Wrong pellets? ARGH!

[MimzMum]

Oh goodie!   After waiting two weeks for my order from Dr.’s F&S to get here, I open it up to find I must’ve ordered the WRONG PELLETS! >_< I wanted the Oxbow Basic T and I got the 15/23 Alfalfa by accident. (this is one of those months when you just have to ask, 'what else could possibly go wrong??') Luckily I also ordered the Organic Oxbow pellets, so it's not like they'll have nothing to try.

Sooo…should I try to send the alfalfa back for a refund or exchange for the ones I need? (who knows how long that would take? OY!) Or can these be fed to the bunnies? (Pip, Mimz & Fiver do NOT need any extra weight, but maybe as a treat pellet only? Or could these aggravate Mimzy’s allergies/all the bunnies’ stomachs?)

I notice the KayTee Alfalfa hay I bought to treat Mimzy with seems to agree with him okay. (He only gets a few pieces in the evening to tickle his nose with until I get his regular hay in the pen.) Plus I also got some more oat (since Pip and Fiver are still shedding) and a nice bag of barley biscuits which so far only Fiver seem to want. ;_;

I just don’t know how much more I can do to keep them happy and healthy. I’ve tried just about everything else and I am exhausted, mentally, emotionally, physcially and financially! 0_o

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

A small amount of alfalfa pellets should be perfectly fine to feed them, you could mix them in what your feeding. As long as your buns don’t have sensitivity to calcium (like high calcium pees or sludge) then should be perfectly fine The difference isn’t that great, timothy is .8-1% calcium and alfalfa is 1.5%

[MimzMum]

Oh…the calcium… Well that lets Pip out then. For some reason she really has trouble with that. Funny, it used to be Mim who couldn’t tolerate it, but I have yet to see much white paste in his litterbox despite the alfalfa snippets I give him. :-/

[jerseygirl]

Did you have a copy of your order when you first placed it? If it’s their mistake, send it back. You may even get compensated….can always hope!

[MimzMum]

Naw, it was my bad. I always keep the orders till I receive them.

Meh…it’ll be nice treat wise. I already ordered other pellets from a different company. (not going to try them all at once, but want to have different types onhand in case one new one is a disaster)

What should I look for as far as allergies to pellets (besides Mimzy’s obvious sneezing) or gastrointestinal probs…just in case?

[jerseygirl]

Hmmm, not quite sure, but there’s another search term “allergic to pellets”. I did see in the peter’s brand there was dehydrated corn distillers grains (??). With the other pellets and the things you’re finding, guess it’s very possible they were contaminated.  Even mold could cause breathing distress.  I would email the company about that product, by the way.   Also, dust on hay or pellets.  With the heat in the house, this may be drying the hay/pellets further. 

Aren’t you leaning toward the temp changes being the problem, or have I gotten that confused?

[jerseygirl]

Me AGAIN! Pam mentioned the litter too. Have you changed that in the last month or so? Maybe he’s developed an allergy to that?

[RabbitPam]

  *The stages of MM’s month*

Mimzy has devised a clever way to take your mind off of Shadow, allowing Shadow time to grow in his fur so that when you stop fussing with the bunnies you’ll look up to see a beautiful, fuzzy Shadow once more.

I think you’re on the right track, and I am very interested in the Organic Oxbow. If they’re pellets, I’d say start them all on them. Toss the icky brand you’ve been using. You could email them to complain (I’m sorry, but plastic and staples in the bag?!) Problem is, they’ll probably send you a coupon to order more.

I think the alfalfa pellets may be a problem if they add too much change and confusion to the mix. I’m inclined to say put them in the closet for a few weeks, or use only as little treats as K&K suggests. Part of the problem with the poopy butts is frequent changes to diet. If there’s a calcium issue, maybe you can sell, or donate, the bag to your vet or a shelter.

The Organic Oxbow may be most similar to the Basics T, so if that’s on its way from somewhere else, it won’t be long. And if the Organics stop the sneezes, stick with them.

Yes, I suggested a litter change as well. Start with small bags, so it doesn’t cost too much.

 

[MimzMum]

We’ve been using Good Mews (which I think is comparable to Yesterday’s News) litter for the bunny boxes. Oddly enough, I was wondering this last night as, for a few weeks now, Mimzy has left bunny bb’s all over his floor, but only pees in the litter box in one end. Today I mixed the litter with some timothy hay (a cheap bag) to see if there is some problem with that. (He’ll literally flop into his hay and use it as a pillow, so I guess he’s not sneezing because of that, it doesn’t seem to bother him.)

I do have a bag of Feline Pine here. We couldn’t get any Good Mews at the store today as their supplies were out. (this happens a lot)

I gave him just a few of the Oxbow pellets mixed in with his regular ones last night (i didn’t have anything else to give him and didn’t want to use the alfalfa) and he ate around them, still leaving about ten of the old pellets mixed in the bottom of the bowl.

He doesn’t seem to be getting up and sleeping on his shelf as much as before either. Although the doc took xrays of his abdomen and saw nothing wrong, I’m beginning to worry about his mobility. Could he have a back problem that could be causing him to (maybe) sneeze from pain? (Of course, Pip has been a little noisier than usual lately, maybe her ‘rotten upstairs neighbor’ attitude keeps him from wanting to be on his shelf.)

Ugh. I would’ve made a terrible detective. >_<

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