your thoughts please

Hi,

I have just come back off holiday and had left Peter with a trusted friend. She has looked after Peter many times before and there hasn't been a problem.
This time however there is a big problem that i'm not sure our friendship will withstand :!:
I have been accused of starving my rabbit :!: :!: and that if the RSPCA had been called they wouldn't be happy with me :evil:
I have been giving Peter science selective pellets and have been giving him a good handfull in the mornings he has unlimited hay and I give him veg in the afternoon.
Her arguement is that I don't give enough pellets so she doubled the amount whilst looking after him as he didn't seem happy (bearing in mind he was round her house as he stops eating if left here so I think he took a couple of days to settle in) the problem is he has really soft poos now is this because of the amount of pellets hes been having :?:
incidently this is the first time Peter has stayed round her house for the whole holiday as last time within 3 days of me being away he had stopped eating. The times before he had Ebony as company.

Sorry this is so long but I don't understand what happened this time.
The amount of food hasn't changed at all although Peter used to have Russell rabbit but I changed that ages ago and she ha looked after Peter since then.


Your views greatly needed
Tracey

What kind of breed is your bunny and how much does he weigh?
IMO what you are describing that you are giving him seems fine. But one should never simply change a diet over night, it stresses the animal out and can throw their body off balance...

No idea why your friend thinks your bun is starving - god knows if mine got unlimited pellets they'd probably gobble the lot, but that wouldn't be terribly good for them, so they don't!
Maybe she didn't give him as much hay as he's used to, or changed his veggies? That might have upset his belly a bit, or maybe he was just unsettled from being away from you and his home? Or maybe what you're seeing are the poos he's supposed to eat?
My guess is that if you stick with what he's used to with you, he'll probably go back to normal pretty quickly - if it gets bad, it maybe time for the vet.

Jo

It sounds as if she is unaware that hay is the most important part of a rabbits diet. Unless your rabbit is actually extremely thin she has no reason to say that sort of thing from the diet you describe. Mine would all gobble up more pellets if I gave them to them, but then they wouldn't eat as much hay and they would get teeth problems, excess caecotrophs and become overweight and end up with mucky bums. It is important to limit pellet intake. I feed mine a handful each a day, varied for the size of the rabbit, but more in the winter to account for their needing to maintain body heat.
When my sister looks after them they all gain weight, as she can't help herself from indulging them, but at least she doesn't accuse me of starving them.

If you are still speaking to her show her some posts from here. There is a bit on what rabbits should weigh so you can put your mind at rest. The ideal food rule is 80% hay 20% pellets is it not?

nothing wrong with what your feeding your bunny you feed what i feed!
small amount of pellets in morning veg/greens at night and unlimited hay

lisa

Did you ask her whether she read the back of the SS packet and weighed your bunny to check the correct feeding volume? Did she take your rabbit to the vet and he said it was underweight? Did she consult a breed chart for the ideal weight (these aren't always accurate as many buns are cross-breeds)?

You should be able to feel a rabbit's spine through its back. If you can't then it is getting a bit too fat. The SS guidlines on the back of the packet are a good start to follow but if you find the rabbit isn't eating enough hay or is getting squidgy poos then you should cut down.

My four beg and beg and beg for pellets, when I put them down they go mad for them and as soon as they are gone they beg for more again but I know I have to be strong as otherwise they don't eat their hay!

If I left the bag open I guarantee you they would eat till they couldn't move but it would be very bad for them and ultimately would shorten their life. Especially with my Zeus being a giant my vet has specifically told me to keep Zeus on the skinny side to reduce the stress on his organs!

If you are in doubt take your bunny to the vet - get his/her opinion to reassure yourself then confront your friend with the facts (nicely) and ask for an apology as otherwise it will fester and you may lose a friend. It isn't her fault if she is unaware of current rabbit knowledge. In the old days everyone thought all you needed to feed rabbits was a pet shop mix and a few carrots and as long as the bowl was constantly full you were doing a good job. That is why there are sadly too many obese pets out there!

Caz

yeah caz sounds like my buns begging for more pellets but i dont give them anymore my nan has a rabbit and i went down other weekened and my grandad fills the bowl up i asked who gave it so much he said i dont know but i know it was him as he always feels guilty like wiv his dog he'll keep feeding it till he gets done off my nan so i just emptied it out
i told him itll do more harm then good if fed too much and that he was not to feed mine more when they go down when im away as i use a little measuring cup

lisa

thank you for your replies.
Peter is a dwarf lop I'm not sure of his weight, but he was weighed not so long ago and the vet wasn't concerned.
I'm not sure yet how to deal with my friend but I do know she only meant well but is not very good with words :!: so we will see how it goes.

Thanks again
Tracey

mini lop1 said:

i told him itll do more harm then good if fed too much and that he was not to feed mine more when they go down when im away as i use a little measuring cup

lisa

Click to expand...

My dad does the same thing, so I now use a small jelly pot. I weighed out 1 scoop and it came to about 3 ounces, so they all get 2 scoops a day... one in the morning and then again at nighttime.

A DWARF LOP SHOULD WEIGH NO MORE THAN 5.5 BUT THATS IF HES A PURE BREED DWARF LOP VAL

Its always hard to give less pellets.. i always feel really mean when i feed mine as they cant get their heads in the bowl quick enough! The only thing i do worry is that one will eat more than the other one. Sometimes i give Simba a few pellets when im having cuddles with him to make sure he gets enough as he is the smaller of the two.
For your friend to accuse you of starving your rabbit she obviously doesnt understand. If his bones were sticking out like poor little Pip then i could understand it but i bet your bunny is the perfect size for his breed.
My dad always says Simba is skinny but he is just not fat. Ive asked vets and other rabbitty people and all agree he is fine, also his weight doesnt change so i know he isnt loosing weight or anything.
Just keep on with what you are doing as that is what is good for your bunny. As suggested the soft pellets could be the ones he should be eating if he has had alot more pellet food then he would probably produce alot more of them and not want to eat them. If they look like grapes and are dark then they are the ones he should eat. If not then it could just be the change in diet and stress i guess. Hope he is back to his usual self soon.