Ways to Maximize Gut Motility (Especially during molt)

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 10sd replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 2 months ago by lashkay.

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- 12/02/2009 at 9:19 PM
  Binkles
  Participant
  823 posts
  Here are some helpful tips I’ve found with Little-Bit. Everyone else chime in with what they’ve found helps for their buns!
  
  ** Oat Hay -this is probably one of THE biggest revelations I’ve had. Oat hay is even higher in fiber and nutrients than Timothy. It’s completely healthy and can be added to or used in lieu of Timothy. Plus a lot of bunnies like the sweet Oat flavour in contrast to timothy. My general experience with Oat hay is that Little-Bit has had significantly less GI issues over the past year, even during molt seasons. When she is eating Oat, her poops are notably larger and lighter.
  
  ** Dandelion Greens -this has also been a big revelation for me. Adding Dandelion Greens to her fresh greens has seemed to be a super food for her. When she has a few Dandelion Greens every day she just tends to do better activity and motility-wise. As a matter of fact (and I’ve tested this on numerous different occasions) when I do not give her Dandelion Greens for more than a day or so her activity level always goes down and her motility isn’t as good. This in combination with the Oat Hay I think has been the magic mixture for her. Dandelion Greens are a staple in the diets of wild bunnies, so I suppose that should speak for itself.
  
  **Interraction -just simply getting down on the floor with her and talking to her encourages her to eat more hay. Often when I feel she’s not eating enough I will do this and she wolfs down her hay.
  
  **Changing up Hays -sometimes Little-Bit will get bored with Oat Hay, so I keep a bag of Timothy around for these ocassions. Like people, bunnies enjoy variety.
  
  ?? Music/ Background noise? (Not proven) -I haven’t proven it, but the trend SEEMS to be that whenever there are people talking downstairs or I am playing music Little-Bit is more active and eats more hay. Anyone else second me on this?
- 12/02/2009 at 9:51 PM
  Monkeybun
  Participant
  10479 posts
  Monkey is much much much more active when me and the hubby are in the room she’s in. She loves having people nearby, even if she doesn’t let said people touch her lol.
- 12/05/2009 at 4:00 PM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  I am delighted to find that Sammy LOVES her Oat Hay.
  I’ll have to find some dandelion greens for the Magic Combo.
- 12/05/2009 at 10:16 PM
  BinkyBunny
  Moderator
  8776 posts
  Great tips Binkles. My Jack is like your Little-bit – When I hang out with him and pet him for awhile, he gets up after a bit to munch down on greens. Maybe he’s thinking if I’m in there he’d better hurry up and eat (he’s not big on sharing! LOL)
  
  Exercise is another good way too. If your bunny likes to explore create a little box and tunnel run.
- 12/06/2009 at 4:48 AM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  BB, I’ve noticed that too. It seems like Sammy waits for me to be around to eat. At first I assumed she liked company, but now I wonder if she feels she has protection (like when a male is outside the warren watching for predators) and is safe to eat.
- 12/07/2009 at 8:57 AM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  I want to chime in with BB because exercise is incredibly effective for gut motility. Also, offering fresh water in different locations encourages drinking lots. Rabbits generally drink more from bowls than from sippy bottles because the bottles involve a greater effort to get the water.
- 12/07/2009 at 6:41 PM
  lashkay
  Participant
  1548 posts
  Thanks for the tip about the oat hay, I’ve heard it’s – along with orchard grass and timothy hay – one of the three best hays for rabbits, while nix on alfalfa except perhaps as a rare treat, or to give to growing babies for a while. I successfully affixed the Penn Plax Dog Crate waterer to Buddie’s pen (Buddie is my bunny) but Buddie won’t touch it so far, it’s been entirely dripless but when accessed, the water streams out – guess he doesn’t want a shower bath! I agree that bunnies seem to prefer drinking water from bowls, but it’s an ongoing battle keeping debris and hair out of the bowl. Also, I just noticed, it just dawned on me that my bunny is molting, or shedding! Gradually over the past several days he’s had an accumulation of hair on his hocks and hind quarters, slowly, actually not so slowly, enveloping his haunches and back. I’ve only been able to settle on the Super Pet Guinea Pig Petting Brush for brushing him without abrasiveness on his sensitive skin, and the Zoom rubber cat brush by Kong. The rubber “bristles” on the latter are so widely spaced that it takes a HEAP-BIG thorough brushing to get all the loose hair there is. Anybody have any success stories with grooming tools they want to share? My double-maned lionhead needs the ultimate grooming tool for collecting loose hair while being light and gentle on his skin. Thanks!, as I’ve heard some horror stories of rabbits’ premature deaths from hair impaction in the intestine that wasn’t moved along enough with all the gut-motility methods – abundant water, hay, and brushing!
- 12/07/2009 at 8:58 PM
  Binkles
  Participant
  823 posts
  YES. Water bowls over bottles. They drink so much more, and the thing is that bunnies enjoy drinking so much. They really do, you can tell. They love licking up the water.
  
  The Furminator is a GREAT tool for grooming shedding bunnies. It takes them a while to get used to it, but now that it’s a routine thing Little-Bit will sit still for hours without any restraint at all while I Furminate her. (You can tell that she doesn’t exactly /enjoy/ it per se, but I think she knows that it gets all of that icky extra fur off of her. ) However you have to be careful with it because it can irritate their sensative skin if you are not careful. You can also easily over groom without even knowing it! I’ve accidentally done this to Little-Bit before using the Furminator…groomed ALL of the undercoat fur off in one spot and she was completely bald underneath. Though she didn’t seem to notice the difference. It wasn’t irritated at all…perhaps that fur just needed to come out anyway?
- 12/07/2009 at 9:12 PM
  Barbie
  Participant
  1581 posts
  I use only water bowls for Leroy and I agree, it’s a hassle trying to keep them clean! Leroy isn’t one for dumping things in his bowl though, so it’s not too terrible.
  
  Oh and as for the molting vs brushing… I’ve given up on trying to get Leroy to sit still for brushing. I just pluck out the tufts that are sticking out whenever I get a chance. When I’m petting him, I’ll sneak a couple plucks in, but he usually gets irritated at me if I’m doing his tummy or chest, so you have to be quick like a ninja Just don’t pull their skin
- 12/07/2009 at 9:14 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  Kay, some members here are fans of the hairbuster comb. I think Bunnytowne, who has a lionhead (teddy lionhead?) uses this comb for her Ruby.
  http://www.hairbuster.com
- 12/07/2009 at 10:26 PM
  lashkay
  Participant
  1548 posts
  That little Leroy in his Santa hat next to Christmas tree is the darlingest…thanks for the smile it brought to my face…are you making Christmas cards of that photo? Yes, exercise, the more, the better. I had put a little wad of hay in Buddie’s hammock and he became obsessed with knocking it out from underneath the bottom of the hammock! THAT sure gave him exercise, I’ll say. Thanks for the tips about the combs and grooming tools, as soon as I get a little spare cash, I’m going to make an investment out of those. That and the oat hay. Now it comes down to which of the hairbuster combs would be most suitable. There IS a picture of a bunny on the hairbuster website. Happy Holidays, Everybody!
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