Diet Help!

[AlicePalace]

I need some ideas on a diet plan for my rabbits!
Currently my male rabbit is suffering from poopy butt, ive just given it a clean, but this is the third time hes got it! (he is two years old) My female also has had it, and i was told that it was due to bad diet. They have unlimited hay, a mixture of types and only half a bowl of pellets a day (as any more upsets my females tummy) They have free roam of the garden all day including winter and have lots of enrichment such as tunnels and basically a pit of soil they love digging in. I have tried a diet with some vegatables mostly dark leafy greens and nearly almost everything apart from parsley upsets my females tummy.. so yeah just hay and a few pellets for her poor baby. i just dont know what im doing wrong for my rabbits to seem to have poopy butt so often?!?
Any advice would be so helpful and i would be very thankfull!

[Elrohwen]

What types of hay are you feeding? Any of the grass hays should be ok, but alfalfa is not. About how much hay do they eat a day?

Can you give an exact amount of pellets? Mine get 1/8c per day, each, which is only a very little amount in their little bowl – not even close to half a bowl.

Cut way back on the pellets, but do it slowly. They should not be getting more than 1/4c a day each, assuming they are average 5lb rabbits – if they are bigger or smaller you can adjust from there. I suspect the amount of pellets could be the issue.

I also wonder if they are eating too much while out in the garden. They are probably filling up on a lot of grass and other plants and it’s possible one of those doesn’t agree with them. Even if the plants in the garden aren’t an issue, they could easily be getting too much food if they’re filling up on fresh plants and then getting a large amount of pellets.

[Monkeybun]

Hmm have they had a vet check up at all? besides a diet issue, could also be a parasite or some such from the garden, other animals often leave them behind.

[AlicePalace]

There bowl is about an equivalent to just over a cup full so about half a cup each.. maybe that is to much?

They get timothy as a main, pets at home hay just to bulk it up a bit, burgess excell rabbit hay and sometimes burgess excell that has small amounts of dandelions in < but i always think that will lead to poopy but so they get that as a 'treat'

Both have no front teeth they had them removed when they were young as they had deformed teeth (they were rescue bunnies) so they do have some trouble eating the plants i have seem them try but very rarely are they sucsessful.

[AlicePalace]

I did take them to the vet second time round and they did take a sample but it came back negative. i also wormed them but that to did not help :/

[Monkeybun]

yeah a half cup is too much if they are smaller buns. Mine get the same amount that Elrohwen’s do, although my girls share that 1/8 cup. they are little

Try lowering the pellet amount, and see what happens. if that isn’t it, stop the veggies, and try one kind at a time for a week each to see if it is a veggie causing it. But, you would have to keep them away from plants and grass outside to effectively see if it is veggies causing it.

[Elrohwen]

I agree with MB – lower pellets and see if that helps (that’s usually the cause, except in the case of parasites and things).

[AlicePalace]

I will start to lower the pellet amount, i took PJ to the vets today so they could take a sample so i can see if it is anything parasitic. Thankyou for your help

[LittlePuffyTail]

Just curious how much your bunnies weigh?

My vet is very anti-pellets because pellets are not a natural food for bunnies and she finds that a lot of bunnies just can’t handle the carbs in pellets. My buns have never had poopy butt but they had frequent gas/stasis and reducing the pellets has helped. My buns weigh between 3 and 5 lbs and they only get about 1 tsp a day, my largest rabbit getting a bit more. They were not happy about the change at first but as long as you offer unlimited, quality hay they will adjust.

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