Papaya and Pineapple For Wool Block

How often and how much should you give to help prevent wool block?

Before I joined this forum, I wandered all through the Internet for a couple of weeks reading up on Angoras and their care and rabbits in general. I fell across this website, where a member (as it turns out!) of this forum discusses her system for preventing/dealing with wool block in her French Angoras.

Hope this helps!

That is basically what I do too, but I free feed hay and pellets and skip the pineapple juice as my rabbits just turn up their noses at it. Also, I feed an 18% pellet, I find my rabbits coat quality to go downhill on anything less.

As preventative I give 4 papaya enzyme tablets 2x weekly and feed the rabbits all the hay they c an possibly consume. If I do notice a hairball starting, it's 3cc of Petromalt injected 1x daily, orally until it clears. I inject it Orally as every time I've tried to use Petromalt as per label directions (place 1" strip on paw...) the rabbit just tries to flick it off, and it eventually just mats into the hair on their chest. Then they proceed to eat all of the hair off their chest, simply adding to the problem instead of helping it.

I've had success with the wild bird seed.

I came across some fresh pineapple the other week, and I'm going to try it out on them soon.

There was a thread about canned pumpkin for wool block recently. I'm giving it to a doe now, since every time I put her back on pellets, she starts throwing pearl strands again. :?

DogCatMom":1n9oh8m7 said:

Before I joined this forum, I wandered all through the Internet for a couple of weeks reading up on Angoras and their care and rabbits in general. I fell across this website, where a member (as it turns out!) of this forum discusses her system for preventing/dealing with wool block in her French Angoras.

Hope this helps!

Click to expand...

Ha! That's me! Thanks DogCatMom! I'd like to say that I work more towards "prevention" than cure, but really if you offer tons of hay and seeds, there isn't much need for pineapple juice. I am very, very allergic to papaya so I have no idea how well it works. I simply keep the rabbits' hay rack filled at all times and then feed black oil sunflower seeds for the fiber in the shells.

My rabbits are all on grain and sprouted fodder right now, but just adding some seeds to their pellets or even one day of seeds and hay only would be a great preventative. I save pineapple juice in my freezer (in ice cube form to keep it handy) for times when a rabbit stops eating or is showing other starting signs of wool block.<br /><br />__________ Fri Sep 27, 2013 2:12 pm __________<br /><br />I should add to say that I offer pineapple juice until the rabbit's droppings have returned to normal shape and consistency for over 24 hours.

Ok, so I have a HL doe who is throwing "Pearl strands" I have some frozen pineapple in the freezer. Could I just put a couple pieces outside in the sun to thaw and feed it to her? Would that help?

Hello Papercrane,
if you provide Grass-hay on a regular basis [two to three times per week]
your rabbit will be protected. The long fiber provided by the hay will
keep the hindgut working properly. String of pearls is a good thing,
it means the long fiber/hay is doing it's job. When you require the use of
Pineapple you want to use the real thing, not Juice. What is helping is the
bromine enzyme provided by the pineapple or ever Adolph's Meat tenderizer.
I hope you get things under control.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

ottersatin":1q14qmnq said:

String of pearls is a good thing, it means the long fiber/hay is doing it's job.

Click to expand...

Normally, if the rabbits are eating plenty of hay, that hair will get cleaned out and the evidence is
those strings of pearls.

I'll give a rabbit 3 or 4 papaya enzyme tablets when I notice there are NO dangling poops. After 2 or 3
days, the pearls are back.

Have to be careful not to give too many - the rabbits gobble them up and I suspect they're after
the sugar in the chewable tablets. Still, the tablets seem to do the trick.

I've tried dehydrated pineapple chunks before. Half or more of the pieces fell through the wire.
I've tried the Adolph's also, sprinkling it on their feed. It just ended up in the bottom of the dish.
In the end, the tablets worked best and worked out to be the most economical.

Best of luck to you.

I would like to thank both of the previous posters for this information. So much of what we hear is the opposite... I always wondered how pearl strings could mean anything but that the hair is moving through.

Easy Ears":1lhhbe3i said:

Ok, so I have a HL doe who is throwing "Pearl strands" I have some frozen pineapple in the freezer. Could I just put a couple pieces outside in the sun to thaw and feed it to her? Would that help?

Click to expand...

I'd just give it to her frozen. Pineapple popsicles! If she doesn't like them frozen, they'll thaw anyway.

Zinnia":1lhhbe3i said:

I would like to thank both of the previous posters for this information. So much of what we hear is the opposite... I always wondered how pearl strings could mean anything but that the hair is moving through.

Click to expand...

Yes, but I still view pearl strings as a cautionary thing. It does mean that hair is moving through, but to me it also means that more hair than normal is being ingested. We'll usually cut back on pellets and add some oats, and maybe give some pineapple.

