A Voracious Eater — is this normal?

[charcoal's mom]

 Hi, Charcoal is a voracious eater. We don’t have hay here readily available, so I feed him alternating greens and pellets. So far he’s pooping a lot: dry round puffs (getting bigger everyday). But he’s seems always hungry! It’s like he hasn’t eaten in days the way he gobbles up a whole bunch of food!

I find it funny that after he finishes his greens & pellets ration he stands up like a dog in his cage and tries to get anyone’s attention. He stands against the cage and reaches out with his front paw and lightly pawing you as if saying “please, can i have some more?”. Of course softie me would always oblige. 

I was carrying him after he gobbled up a whole bunch of food  in 5 minutes and his tummy is fully round, but he still was sniffing on me to find more food. What? You still want food? You already ate up everything! He looked like he was going to explode (i’m exaggerating of course, but you get the picture)! He was also making a soft honking sound that I noticed just today, the only sound I hear from him before was a soft purr from grinding his teeth when he sleeps on me.

I did a research about bloating tummies, but none of the description fit. He is still eating very well, drinks water and poops a lot; I see him pee regularly too… I’m worried coz my sister teased me that he might have worms since his tummy is round and still eats a lot… I checked on his butt and poop, no visible worms, he doesn’t seem to be losing weight but I just want to be sure. 

Is it normal for rabbits to eat as if they haven’t eaten for days? And should I give in to their want for more food? 

And what does the honking sound mean? I know he’s trying to tell me something, but I don’t speak rabbit yet!

and I wanted to ask too, after grooming him, I noticed that he has lesser fur coating on his nape to the lower back of his ears — i could see the blood veins on his ears. He doesn’t scratch that much. I checked on his ear for mites or crustiness –none, checked for signs for furmites: no other patches, no lesions, no dandruff. Does anyone have an idea as to why he has lesser fur on his nape?

He’s my baby and I’m his OC/Paranoid mom. I just want him to be ok. 

[Sarita]

Babies are voracious eaters and they grow pretty quickly so unlmited food is fine. Is your vet able to do a fecal test to check for worms and coccidia? If so, I would recommend this – I’m not sure if you had mentioned you were able to find a vet in your area to see him.

Honking – well it probably just means he is happy – some rabbits are just more vocal than others.

Have you looked to see if there are any local farmers who grow hay?

That little area in the back behind the ears is usually a softer finer fur so that sounds normal. You won’t be able to see furmites anyway with the naked eye – the vet would need to do a skin scraping and he’s much too young to be using any medications for this right now.

[LoveChaCha]

Hi Charcoal’s Mom,

Yes, it is quite normal for rabbits to act like they are starving. You hae a baby bunny, so they are always wanting to eat and are growing

Have you searched down a place that sells hay in the Philippines? I’m so sorry there aren’t many sources there

The honking sound is ‘mm, mm, mm’ am I right? It means he LOVES you Unneutered/unspayed rabbits will make that noise. Even after getting them fixed, some will make that noise.

It is normal for the hair to be less on the ears. That scared me before also

[charcoal's mom]

 He is chewing down his carrot slice like there’s no tomorrow on my lap as I’m typing this with one hand. 

Whew, I’m glad to know the fur thing is normal… about the honking sound… yes! it’s like that, he’s doing it right now while eating… 

I’m not near farms though, but I got in touch with an online pet supply store owner who has small animals supplies available… we’re just waiting for the supply delivery. which is better though for my babbit (baby+rabbit) though? timothy or alfalfa? she has meadow and oat too… waaaaah… a bit expensive though (in Philippine peso terms), 

yep,  we do have a vet nearby… i’ll check with her soon, good thing she’s just a few blocks away. 

by the time i’m making this last sentence, he finished his treat and now nudging and licking arm… then he nipped me.  

sigh, someone wants a full body massage…

[Sarita]

If you can do the timothy and the alfalfa that would be good – mainly timothy and supplement with alfalfa. Meadow and Oat are great too but if you have to choose then go with the timothy and alfalfa (alfalfa since he’s a baby).

[charcoal's mom]

Thanks Sarita and LoveChaCha! Registering in this site is sure helpful. 

[LoveChaCha]

No problem : )

Meadow is good. I have allergies to timothy hay, so I strictly feed my rabbit Orchard. Sometimes I put in oat or meadow.

Keep us updated on Charcoal!

