Older buns food and poop

[mia]

One bun is around 12+. I have not really changed his diet and was wondering if that’s needed. If so, what changes are necessary. I see some pellets are marketed for older buns but when looking at the nutritional content, they are not necessarily that different. We have tried one bag of Science Selective Mature 4+. Is there anything else I should be doing/changing? I was told he has mild arthritis but he seems hopping like normal so I never made changes; he does not take preference to a lower litter box vs a high litter box.

Since end of last yr, the other bun who is about 7+, about 1/5 of his poop is teeny tiny with the rest normal. Even the normal ones vary quite a bit in the normal range. With a new friend next door, I was actually surprised he made such big poops again, but still mixed with teeny tiny and smaller ones. When the teeny tiny started, he had a few new medical issues going on and was fighting, which has been resolved. During followup, he was given the all clear but his poop has remained the same strangeness. He gobbles up food like his usual self and drinks just fine. Any idea what is going on?

We’ll be going to the vet in a month or two after they bond with their new young friend but none of the vets seem to think we need to make any changes since they are in fairly good health, except perhaps except monitoring bloodwork.

[DanaNM]

How is his weight? If his weight is stable and he still has a good appetite for hay and pellets, then you do not need to change anything. Some older bun gain weight due to less activity, others have trouble keeping weight on, so you have to make adjustments.

Usually variation in poop size happens when hay consumption drops during certain times of the day. Is that bun’s hay consumption still good?

For arthritis, you might talk to your vet about putting him on daily anti-inflammatory pain meds. My senior is almost 14 and has been on daily metacam for arthritis for the last year or so. There are also various joint support treats that seem to help. Myristol seems to help a lot, and there are also joint support treats made by Oxbow and Sherwood that you could try. It’s also good to make sure his flooring is not slippery, as that will add extra strain on the joints.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[mia]

The older bun’s weight is stable.

The other bun’s poop, if he drops 10 at once, two random ones are tiny and the remaining 8 varies. Initially I thought I missed seeing and both buns’ poop mixed together but I have paid close attention and he really produces a large spectrum of sizes; before end of last year, they were consistent. As far as I can tell, hay consumption is normal. Talking about weight though, this bun’s weight slightly decreased when this started happening, which made sense at the time because he was sick, but has remained at this slightly lower weight even though the medical issues have resolved (he does have a chronic slight sneeze that existed prior to him arriving here and still continues). I have tried critical care but the poop strangeness remained.

 

I looked at Sherwood joint support tablets and it says to eliminate pellets and vegetables?? I’ll ask vet about Myristol.

[DanaNM]

Yeah haha I don’t agree with some of Sherwood’s instructions even though I use a few of their products…  You definitely don’t want to cut out pellets for a rabbit that is losing weight.

I would talk to your vet about the decreasing weight and the irregular poops. Those things together could indicate a few different underlying problems that a vet will be better able to sort out.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[mia]

So update/question. We go to a vet clinic that has bunny savy vets. The one we saw today was a new vet so I wanted to double check.

I was told that I should switch to Young rabbit pellets for my older buns and a little alfalfa . I am aware that it’s ok to give older buns alfalfa but… Young/junior pellets? I forgot to specifically ask why young vs older. Since I have to buy regular adult pellets anyways, I’d likely give them a mix.

Apparently, both my older two were dehydrated! We have multiple bowls of water (human bowl and low pet bowl) plus a large water bottle. Other than adding juice, any other suggestions? I have some small bottles (large hamster ones) in storage so I’ll add a few around the pen…

[LBJ10]

I don’t think alfalfa pellets are necessary. A little alfalfa hay probably isn’t a bad thing or even some rolled oats. Older bunnies often need help keeping their weight up. If your bunny isn’t having that problem though, I would be hesitant making any drastic changes.

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