Rabbit deficiency's

ok I do pretty good to read up what people are feeding there rabbits but I have a managable issue that has been ongoing with my Netherland dwarfs since I got some 2 years ago

what happens is I basically get poopy on all of them at about 4 to 6 month intervals that is Immediately fixed with pedialite (unflavored)

This is exactly what I feed them and have always fed them I live next to there main packing house down here so its freshly bagged weekly

I also free feed timothy hay its always looked real good and I change it often

I also clean and refill water dishes every other day






I give no fresh greens I was under the impression timothy hay took care of that need

Just yesterday my doe with 2 kits had diarrhea that stopped (pedialite) and she drank 1liter of pedialite mixed with 2liters of water

its not really a big deal except for the rabbits not feeling so hot every 4 to 6 months

I don't really know what ingredients make up a good pellet feed- it will be interesting to hear what other people say. Seems like Soy hulls is an odd ingredient. Do you limit the feeding of your pellets- I've heard they won't eat their hay if their pellet intake is too high which leads to not eating enough fiber.

I can't read all the ingredients because pictures over flow across the page and under some headings and buttons on this computer. I don't see anything really bad. It's a bit low in protein but 16% is suggested for netherlands and it has some undigestible ingredients but those are just thrown in to boost the fiber. At worst they should just be useless and not harmful. It's not a great pellet but I don't see any red flags from what I can read. I kind of wonder about the opposite problem. Are they eating a ton of hay and not much pellet? Hay from certain areas or heavily used fields can be lacking in a nutrient. Hay over 1 year old also starts to lose major nutrients. Best to buy new hay every 6 months minimum and store it well. Dry and out of sunlight.

A pathogen is also a problem. Does the timing of the health problems match any part of your breeding schedule? For example lots of juniors weaned at once would have weaker immune systems and could let an illness reach the point it also beats your adults' immune systems. Then they get a boost of vitamins and minerals plus their own immune system responding and it fades away again. What about temperature fluctuations? Drops or quick spikes in temp can weaken immune systems as well.

You should be cleaning and filling water dishes every day. A rabbit's health can get bad fast with not enough water or water that gets dirty. I'm not sure why lack of water would cause diarrhea but Pedialyte does definitely help with a rabbit that is dehydrated and yours recover when you give them Pedialyte. Has your water been tested? Maybe you only need to fill dishes every other day because the rabbits might be experiencing problems when they drink it. They might be avoiding their water.

I would suspect GMO ingredients and synthetic vitamins. The first line of ingredients hold a ton of potential for GMO ingredients, and any time the ingredients list a specific vitamin rather than a food source, that means they are synthetic vitamins.

There's a lot of debate on both of these issues - but there have been studies in other countries that show that GMO foods have caused harmful effects - we all just have to do the research and decide for ourselves. Synthetic vitamins are also a hot topic for debate - but when we get a vitamin naturally from food, each individual vitamin comes complete with a whole complex of supporting agents that help our bodies to utilize and absorb the vitamin properly. When they make a synthetic vitamin, they isolate the single ingredient.

The other thing I would look at is that it says on the bag that it is for general backyard rabbits, and not for rabbits that are involved in raising a family. It seems really low in protein to me for a doe supporting a litter, and if mama isn't happy, no one's happy.

Just some thoughts - I'm certainly not an expert on rabbits and their nutrition.

squidpop":1yzf8bow said:

I don't really know what ingredients make up a good pellet feed- it will be interesting to hear what other people say. Seems like Soy hulls is an odd ingredient. Do you limit the feeding of your pellets- I've heard they won't eat their hay if their pellet intake is too high which leads to not eating enough fiber.

Click to expand...

I do free feed pellets as I have not had a weight problem in any of them but I will limit it now to try and get them to eat even more hay. The bucks I have as well as the retired doe don't really eat much barely a nibble of pellets and mostly eat hay

akane":1yzf8bow said:

I can't read all the ingredients because pictures over flow across the page and under some headings and buttons on this computer. I don't see anything really bad. It's a bit low in protein but 16% is suggested for netherlands and it has some undigestible ingredients but those are just thrown in to boost the fiber. At worst they should just be useless and not harmful. It's not a great pellet but I don't see any red flags from what I can read. I kind of wonder about the opposite problem. Are they eating a ton of hay and not much pellet? Hay from certain areas or heavily used fields can be lacking in a nutrient. Hay over 1 year old also starts to lose major nutrients. Best to buy new hay every 6 months minimum and store it well. Dry and out of sunlight.

Click to expand...