[LBJ10]

About the thin spot, Wooly had this ridiculous “bald” spot on the back of his neck when he was a baby. It filled in just fine when his adult coat started to come in.

[jerseygirl]

Babbits have high metabolism.  They almost poop it out as fast as it goes in.

Try look at some stores offshore that will ship to the Philippines also. I’ve seen some online stores in Singapore that stock good hays like American Pet Diner. If stockists in the Philipppines is limited, they might actually set their prices higher because they have no direct competitors. 
Here’s one store I found: http://www.facebook.com/briolife.singapore?sk=info

Rabbits can eat bermuda grass and blue grass hays. You might have other types of hay there more readily available that you could feed for the long term once he’s an adult. As mentioned, alfalfa is good for babbits.

What province do you live if you don’t mind my asking? My sister lives in the Philippines now so I’m slowly becoming more familiar with the regions.

[charcoal's mom]

Hi jerseygirl… I’m from Davao City, south of the Philippines.

Thanks for the link! Hmm… Bermuda grass? We have lots of those, does it have to be fresh or should I sun-dry them?

[jerseygirl]

I believe in both forms would be ok,. As hay you can store it longer obviously. If you do sun cure it, be sure to turn it regularly until properly dry and use grasses you know are free of pesticides. To store it, it’s better in a dry & dark place in a container that allows it to “breath”. You don’t want it to be air tight. If the moisture in it is too high it will mould and then it’s no good. I’m not sure how you’d go drying grasses there with the high humidity.

[Jenna, Chubs & Comet]

My little Comet acts as though he’s never eaten a day in his life EVERY TIME I feed him and he’s a grown up bunny! lol He just loves food. I wouldn’t worry unless his poo starts to stop, get runny, get really small, etc. I would recommend finding some kind of hay option. It’s really important for them!

[Elrohwen]

Hannah always honks while eating. She’s like Miss Piggy. Haha.

Drs Foster and Smith sells a lot of Oxbow hay if you live somewhere they can ship to. I buy the 50lb box from them.

Also, the fur behind the ears sounds normal – both of mine have sparse fine hair there too.

[charcoal's mom]

Thanks for the tips.

I took him outside and offered him some bermuda grass (no pesticide) from our yard; he likes to munch on them if he empties his veggie ration. And finally he’s eating his pellets!  He’s getting bigger. I used to be able to just hold him in one hand, but now, I need both hands to keep him from falling off!

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

I kind of giggled at this topic because I have a 4½ year-old bunny who acts live he’s NEVER been fed any time he eats. He even dances for it! And he will try to eat ANYTHING that seems even vaguely food-like (ie scented things, waxy things, nut shells, dog kibble… he’s a strange one) and he is very clever so he is good and finding and getting into things to look for “food”. When guests come, I have to hide their purses so they don’t get broken into and gum and such stolen.

Anyway, welcome to BB! Your bun sounds like a lot of fun and I love the stories so far. I hope out stick around to share more!

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

I hope you stick around*

Grr, I can’t edit posts from my phone.

[charcoal's mom]

I sure will stick around. Thanks!

That’s so funny! Frankie is so cute!

[Emmie]

Just to add to this topic, I’m in the same boat. Again, I’m not sure how old she is yet and she eats like there’s no tomorrow.

Is it okay to keep her stocked up with pellets? I’m giving her 30g a day, but I think she may require more. Maybe I should feed her some in the morning and some in the evening? She has unlimited hay and she has a little wicker basket with some herbs and bits of dried carrot in it that she loves!

[LoveChaCha]

Emmie, yes it is okay to feed unlimited pellets as she is just a baby. She was born March, according to your profile, right?

[Emmie]

Posted By LoveChaCha on 04/16/2011 02:54 AM
Emmie, yes it is okay to feed unlimited pellets as she is just a baby. She was born March, according to your profile, right?

 

Well, I actually don’t know 100% for sure. I was too excited about getting her I forgot to change. She is bigger than the palm of my hand, but she’s a dwarf so it could be hard to tell. Lately she’s been showing signs of sexually maturing, so I think we’re coming into puberty. I will check with my vet next week.

Can rabbits over feed themselves?

[peppypoo]

In general, a bunny will stop once he or she feels kind of full. I don’t think they are going to eat so much in one sitting that they will explode (lol) but with unlimited pellets they just might eat too often and get kind of overweight.  That is, for adults – babies are still growing very quickly so unlimited pellets is fine.

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