We had a doe die of wool block when I was sick, and my mom and the kids had to take care of the rabbits on their own. When she died, they told me that she had a lot of bunny berries dangling from the floor of her cage, and she was not eating or drinking much. These are the classic signs of wool block, but I was the only one who knew them. I made sure that was not the case any more after that. I hadn't even thought about making sure they knew.

It is important to remove/brush the strings of pearls from the floor.
Many times the rabbit will ingest the droppings which often leads
to coccidiosis. Which can be treated, but better to prevent it than have to treat it!
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

From the original post till now, I haven't been using the bird seed because of financial reasons. Hay being hard to find, i went most of that time not feeding hay either. I haven't had a case of wool block from any of my woolers.

I suspect some lines or rabbits are more prone to it, I also suspect that it may have something to do with me having non molting woolers.

Miss M":1j8ktior said:

Zinnia":1j8ktior said:

I would like to thank both of the previous posters for this information. So much of what we hear is the opposite... I always wondered how pearl strings could mean anything but that the hair is moving through.

Click to expand...

Yes, but I still view pearl strings as a cautionary thing. It does mean that hair is moving through, but to me it also means that more hair than normal is being ingested.

Click to expand...

That is true, too. I have angoras and pearls can be a sign it's time to groom the rabbits or harvest the wool. But, if their droppings are very normal in size and shape, wool or no wool, I consider their digestion working properly.

I've had only one experience with a rabbit with wool block. It was many years ago. There were pearl strings, but also smaller droppings and decreased appetite. While now I have over a hundred angoras, they all have nice large droppings, wool strings and a very hardy appetite.

How much pineapple should I give? So far it isn't really working... I'm brushing the string of pearls away pretty much every day.

There was a study I read that I cannot find for the life of me. They tested papaya, pineapple and meat tenderizer and found that none of them dissolve wool. But..since wool block is actually a side effect from Gut Stasis, getting them to eat anything can be helpful. Gut stasis and wool block both have the same symptoms and that is because wool block comes AFTER stasis.

So preventing stasis. Some say there is a hereditary element to it so I've added that in to my breeding requirements. Stasis? No babies for you Anyway, prevention. Lots of water (bowls) free choice hay, pellets as needed and exercise. Exercise is very important. Ever been constipated then go for a walk and have to rush home halfway through? pearl poops are not a problem unless they start decreasing in size and getting odd shaped. Big red flag, get water intake increased (greens are good for this), fiber(hay), reduce or remove pellets altogether.

Here are a couple articles with all the gory details

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-7/gi.html
http://www.lbah.com/word/gi-stasis-hair ... n-rabbits/

It is the enzyme in Pineapple etc,
that breaks down the proteins that are holding the Hairball together
that is helping to relieve the problem.
Once the proteins are broken down, it allows the hairs to flow through
and out of the system. It IS beneficial to feed any item that will provide
that enzyme. {Bromine] It WORKS!
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

Which came first, the chicken or the egg

Whether the enzymes help loosen up the hair or not I do not know. When you have gut stasis the rabbit stops eating and drinking so getting anything into them, preferably fiber, and especially water, can help restart the gut. So whether or not it works, or if it's just food going in I do not know. It depends how long it's gone on and how much hair has built up in there while the gut was not moving. I consider this to be a myth personally but that is just my opinion.

I have two angora prone to gut slow downs and diet and exercise make the difference. More pellets, more stasis for them. More hay/fodder and I don't see it at all. I do trim them down if they look like they are having problems. For some reason angora really chow down after a hair cut and that's what I want them to do. By limiting pellets or eliminating them altogether, plus giving free feed hay allows there to be a constant flow of food through the gut which is what you want with any rabbit who shows signs of stasis. I don't see any benefits from these types of supplements that cannot be accomplished by piling on the hay so I don't use them. Just my personal experiences with it. Now having said that I generally catch mine early, before they stop eating, so stuffing them with hay works fine. If they refuse to eat hay but will eat/syringe papaya then do it!

Stopped feeding Pineapple and came out to see about a 10 dropping string of pearls... :x I suppose the pineapple WAS helping! But I'd rather try something else as we don't always have the pineapple on hand....what kind of papaya enzyme tablets does everyone use??? Can you use the ones meant for humans? Or do you need the ones designed for rabbits?

__________ Thu Sep 03, 2015 3:47 pm __________

Oh and keep in mind the doe I will be feeding it to is preggers, so if there is anything in the tablets of a certain brand that would be harmful let me know!

You can use the papaya tablets meant for humans.

The regular ones are fruity tasting. You can get supercharged papaya tablets that are minty. I'd probably get the regular ones and just give several if the rabbit already has issues. Some breeders give it as a maintenance thing, but that would get expensive with a bunch of rabbits.

I don't know if the minty ones can dry up a nursing doe because of the mint extract in it, but I'd rather not try.