Doe weaning kits is not eating her pellets

I have a doe that has stopped eating her manna pro pellets and Timothy hay. She has 8 kits that are 4 weeks old that she was still nursing. I have taken 5 of the kits away from her. The other 3 are a bit small to take from mom yet. She is a first time mom and I always give my pregnant and nursing does calf manna twice a day as a supplement. The doe eats the calf manna like she is starving but won't touch her pellets or hay. She is getting pretty skinny. I have been giving her greens from my garden and she will also scarf those. Do you guys think I should just give her large amounts of greens to prevent more weight loss or is it too risky for bloat? I know too much calf manna causes diarrhea.

How about trying her on some old-fashioned kitchen oatmeal as a supplement? The large flake kind. It is easy to digest and will add a substantial number of calories.

Thanks Maggie, I will try that. I have some in the pantry. Should I give her as much as she wants it just a small portion to start?

Oatmeal is very digestible, but I'd give her a couple of tablespoons to start and see how it goes. I've never known it to cause problems, but you can always give her more a bit later if she seems to like it.

Awesome, I gave her a bit and she loved it. I think i just spoiled her with the calf manna and she now waits for that and is stubborn about eating her regular food. I would be shocked if she let her self starve with food right in front of her face but I am surprised that she has let herself loose weight. I know rabbits digestive system can be sensitive so I want to fix it before a problem starts. It looks like the oatmeal will be a big help.

__________ Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:28 pm __________

So I realized today my doe was not eating because she was not drinking water. We have our buns on 55 gallon with nipples. About a week ago my husband upgraded all the nipples. For some reason she just did not drink out of the new nipple. We have been desperately trying to figure out why she was starving herself. As of today grapes were the only thing I could get her to eat. I brought my husband in to show him how she acted like she was starving when I would give her the grapes but wouldn't touch anything else including her calf manna. He looked at me and said she is thirsty. Well he was right. I got her a bowl of water and she attacked it. We still don't know what made her not use her nipple but huge lesson to be learned for any rabbit owner. If a rabbit isn't eating they might not have water. I feel horrible it took me so long to figure it out.

Oh, dear! Poor bun!

I should have thought of that. It happens more often than it should.

Thanks for reminding us all how important it is to check this first when a rabbit stops eating.

Is she going to be okay?

Yes, she is doing just fine thankfully. She has been getting the tiniest amounts of water through the fruits and vegs I have been giving her and I think that made the difference. We have her drinking on her nipple now and she has put a pretty big dent in her food today. Luckily she was a chunky bun to start with so she had some reserves.
I am so grateful my husband was able to recognize it and can't believe I didn't.

Well, I didn't think of it either . . . and it's something I knew about, that rabbits can't eat if they can't drink.

So glad to hear that she is doing all right now that the problem has been solved.