Hello! Long-time forum reader but first time poster here. I spent a long time researching before I got my 2 bunnies, reading through the forums and care information on BinkyBunny as well as lots of other sources. I got my 2 girls a week ago – they are 11 weeks old, 2 dwarf-types (I don’t think they are pure Netherland Dwarf though). I am totally in love! I built them their own indoor cage and I’m in the process of building a large foldaway run to give them extra space, but until that’s finished, they’re getting daily playtime in a pop-up playpen. I would like for them to be pretty much free range eventually, but we’ll work up to that.

    Bramble is pretty lively, average dwarf size for her age (I think!) eats and drinks well from what I see and as far as I can tell, her poops are pretty normal. Bluebell is much smaller – I think she was the runt of her litter. It’s not that the is hiding away all day or anything, but she’s definitely less active than Bramble in terms of running around. Is that normal – i.e. is it possible that she’s just naturally less active? She does eat, drink and run around still, just not as much as Bramble. Also, Bluebell’s poops (well I’m pretty sure they are hers) are sometimes tiny, and sometimes a little mis-shapen. I have seen her produce normal size/shape poops as well though, but they are quite often tiny and dark in colour. She did have some soft poops while having a run around the other day, but I think they may have been cecals.

   Sorry for the long lead up to my main question – just thought you might need some background info! My question is, is transitioning from muesli feed to pellets at this point a good idea, or do you think it could be risky for little Bluebell? (I’ve bought Burgess excel for junior and dwarf rabbits – I’m in the UK). I definitely did NOT want to feed them muesli mix at all, as I know how bad it is for rabbits, but unfortunately that’s what their breeder had been feeding them, so I didn’t want to shock them with a sudden change… I’m keen to get them onto pellets and away from the muesli as soon as possible, but of course I don’t want to make them sick in the process. I know that they are picking out their favourite parts and I feel like this may be contributing to Bluebell’s poop issues as maybe she is just getting too rich a diet? I encourage them to eat as much hay as possible, rather than the muesli mix, but I’m reluctant to take the muesli away altogether because I feel like they might end up with stasis as a result… They are not getting unlimited muesli at the moment – just two handfuls per day between them, in two bowls. If you do think that it would be OK for me to start introducing the pellets now, what would be a good way to start? Something like a 90/10 muesli/pellet ratio to start with?

   Thanks in advance for any suggestions, and sorry for such a long post! They already have a vet appointment for this Friday (first check-up plus vaccinations plus nail trim) – if there’s anything you think I should be asking the vet in relation to the poop, diet etc.