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 DIET & CARE Disappointed in Gibby’s vet’s instructions – food

Viewing 11 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • KudzuJungle
      Participant
      9 posts Send Private Message

        I took Gibby in yesterday to get his nails trimmed.   The vet (never been here before) was chosen because they handle rabbits, so I figured this is a good place to take him.

        The assistant takes Gibby from me and was asking questions about him.  I told him the diet I feed him.   They ask me to go out to the lobby and they will bring him to me when they’re done trimming his nails.  Next thing I know, this man, whom I’ve never met before, comes out to the lobby and says….and yes, this is how he “educated” me on rabbit diets…

        Timothy hay.  Timothy hay.  Timothy hay.   And when he’s done with Timothy hay, give him more Timothy hay.   Timothy hay…and he repeated this.

        That was my “introduction” to the vet.  He told me not to give Gibby anything except Timothy hay and anything else will bloat him and kill him.   He said that wild rabbits don’t eat the things I give him.

        The clerk laughed when I told them I learned about rabbit diets from BinkyBunny.com.   

         Honestly, I don’t know of any wild bunnies who eat Timothy hay.

         So, I got home and removed all food from Gibby, except Timothy hay.  Now, he won’t even let me pet him.  He’s looking for his other food and Kale is his favorite.    He bit me yesterday.  He came out from under the couch looking for his normal food and when I didn’t give it to him, he bit me.  He’s back under the couch now and all he has is a pile of Timothy hay.

         I told him I will tell on my vet and get this straightened out.  So, consider him told on.

        There must be more I can give Gibby.  He’s not happy at all.


      • Sarita
        Participant
        18851 posts Send Private Message

          I don’t think your vet is very rabbit saavy – I think you should continue to give Gibby what you were giving him.


        • JackRabbit
          Participant
          5451 posts Send Private Message

            I’d find another vet.


          • Hazel
            Participant
            2587 posts Send Private Message

              That vet is nuts. Hay has very little nutritional value. That’s why they can eat it all day, every day without getting fat. Hay’s main function as part of a rabbit’s diet is to wear down the teeth and to keep the digestive tract moving smoothly. Rabbits need other types of food for nutrition, like pellets and vegetables.
              Wild rabbits eat many different types of vegetation, not just grass.


            • KudzuJungle
              Participant
              9 posts Send Private Message

                I watched a wild rabbit in my yard, and he definitely didn’t get Timothy hay. He was eating all kinds of leaves. I picked the things I saw the wild rabbit eat, and at first, Gibby wouldn’t touch greens at all. Now, he eats violets picked from my yard, as well as dandelions, and I’m growing him his own little garden of kale and other greens.

                I give him no more than 2 tablespoons of fruit. This may be wrong of me, but his absolute favorite treat is banana. Followed by blueberries and apples. When I first got Gibby, he wouldn’t eat anything natural. He wouldn’t even eat the pellets out of rabbit food mix, and left nearly everything in his bowl. The only thing I could get him to eat was parrot food. At least it was something, but probably not good for him.

                Now he’ll eat greens but I waste a lot of greens trying to get him to eat new ones. It’s worth it to me though, because eventually he will try new greens, but not easy to get him to eat anything.

                I feel so bad right now. He came out from under the couch looking for a bite of banana and when I walked over, he ran and hid from me. He never hides from me. I’m wondering if he’s angry at me for taking him to get his nails trimmed. Poor bunny.


              • Bam
                Moderator
                16838 posts Send Private Message

                  You don’t have to give just hay. But in nature, wild rabbits mostly eat grass and they do so over a very large area, so they get nutrients from all sorts of soils. In winter they often eat bark of shrubs and small trees. They also raid people’s gardens, I had wild rabbits raid one of my kale patches this winter. But basically, they eat foods that are very low in calories and nutrients and that’s why they have to forage most of their awake time. Wild bunnies are way leaner than pet bunnies, but then they have a very different life-style.

                  Many many many people doesn’t realize that rabbits are built to eat lots of coarse fiber and very little fat, sugar and protein. Pet shops don’t help, they sell lots of crappy bunny treats such as bunny chocolates and yoghurt drops and seed bars etc and terrible bunny food like müesli. The spoilt pet bunnies get fat if they’re lucky, if they’re not lucky, they get GI stasis or terribly overgrown teeth. GI stasis due to wrong diet is an extremely common cause of death in pet rabbits, but with lots of hay, it can be prevented.

