How do I get my bunny to eat the new pellets?

[JSTJ]

Hi everyone,

I’m a newbie to bunnies and this forum, this is my first post! What a wonderful community! 

I was hoping someone could help me with a question. My mini lop bun Jumphrey Bogart is 9 weeks old. I picked him up from the breeder 4 days ago. The food she gave me that he was being fed looks a lot like bunny junk food to me and has seeds and even some dried corn in it! So I have been attempting to make the switch over to oxbow young bunny pellets as I know these at much better. 

Im currently mixing the oxbow in with the old mix to try and transition but Jumphrey seems to just eat around them! Or he flicks the food from the bowl and then sorts through in on the floor and eats around the pellets. 

Does anyone have any recommendations as to what I could do to try and get him to start on the oxbow? I know he must be eating a few of them but most of them get left on the floor! i don’t have a great deal of the breeder mix left to transition. 

Ive also noticed that he has had some large cecals that he hasn’t been eating. I’m not sure why. Could it  be because of the breeder mix or because he has been eating a few of the oxbow and I’m transitioning so quick? He’s been eating a bit of parsley which he absolutely loves which is new so possibly it could also be that? 

He has a plentiful supply of oaten hay and water and temperament wise seems all fine. Starting to settle in and explore. Last night he was zooming around like a nutcase! 

Thank-you, any help would be much appreciated. We’re quite a distance from a bunny savvy vet. I’m such an anxious new bunny mummy! 

JSTJ 

[RabbitPam]

Hi, and welcome.
Your’e doing the right thing mixing the new in with the old. I would also pick out the extra stuff from the old (seeds etc.) so it’s only pellets in the bowl. He will eventually learn that it’s all there is to the pellet dish, and come around. Don’t give him too much – a 1/4 cup a day is fine. And scattering them before eating them is just a kind of natural grazing, so that’s messy but not bad for him to do. Try to keep it a 50/50 mix for a week if you have enough. If not, stretch them out and have the majority be the new pellets.
He is good with that, plus hay and water. Introduce gentle greens slowly, like a new one once every week or two. You can stick to a diet of green leaf and parsley for a while. If he is eating a lot of greens and hay, he will be more picky with his pellets, but that’s the right emphasis. Too many pellets are not good for him, so I think you’re doing fine.
I LOVE it when baby bunnies zoom around doing “bunny 500s”. Take pix or videos. They are so adorable at that age.
I’m not too concerned about the cecals either. But even though it is a distance to a vet, you do want to get him a baseline exam and established with one you like. It may be a good idea to have him get his first check up with someone, especially if his cecals still are around. If his stools get runny, you will definitely want to take him to a vet, so it’s easier to find one at your convenience now and get that check up before he becomes ill with anything. He sounds good to me!

[JSTJ]

Thank-you very much for your advice! 

I’m going to monitor the cecals and if it starts to get worse take him to the vet, otherwise Im taking the day off work to take him to the vet in two weeks or so anyway for a check-up and to get immunised against calicivirus. I’m thinking its a combination of a new house, new foods and new people all in a space of 4 days! 

[JSTJ]

Hi RabbitPam, 

I’m a little worried that what I thought were cecals aren’t cecals. I’ve attached a pic. 

I arrived home to find around 9 or 10 of these as well as lots of normal size droppings. I put a toilet roll in the pic to show the size. 

Temperament wise he’s doing bunny 500s all around the lounge. My temperament however is a little stressed! 

 Apologies I’m a complete newbie when it comes to bunnies! 

[Bam]

The odd shapes of the poop could perhaps be from changing his diet. One of my bunnies had like oblong droppings, pointed in both ends when I changed his diet. Then they went back to being spherical again. If they eat very little hay, their droppings get smaller and darker and more compact.

Could he have been stepping on the droppings?

My bunnies wouldn’t eat oxbow pellets either, icky health-food they said. But they ate them when they got hungry.

There is a (rare) rabbit-disorder called Cow poop-syndrom, a hereditary condition. I’ve never experienced it, only read about it.

[JSTJ]

Yes sorry the flat ones I’m quite certain are ones he’s stepped on. I know he’s had quite a few changes over the last few days. I’ve only had him since Saturday so I’m hoping its just new environment and food thing! But just was quite unsure because of how big they are!

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