Buck got ...all weird; maybe depressed?

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john_francis

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Hello. I'm flummoxed by our New Zealand white buck and his behavior. He went off his food and water for a couple of days and scrunched down with his head in a corner of his hutch. We kept checking on him and the level of feed plus the water and after the second full day of this we started to force him to drink with a 60 mil syringe. He has come back round to his usual self and is eating and drinking again. We feed him hay, clover, dandelion leaves, and alfalfa pellets plus change his water bottle twice per day. He has a nine foot hutch with an enclosed two foot square box which we clean 3 times a week, sometimes more. Can these guys just get the blues once in a while? I know that must sound .....well, I'm fairly new to this stuff, any ideas?
 
Sudden hot weather, perhaps? Or possibly a GI problem that has resolved itself.

One thing that sometimes causes problems with new rabbits is a change in how their water is given to them. If they are used to a crock or a certain type of water bottle, it is sometimes difficult for them to switch. They may drink some, but not enough. Soon as they stop drinking, they stop eating... and that means their system starts to shut down. Major problem.

Are you feeding the same foods as he got in his old home? Any changes should be made slowly over a period of time. If the change was sudden (from a pelleted "complete" rabbit food to a more natural diet, for instance)that may have precipitated the problem.

All this is speculation, of course. Maybe he was just missing his old home and was feeling down. There is a lot about rabbits we do know fully appreciate. :)

I'm glad he's doing better, but please do keep an eye on him. Adding a water crock is not a bad idea to encourage him to drink. If he is getting a pure alfalfa pellet instead of a "complete" rabbit food pellet, he should likely have a trace mineral salt block as well.
 
That sounds like classic signs of a blockage. Forcing him to drink may have saved his life if that was the problem. Being unable to drink or lack of roughage in the diet can cause that and they go downhill very fast if action isn't taken. Did he poop normally during the time he was acting that way?
 
Hey thanks Maggie. Yes; in fact we did switch him over from a crock to a water bottle. I didn't realize it would be a potential problem as he was drinking from a bottle at the farm we took him from. I checked the bag of pellets and it is "complete", thank goodness the gang at Miramiche feed know what's the deal!<br /><br />__________ Thu Jul 15, 2010 9:12 am __________<br /><br />Hi Arachyd, No, he wasn't pooping much but he pee'd a lot. He's making up for being off his feed. He ate everything in his J feeder, all the hay, a pile of greens, and drank almost his entire bottle of water over the course of last night.

Gee whiz, I sure hope I never have to force a rabbit to drink again, really unsettling experience for every one involved. Imagine it taking two adults! I never.
 
There is nothing wrong with straight alfalfa pellets... For those feeding "naturally", they are a good alternative to alfalfa hay for those in areas where alfalfa hay is too expensive or of poor quality. In such cases the rabbits should be getting grass hay for the fibre.

There is nothing wrong with feeding a "complete" food either, although I think the rabbits benefit from some fresh food on the side. The complete food has added vitamins and minerals and salt, so a mineral/salt block is not needed.

Watch your buck closely. It sounds as though he had a partial blockage... and it likely would have got worse if you had not intervened. Keep a particular eye on his poops... They tell you so much about how your rabbit is doing. :)
 

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