Caz
Mama Doe
Happy Hopping said:
I used to love this as a kid it is baby food
!Happy Hopping said:
Um I know this forum has had this discussion before but grass is what rabbits are designed to eat - hundreds of thousands of years of evolution aren't completely erradicated in a few hundred years of our messing about.
Grass is actually a bland food in comparison to pellets and for sick buns losing weight it won't contain enough protein etc but it is what they are designed to eat, it is the best source of fibre to prevent stasis, which is often either cause of or caused by not eating. Hence why recovery mixes contain alfalfa and grass based products as a source of fibre.
In most cases I have found sick rabbits or ones refusing to eat after an op will be tempted by freshly picked grass as it is often a favourite.
Grass is not soft it is actually one of the most abrasive food items on a rabbits teeth (more so than hay), which is why all the papers I read about teeth problems when I was researching the article I wrote state that a grass or hay should be the staple of a rabbit's diet.
If it is painful for a rabbit to eat then obviously grass may not be taken and then softer foods such as Recovery or mashed pellets are used then baby foods as a last resort.
Even if a sick rabbit is eating grass obviously I would still advocate finding a way to get more protein into them such as using recovery or a similar product. As proven by my giant Zeus, he needs to put on weight as he lost it on a grass/hay only diet during his illness and by increasing his pellets he is slowly gaining again.
Jay has many years experience running her sanctuary for sick and disabled buns I am sure with her excellent care Jemima will be back on her feet in no time - then Zeus can take her out for dinner
(as long as Athena isn't watching).Caz
