What to feed my rabbit

[daisy]

I have a 10 week old Mini Lop, Daisy. I read that rabbits need the alfalfa hay until 7 or 8 months but if Daisy eats alfalfa hay her poop gets really soft. I  just recently changed her pellets too because they were alfalfa based and everytime she ate pellets her poop messed up. I wonder if she is getting the nutrients she needs in a timothy based pellet and hay. Also, i read unlimited pellets, for how long? And when I do start feeding her greens, how much? My rabbits ears are warmer than the rest of her body is this supposed to be the case with rabbits?

any help will be greatly appreciated

[Hedi]

HI Daisey (and mom), welcome to binkybunny!

All the info you would ever want is on rabbit.org. Here is a copy paste from them. If your bun has continual poops then her diet may be too rich or it could be bacteria. Has daisy been  to see a vet yet for her first visit? You should take a stool sample for them to check.

Copied from http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#babies

What quantities of food should I feed babies and "teenagers"?

7 weeks to 7 months–unlimited pellets, unlimited hay (plus see 12 weeks below)

12 weeks–introduce vegetables (one at a time, quantities under 1/2 oz.)

Does her poos look like a string of grapes all connected or is every little poo mushy?

[daisy]

She has been to see a vet and they tested her stool and she said no bacteria. However I later found out that the vet I took her to was highly recommended for exotic animals but that she wasn’t very good. So its almost like I don’t trust that vet now. But her poop is just some soft poops, some really irregular shaped and the other day was a really bad day, it was a poop like the size of a ping pong ball. And its odd to because it can be perfect one pellet and the next pellet is messed up and htis made me think that when she was eating the alfalfa pellets her poop got soft.

 

[Hedi]

What about treats? Carrots, Raisins? Store bought treats?

All of those can be very rich and for that young of a bun they shouldn’t much at all. The "norm" is 1 tablespoon of treats per 5lbs body weight. So with daisy being so small she will only get like one small treat to two per day.  Carrots are very rich and will cause those kinda poops.

Where do you live? Did you check the House Rabbit Society Vet link to see what vets are recommended in your area assuming you live in the US?

http://www.rabbit.org/vets/index.html

[BinkyBunny]

DId the vet only test it for bacteria?  They could also test the poop for yeast which would prove it’s diet related or that she just has sensitive digestive system.

They should also test for parasites, like coccidia (easily treatable)

If after looking at what the information that Hedi posted and you are following that diet, (no fruits, treats) and your bunny is still getting poopybutt then I would really search out a rabbit savvy vet.

I don’t know where you live – but here is a list of rabbit savvy vets that the HRS posts:

http://rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

And here’s how you can find a good vet yourself:

http://rabbit.org/faq/sections/vet.html

Keep us updated!

 

[daisy]

Well her poop is better today but I am not sure how long it should take to get fully adjusted to the new diet. I have been giving probably 3 treats a day for using her litterbox. But the treats were just the colored pieces in her food. But I have changed her food now so she doesn’t get those now. But I will cut back on the treats and give it a few more days and see. I live on the NC/SC line and I checked both states the closest vet is one hour and if it doesn’t get better I will drive it . Do you have any idea about her ears being warm? Thanks so much

[MooBunnay]

Generally when a bunny’s ears are warm it means that she is too hot. You can tell if a bunny is getting to warm by feeling the tips of their ears and seeing how warm they are. Has it been very hot where you are? The ideal range for a bunny is about 60-70 degrees. See if you can get her to a cooler area if she is in a warm area, or in an area where there is direct sunlight on her. Maybe this would even help her poops?

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