                  I think the man who told you about hay meant well. But if your bunny’s tummy is in good order, you can very well give him greens and veggies and good quality pellets and an occasional piece of banana or apple or a few craisins, just make sure that he has hay at all times because hay wears down the teeth and loads the intestines with the healthy, coarse fibers that are essential for the rabbit’s well-being.

                  Rabbits often give you the famous “stink-eye” for a while after you’ve done sth atrocious to them like had their nails trimmed. This is normal bunny behavior. Sometimes you can bribe yourself back into their good favor with a treat =)


                • Roberta
                  Participant
                  4355 posts Send Private Message

                    Go back to his normal diet, poor little guy is probably wondering what he did wrong to be put on starvation rations.


                  • JackRabbit
                    Participant
                    5451 posts Send Private Message

                      I’ll add that I said find a new vet for a couple of reasons. First, the way the vet talked to you. A good rabbit savvy vet will want to work with you to ensure your bunny has a healthy well-balanced diet and will explain not just what your bunny should be eating but how much and why. When discussing diet, the vet should also point you in the direction of good resources for bunny info and likely even give you a list of suggested veggies and “no no” items.

                      Second, someone who doesn’t know would take your vet’s advice literally and end up with a malnourished bunny. Quality hay does provide some nutrition but hay’s purpose in a bunny’s diet is primarily fiber for gut motility and for wearing down teeth. Sure bunnies can live without pellets, but only if the veggies fed follow specific guidelines to ensure the bunny gets the nutrients it needs through the total diet. Just like there is a recommended food pyramid for the human diet, there is one for a bunny’s diet.

                      While we here all know what valuable information is available on BB, both from the site’s info and from members, most vets probably aren’t aware of this.
                      Most rabbit savvy vets will, however, be familiar with the HRS (House Rabbit Society) and the applicable recommendations. Next time someone like the person at the vet laughs when you mention BB, you can point out that BB follows the HRS recommendations and suggest that they take a look at the BB site and see for themselves the wealth of information and support here. A whole lot of bunnies are living happier healthier lives because of BB, I know mine are!

                      BTW, my bunnies have 3 different vet offices available who see bunnies — 2 have exotic specialists and one doesn’t but has been seeing bunnies for many years. On our initial visits, all three provided us with the same diet info as that recommended by HRS.

                      Good for you for questioning the “timothy hay only” advice!


                    • LBJ10
                      Moderator
                      16870 posts Send Private Message

                        My vet has no problem with my bunnies getting banana as a treat. o_O Never did they suggest I feed only hay. Hay is important, yes. But they need nutrients from somewhere (pellets, veggies, or both).


                      • KudzuJungle
                        Participant
                        9 posts Send Private Message

                          Here’s an update. Gibby recognizes certain sounds for treats. I make a certain clicking sound for a banana, and one for an apple. When he heard my sound for the banana treat, he came running out as fast as he could. He gobbled up his treat as fast as he could, then he did the cutest little binky and ran around then hopped on the couch and sat next to me so I could pet him.

                          He was so hungry. I gave him some kale as well and he’s back to being a very happy bunny. I’m going to keep introducing greens to him until I find the ones he’ll eat but he did not like being on the hay only diet…at…all….

                          It actually hurt my feelings that Gibby bit me.


                        • KudzuJungle
                          Participant
                          9 posts Send Private Message

                            Thank you everyone for your comments. I was hoping the vet was wrong. I hated seeing Gibby so hungry.


                          • Kokaneeandkahlua
                            Participant
                            12067 posts Send Private Message

                              You got your good advice, followed by find another vet (because in reality you need a good health care practitioner!)

                              But I have to add, that I totally and completely detest this ‘in the wild’ crapola. In the wild rabbits don’t live more than a couple of years. So let’s not feed them or care for them like in the wild. People do this with dogs too-wolves eat raw food so we can feed our domesticated wolf raw? Wolves also die after only a few years and nutritional surveys show they have high parasite loads and nutritional deficits. Why would we want to copy that? Ugh- Sorry I just have to point out how illogical this ‘in the wild’ is when you really think about it!

                          Viewing 11 reply threads
                          • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                          Forum DIET & CARE Disappointed in Gibby’s vet’s instructions – food