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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

FORUM DIET & CARE URGENT – No pellets left

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    • Yilina
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        Hi guys,

        I’m in desperate need of help :S. Some of you know that I live in a island that doesn’t have many services (the countries around it are poor and have even left facilities, so traveling there couldn’t fix anything). There is just one shop we can get Tambor’s pellets from and they had been having them consistently for a very long time. However, they haven’t had pellets for about a month. We asked and they said they will have them eventually but they don’t know when (maybe next week, or in a month).

        We are about to run out of pellets….. what can we substitute them with? There are a couple of things I’ve thought of but I am not sure they will be healthy for him. Amazon and Ebay don’t deliver here, so that’s not a feasible option:

        – More veggies (how much and will they give him the necessary nutrients?)
        – Industrial pellets made for farm bunnies
        – Muesli mixes (I’ve heard they are horrible for their digestive system, but Tambor was eating them for a year before we adopted him): http://media10.mediazs.com/bilder/v…75kg_5.jpg

        Thank you for any suggestions and help. I’m very upset about this and I don’t want him to be harmed in any way.

        Hugs!


      • sarahthegemini
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          I think you’d be better off keeping him pellet free til you can get the original ones. I wouldn’t give the muesli ones or any other type really I’d just go w/o. Extra veggies I’m sure would go down well!


        • Bam
          Moderator
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            If he’s a good hay eater, hay and extra veg will do fine.

            If he’s not big on hay, and persists in refusing it even when you take away pellets, I’d choose the commercial farm rabbit food and feed a smaller amount of those. Muesli is really bad, rabbits are Selective waters and will go for the yummiest pieces.

            Hay has more nutrients than one might think. Hay plus veg would be quite alright for an adult bun. Rabbits have evolved to live on skinny food with lots of fiber and low nutritional content. In the wild they spend lots of time just grazing.


          • Yilina
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              Thank you!

              How many veggies should he get? He weights 3 pounds/1.4 kg and is now getting a bit more than 1 cup a day of veggies.

              Should we mix different kinds of them? Here, we have only been able to get rocket, mâche, endive, escarole, mint and basil. He has tried all of them already and they agree with him.


            • Bam
              Moderator
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                You need to increase the amount of veg gradually to at least 2-3 cups per day. A mix is good or you could do a rotation. If you can get willow twigs or untreated apple twigs from outside, that’s also nutritious and often appreciated.


              • Yilina
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                  Thank you, bam. Apple and willow trees don’t grow in this climate, unfortunately. Should I be monitoring him for weight loss?


                • Bam
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                    It’d be good to weigh him once or twice weekly, of course. Write down the weight so you can follow it over several weeks. If he starts losing, get him the farm pellets or perhaps a little bit of rolled oats every day.

                    His intake of hay needs to increase quite a lot. You’ll have to intervene otherwise. Hay has a little more than half the amount of protein per weight compared to pellets (about 7% for hay and 13% for adult bunny food). Hay of course weigh less per volume than pellets do. He should ideally eat a pile of hay the size of himself every day.


                  • Yilina
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                      Posted By bam on 5/18/2017 3:14 PM

                      It’d be good to weigh him once or twice weekly, of course. Write down the weight so you can follow it over several weeks. If he starts losing, get him the farm pellets or perhaps a little bit of rolled oats every day.

                      His intake of hay needs to increase quite a lot. You’ll have to intervene otherwise. Hay has a little more than half the amount of protein per weight compared to pellets (about 7% for hay and 13% for adult bunny food). Hay of course weigh less per volume than pellets do. He should ideally eat a pile of hay the size of himself every day.

                      Thank you, Bam. He is actually a good hay eater and he’s been eating more and more since we found one that he loves.

                      I have another question, should I be slowly transitioning him to more vegges and less pellets? It’s not good that he goes from his normal amount of pellets to 0 pellets all of a sudden, right? (we still have pellets for 5 days).

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                  FORUM DIET & CARE URGENT – No pellets left