if she sees then I'll give her a treat too.

Lilac weighs about 2.2kg and Teddy 1.9kg. He still needs to gain a bit more weight so if I do need to cut back on veg or nuggets I'm not sure how I can carry on building his weight. I used to give him oats but haven't for a while, I give him some organic baby food so could carry on with this?

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So I have had rabbits in the past and never had any dental problems with them. I've had Lilac and Teddy since December, Lilac had a dental in March, and Teddy just had a dental yesterday.

I know some rabbits can be more prone to dental issues, but I wanted to detail what I'm feeding, see what people think and if I need to change things.

Morning and evening they get 30-40 grams of nuggets shared between them, a hay top up if needed, and a cereal bowl full of veg to share. In the evening I also tend to give them a handful of readigrass.

If I'm home during the day I will only give veg once a day, but I wonder if I'm giving too much? Should they have veg free days? Should I weigh out their veg and give less?

I also give hay cookies as Teddy especially is not a big hay eater. I give Fibafirst as well maybe every other day. Teddy gets a joint supplement 'biscuit' each morning too, I try to do this out of sight of Lilac but if she sees then I'll give her a treat too.

Lilac weighs about 2.2kg and Teddy 1.9kg. He still needs to gain a bit more weight so if I do need to cut back on veg or nuggets I'm not sure how I can carry on building his weight. I used to give him oats but haven't for a while, I give him some organic baby food so could carry on with this?

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It's more difficult when you need to also consider the need for Teddy to gain weight. However, I would concentrate on feeding foods containing lots of fibre.

What hay are you feeding? Perhaps if Teddy's not keen, then try different ones. I don't, but I know that several people feed a variety of hay with dental rabbits. For a rabbit hay is not all the same it seems :lol: Also try topping up the hay several times a day with small amounts. Rabbits seem to think freshly provided hay is better. You could also try mixing some dried forage in with the hay to try to tempt him.

Wild forage, if you can find some, is good too, especially things like Plantain and Bramble leaves. Maybe replace some of the veg with forage. I would also try some tree leaves and sticks (eg apple, willow, hazel, hawthorn), which should help to wear down their teeth.

The amount of nuggets sounds more than I feed, but I appreciate the problem with Teddy's weight. If he will eat FibaFirst then maybe feed more of these and less of nuggets.
 
It's more difficult when you need to also consider the need for Teddy to gain weight. However, I would concentrate on feeding foods containing lots of fibre.

What hay are you feeding? Perhaps if Teddy's not keen, then try different ones. I don't, but I know that several people feed a variety of hay with dental rabbits. For a rabbit hay is not all the same it seems :lol: Also try topping up the hay several times a day with small amounts. Rabbits seem to think freshly provided hay is better. You could also try mixing some dried forage in with the hay to try to tempt him.

Wild forage, if you can find some, is good too, especially things like Plantain and Bramble leaves. Maybe replace some of the veg with forage. I would also try some tree leaves and sticks (eg apple, willow, hazel, hawthorn), which should help to wear down their teeth.

The amount of nuggets sounds more than I feed, but I appreciate the problem with Teddy's weight. If he will eat FibaFirst then maybe feed more of these and less of nuggets.

I agree with Omi :thumb: up until recently I only fed meadow hay, the baled variety sold for horses, it went down really well with the rabbits I’ve had before, and Frosty used to eat it really well, then a few months ago he went off it completely. He needed a dental and after the dental he still wouldn’t eat the baled hay. So I bought lots of different hay, got samples, some he loves, others he wouldn’t touch. I’ve ended up with a few different types that he likes, and he eats much more of it than he used to with the meadow hay and there is much less waste. I’ve also found he eats more from little troughs - extra long loaf tins I found in the charity shop, and a basket hung over his litter tray, than he did from a hay tower (cd rack from charity shop) he also went off at dental time.

In short, he’s become a spoilt little diva bunny :lol:
 
Thanks both, I feed Timothy hay, I have to confess it's not from timothyhay.co.uk. He seems to like the meadow hay cookies so perhaps I should try meadow hay. Lilac enjoys the Timothy hay. Is there anywhere online where I could get some samples before committing?

I've got some forage, tend to keep it as a treat so will try mixing it in. Will look at buying some sticks, he seems to enjoy chewing cardboard but that's about it! Although in some respects that's a good thing as nothing untoward gets nibbled lol.
 
Thanks both, I feed Timothy hay, I have to confess it's not from timothyhay.co.uk. He seems to like the meadow hay cookies so perhaps I should try meadow hay. Lilac enjoys the Timothy hay. Is there anywhere online where I could get some samples before committing?

I've got some forage, tend to keep it as a treat so will try mixing it in. Will look at buying some sticks, he seems to enjoy chewing cardboard but that's about it! Although in some respects that's a good thing as nothing untoward gets nibbled lol.

You can get samples from the hay experts :thumb: some of the hay they stock you can buy elsewhere too. You can also get samples from https://www.hay-and-straw.co.uk, the ings hay is popular with other people’s rabbits on here but Frosty wouldn’t touch it :shock:

Some of the hay Frosty really likes is from https://www.naturesownpets.co.uk/?customer=animal they don’t seem to send out samples but I can send you some sweet green hay for them to try if you want, he also likes their 5 a day hay too.

Frosty likes Timothy hay from alfalfa king, burns green oat hay, and oxbow orchard grass too, I’m lucky in that the goats will eat anything that Frosty won’t , so it’s less of a gamble :lol:
 
Thanks! I've just ordered 6 samples from they Hay Experts website, I'll see what goes down well. So good that websites like that exist!

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Thanks! I've just ordered 6 samples from they Hay Experts website, I'll see what goes down well. So good that websites like that exist!

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That’s great:thumb: they are really good. If you want any other samples sending, drop me a pm with your address :thumb:
 
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