Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR Bunny’s gone off pellets

Viewing 7 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • Annabel93
      Participant
      161 posts Send Private Message

        Hellooo

        I’ve got 3 young rabbits as I’ve mentioned many times, and my smallest one, Bill, has gradually gone off his pellets. All 3 of them go mental when I stick my hand in the bag to grab some and as soon as I put it in the bowl the other two go “OMG FOOD!” and don’t stop until they’re finished. Bill was always the same but now he’ll eat one or two and then wander off to do his own thing.

        He still munches on hay all through the day and night (he eats far more than the other two) and is big on his greens and other veg, so it’s not that he’s lost his appetite. Is it an issue that he’s not bothering with the pellets? My main worry is that he’s the skinniest of the 3, the other 2 are the same size and are growing nicely. He’s not skinny exactly but he definitely feels slimmer than the other 2 and I don’t want him to end up underweight or anything.

        Any advice would be great


      • mia
        Participant
        519 posts Send Private Message

          Some buns do need pellets but only your vet can advise you if this is the case with your bun.
          After reading about how fattening pellets were, I tried to gradually wean my buns off pellets but found out that one of my buns needs to eat pellets. While off the pellets, they got a lot more veges than normal but that did not compensate for the lack of pellets for this one particular bun. In fact, he gradually lost half his weight and had to be on IV / force fed for a while.


        • Rufus
          Participant
          334 posts Send Private Message

            My bun has never been keen on pellets. I put out a half a cup and it takes him 3-5 days to eat most of them and I end up chucking the rest out. I’ve tried switching brands and he’s even less interested in the new (Oxbow) ones. I was also worried that he might be a bit skinny and his weight has been completely stabilised for a couple of months (he’s only 8 months old).
            This week I took him to the vet to get vaccinated and took the opportunity to ask about his weight. The vet said he is the perfect weight for his size and that most of the rabbits he sees are really overweight. He said it’s great that he doesn’t eat too many pellets and “self regulates”. He told me that as long as I keep feeding him plenty of hay and vegies, it won’t really matter if he stops eating pellets all together. He did advise me to keep some pellets in the cage and he will eat them if he needs them. This really put my mind at ease!
            The only thing I’m wondering for you though is since he used to love them maybe he should have a quick check up at the vet? Because pellets are harder than most of the other things a bunny eats, there might be something going on with his teeth. All that hay he’s eating instead will do his teeth good though!


          • Annabel93
            Participant
            161 posts Send Private Message

              Ok, thanks for that, it’s put my mind at ease a little The only problem with leaving pellets out for him is that the other two will go for them so that’s not really an option haha. I’ll make sure he gets plenty of hay and veg though. Plus they’ve got a vet appointment in a couple of weeks so I’ll mention it then.


            • MoveDiagonally
              Participant
              2361 posts Send Private Message

                As was said earlier, a disinterest in pellets can be a sign of a dental problem. I think a vet check is a great idea. Without pellets rabbits need a lot more variety and quantity of veggies. Something like 10+ types of veggies and around 60% more daily than fed with pellet inclusive diets. It can be hard to manage and in some places gets quite expensive (cost of produce).

                I hope you figure out what’s up with your little guy!


              • Annabel93
                Participant
                161 posts Send Private Message

                  Ok. I don’t know why he’s so fussy with them yet with nothing else. I even just walked into the room to find him attempting to drink out of my beer bottle!!

                  https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1233952_10151875114744776_9782531_n.jpg

                  I think he thinks he’s people.


                • PimmsWarren
                  Participant
                  16 posts Send Private Message

                    Posted By Rufus on 09/12/2013 07:12 PM
                    My bun has never been keen on pellets. I put out a half a cup and it takes him 3-5 days to eat most of them and I end up chucking the rest out. I’ve tried switching brands and he’s even less interested in the new (Oxbow) ones. I was also worried that he might be a bit skinny and his weight has been completely stabilised for a couple of months (he’s only 8 months old).
                    This week I took him to the vet to get vaccinated and took the opportunity to ask about his weight. The vet said he is the perfect weight for his size and that most of the rabbits he sees are really overweight. He said it’s great that he doesn’t eat too many pellets and “self regulates”. He told me that as long as I keep feeding him plenty of hay and vegies, it won’t really matter if he stops eating pellets all together. He did advise me to keep some pellets in the cage and he will eat them if he needs them. This really put my mind at ease!
                    The only thing I’m wondering for you though is since he used to love them maybe he should have a quick check up at the vet? Because pellets are harder than most of the other things a bunny eats, there might be something going on with his teeth. All that hay he’s eating instead will do his teeth good though!

                    I didn’t know we were supposed to get them vaccinated?! Yikes!


                  • MoveDiagonally
                    Participant
                    2361 posts Send Private Message

                      PimmsWarren – It depends on where you live, in the US there aren’t any available. I believe there are vaccinations in the UK and Australia, but I’m not sure about anywhere else.

                  Viewing 7 reply threads
                  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                  Forum BEHAVIOR Bunny’s gone off pellets