The hay I buy lasts me about 2 months where I get it they get new hay often and it always smells great
the bunnys know when I open fresh hay up

They do put a good hurting on the hay I provide I will attempt to change there pellets to 16% I still have about 75lbs of this stuff left and will start switching it after this group is done nursing

akane":1yzf8bow said:

A pathogen is also a problem. Does the timing of the health problems match any part of your breeding schedule? For example lots of juniors weaned at once would have weaker immune systems and could let an illness reach the point it also beats your adults' immune systems. Then they get a boost of vitamins and minerals plus their own immune system responding and it fades away again. What about temperature fluctuations? Drops or quick spikes in temp can weaken immune systems as well.

Click to expand...

I don't breed to often my senior doe who I intend to retire after this gets like this every litter she has I have lost multiple litters from her because of this the temperature has been about 80 but did dip to 48 one night so that could have done it.

Should I provide a mineral lick to them?

arachyd":1yzf8bow said:

You should be cleaning and filling water dishes every day. A rabbit's health can get bad fast with not enough water or water that gets dirty. I'm not sure why lack of water would cause diarrhea but Pedialyte does definitely help with a rabbit that is dehydrated and yours recover when you give them Pedialyte. Has your water been tested? Maybe you only need to fill dishes every other day because the rabbits might be experiencing problems when they drink it. They might be avoiding their water.

Click to expand...

They always have a supply of water I clean there dishes If I see any evidence of bunny berrys or pee as well as every other day I will just start cleaning it more often. Im fairly sure there drinking there fill there 1 to 3lb bunnys and the none nursing does are drinking about 1 to 5. Liter a day and the nursing ones are drinking at least 2Liters sometimes 3Liters. I go inside and use sink water to clean it I drink the same water (city) so it should be ok

Comet007":1yzf8bow said:

I would suspect GMO ingredients and synthetic vitamins. The first line of ingredients hold a ton of potential for GMO ingredients, and any time the ingredients list a specific vitamin rather than a food source, that means they are synthetic vitamins.

There's a lot of debate on both of these issues - but there have been studies in other countries that show that GMO foods have caused harmful effects - we all just have to do the research and decide for ourselves. Synthetic vitamins are also a hot topic for debate - but when we get a vitamin naturally from food, each individual vitamin comes complete with a whole complex of supporting agents that help our bodies to utilize and absorb the vitamin properly. When they make a synthetic vitamin, they isolate the single ingredient.

The other thing I would look at is that it says on the bag that it is for general backyard rabbits, and not for rabbits that are involved in raising a family. It seems really low in protein to me for a doe supporting a litter, and if mama isn't happy, no one's happy.

Just some thoughts - I'm certainly not an expert on rabbits and their nutrition.

Click to expand...

I bet its full of gmo's there is a tractor supply up the road I can start getting feed from after I finish weaning this batch I still have about 100lbs of this stuff so I will mix it slowly and change it up and be sure to get 16% in the future

I quit feeding the "Seminole feed" made in Ocala, to my rabbits, for just that reason, -- some others had a lot of their rabbits die-- mine only got sick and had the runs.
-- I don't know-- but suspect ,-it was all the pigeons pooping in the feed ingredients--

michaels4gardens":2gxx3y9y said:

I quit feeding the "Seminole feed" made in Ocala, to my rabbits, for just that reason, -- some others had a lot of their rabbits die-- mine only got sick and had the runs.
-- I don't know-- but suspect ,-it was all the pigeons pooping in the feed ingredients--

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huh I didn't know it was sold elsewhere I plan on switching after this group of baby's gets a bit older and no longer nursing

It looks like it has quite a bit of oil and fats at the top of the list that may be causing issues, that would make me wonder and worry. I hope the feed change fixes the problems.

Lizardslaps":1lno9gwy said:

michaels4gardens":1lno9gwy said:

I quit feeding the "Seminole feed" made in Ocala, to my rabbits, for just that reason, -- some others had a lot of their rabbits die-- mine only got sick and had the runs.
-- I don't know-- but suspect ,-it was all the pigeons pooping in the feed ingredients--

Click to expand...

huh I didn't know it was sold elsewhere I plan on switching after this group of baby's gets a bit older and no longer nursing

Click to expand...

I lived in Orange Springs, - [NE of Ocala] I like the feed at Tractor Supply [N 441] called Dumore-,-
and.. John @ North Marion Feed [in Citra] sells BlueSeal-- and that was my favorite rabbit feed.

I will look into the blueseal feed next chance I get

If you're at all interested in organic feed - Modestp Mills out of California sells their pellets at a really low price (about $11 less than from our local suppliers) and the shipping quote was $13 to us, which makes it very close in price to just have them ship it! Their feed has really good ingredients, and the vitamins come from natural food sources.