Gassy Bunnies – Food and medicine

[Cottontail]

I’ve done a lot of reading on what may or may not cause gas in bunnies/rabbits, and many techniques on how to help alleviate it. There are lots of conflicting opinions on what foods give them gas, and I figure that this is due in part because–just like people–every bunny’s belly is going to be slightly more sensitive to different things.

• Negating what experts, societies, and vets have stated… what have you personally observed seem to give your bunnies gas? 
• Also, if you give them simethicone, how long does it generally take before you see improvement?

When Pete gets gas he sits and hunches down a bit, but the give away is that he curls his toes… Generally we give him some belly rubs and get him moving and drinking some fluids and it works the gas through pretty well… but he doesn’t always cooperate, so we’re looking into getting some baby-gas-drops to try out for these occasions.

 Bonus Poll Question:

[Avantika]

I once gave 2-3 medium sized cabbage leaves to Moshu for 3 days straight (along with other veggies)..and..of course, I regret it. Never after that I gave her cabbage. Kohlrabi and Broccoli give her gas too, but the cabbage episode was pretty bad. Last week, I gave her two medium sized pieces of Broccoli everyday for breakfast..but I stopped when I realized her stomach was pretty bloated day after day. Had to give her simethicone before it turns into anything worse. Its best to limit anything from the Brassica family. Not more than 3 times a week. The problem is, she seems to love all the gassy stuff

However, there is one from the Brassica family that doesnt seem to bother Moshu – Cauliflower leaves. She seems to have those pretty frequently without any problems.

Moshu never had REALLY bad gas experience..so simethicone didn’t take very long to work.
And, curling their toes when they are in discomfort doesnt seem unusual.

[Cottontail]

It’s not good unless it’s bad for you, right? lol
I haven’t tried cauliflower yet, but I know Pete loves broccoli. He gets a little gas if he has too many of the crowns, but can inhale the leaves with no issues (which is usually the type of broccoli he gets). I’ll have to try out some cauliflower.

[Bam]

Simethicone is great. All bunny owners should have simethicone available at all times.

[Avantika]

I think cauliflower in itself isnt a good choice, so feed with care. But the leaves would be a good option.

[Cottontail]

We’re picking up the simethicone today, along with replenishing our own first aid kit.  
As for the cauliflower, I think I am going to limit him to the leaves, but it will be interesting to see if he even likes it.  He’s a very picky boy.
So far he has turned down kale, curly parsley, anything celery, endive, red-leaf lettuce (he loves green-leaf lettuce), swiss chard, and bok-choy.  The only reason he gave spinach a second try was because he saw the cat eating it.  He is spoiled rotten. lol

[JackRabbit]

All of mine love wheat grass and it doesn’t make them gassy.

[LittlePuffyTail]

My buns get gassy and I usually have no clue what caused it. The one time I fed broccoli, even just a very small amount seemed to cause gas. I never fed it again.

I agree that simethicone is very important for bunny owners. Whenever my bun is showing symptoms of gas (not eating, hunched and/or pushing tummy to the floor, loud gurgling in belly) I start giving simethicone. 

[Cottontail]

Pete was having a bit of tummy trouble yesterday, but unfortunately I didn’t have my simethicone yet. Since he was still eating his lettuce, I sprinkled some chamomile on it (sticks well to wet lettuce and I always have some at home), and he ate it. By the time we got back from the store, he seemed to have overcome his tummy-gurgle and hunching. He came to see what we had and liked my hand once before running amok down the hallway. For the rest of the day there was no more evidence of tummy upset so we were all happy about that.
I read somewhere that thyme is also supposed to be good for tummy upset, but was not sure how accurate that was… Do you think it would make a big difference between it being fresh or dried? Both are pretty easy to get hold of.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I don’t really know anything about herbs and bunnies but the BB store has a Tummy Tea that is made for bunnies. It is supposed to ease gas. It has chamomile and other herbs in it. People can drink it too.

[Bam]

Mint is traditionally used for stomach trouble in humans. Dried may even be more appreciated than fresh.

Mine won’t touch thyme, probably because I’ve lots of it and it’s available fresh all year round =)

[Author]

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