One Bunny food bullies the other, now weight loss

[Feef & Bun]

I have two bonded buns, a 5 year old dutch Feefee, and a 3 year old English spotted Bunbun.  The Feefee went through GI stasis last month and recovered after a little over a week (thank goodness!), but she did lose weight.  I am now realizing that the Bunbun is a big bully with food, and noticed that Feefee’s poop was small and misshapen today, with what looked like a small cecaetroph ball stuck in the mix here and there.  From what I looked up, it means she isn’t eating enough.  I am pretty sure that Bunbun hogs/bullies the food away and Feefee just gives up and moves away to let him eat.  This is such a critical time, she just recovered and now her poop isn’t right again   Bunbun usually just nudges right in when she’s eating and takes over, and she just steps back and lets him. She just gives up even when there’s another bowl of food!

I have two very large litter boxes full of timothy hay for both of them, two water bowls, and two bowls of available-all-the-time Oxbow pellets.  I’ve even followed her around the house and put little piles of pellets in front of her so she has access to them all the time.  I’m so worried.  We do have a vet appointment tomorrow… I guess I’m just venting, and asking if anyone has advice on how to have my Feefee gain weight, and how to stop Bunbun from being a food bully?

[vanessa]

One of my pairs, Guina nd Lancelot are almost similar. Lancelot had stasis before I adopted him. He and Guin are now bonded, but lately she has become bossy with him. She nips him to tell him to get out of the litterbox, so I gave him a second litterbox that is too small to be of interest to her, so he is able to use it. Today I saw her nip him so she could have the veggie tray to herself. I still feed them from their 2 food bowels over at the large litterbox that he is sometimes allowed in. But I also give him a cat treat ball to make sure he is eating pellets. But you already have 2 of each…
I would perhaps not free feed, but feed them at set times. Twice a day for pellets/greens. That way they eat them all at once, and you can feed them out of sight of eachother. With free feed, the reminder of the bully is always there. With set feedings, mine are hungry enough that they eat the pellets in one setting. Give the bully his food, then give the other bun, but out of sight of the bully. that way she gets to eat.

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