Rabbit not wanting to est much overnight

[Bunmom1792]

Hello! I recently rescued 2 young bunnies from under my deck. A colony of feral cats live near by and my daughter and I heard screaming for about a week before we saw a cat dragging a baby bunny out! I had no idea it was rabbit screams I assumed it was a mouse or rat… we checked the nest and only two fuzzy babies were left out of the 8-10 we had previously counted. I decided to try and raise the remaining two before they became cat food. Now to my question I have had them for just over a week may 11th evening. They came at just over 7 oz each and are 11oz and 12 oz now. I brought them to my vet who suggested they were domestics (european, dutch)  between 4-6 weeks. She told me to start them on critical care alfalfa hay and juvinile pellets with raw grass clippings. They loved the alfalfa at first and now prefer pellets is this okay? Also my one bun doesn’t seem to eat much at night as his or her poops are really tiny when I first wake up and then they return to normal during the day. What can I do to help this? Thank you so much for reading 🙂

[Wick & Fable]

I am weary of a vet who recommended very young (4-6 week old) rabbits to have raw grass clippings– it is not recommended for rabbits under 6mo. The gut biome is very sensitive and introducing fresh food like that (which is the same category as veggies) is dangerous as the gut biome is not mature enough to break down that material effectively. It can cause a lot of GI distress and potentially lead to stasis or other GI concerns as a result.

Alfalfa hay (loose) and juvenile (alfalfa-based) pellets are the two parts of the diet that would provide the full range of required nutrients at this point. It is natural for rabbits to prefer pellets because they are designed to be very yummy and nutritous (as long as you’re providing good-quality pellets; do not feed muesli/mixed pellets).

The sleep-wake cycle of younger rabbits can be pretty dynamic, so it can be natural for them not to eat much overnight when the home environment activity dies down, then perk up and be more active w/ eating when the household is awake. As long as there are no extended (i.e., several hours) periods of not eating combined w/ not pooping, it is likely OK (in the absence of behavioral signs of discomfort).

Also, please note you will need to provide separately enclosures for these two rabbits in the coming weeks as they will become hormonal and, regardless of what sexes or relationship they have with each other, hormones will either facilitate fighting and/or mating between them, and you do not want either. Even if they’re siblings, that does not matter to rabbits– they do not acknowledge family units like humans.

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.

[Bunmom1792]

Thank you for the response! I thought the same about the fresh grass but I contacted both exotic vets in town and one is a rabbit expert and they both suggested the same thing and said it’s because they were feral and that’s most likely what they would have been munching when not drinking mom’s milk. I slowly introduced pellets and now they love them! Thank you so much for your insight 🙏  I will contact another exotic vet out of town for another opinion as they seem to really enjoy the grass clippings.

[LBJ10]

The grass seems logical since that is what they were likely already eating. Alfalfa hay and pellets are good for young bunnies, so it’s OK if they are eating those too. I agree that you shouldn’t worry too much about reduced activity at night. Perhaps he/she just feels more comfortable during the day when there is movement around the house.

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