Rabbit keeps going off feed

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Olimpia

Olimpia

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Oct 29, 2014
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Guelph, Ontario
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Hi all, it's been a while, and I never seem to have good news when I come here of course.
I have this 2 year old hare doe who is concerning me constantly. She keeps going off her dry food and hay and just eating greens and nothing else. Seems like she'll stop eating, I forcefeed her/offer a ton of greens for maybe a week, she becomes a pig and eats her pellets again for a week, then stops eating again.

I know this breed seems to be more prone to blockages/bad GI tract...
I really don't think she has coccidia?? She had it as a kit and was treated for it though. It was hepatic coccidia.
The first time she went off feed she went from 12lbs to 10lbs (she was really overweight).

I'm not sure why she keeps doing this but I'd rather not lose her so young.
I'm thinking to switch her pellets (from the cheap corny stuff that gives us nice fat meat rabbits- 16% protein 15% fibre, to an expensive pet pellet- 14% protein, 25% fibre). And offering more herbs to help with the GI tract...
But this all just seems odd to me, does anyone have any ideas of why this is happening?
 
Though could try treating her with ivermectin/ivomec to rule out parasites....

Do you use Apple cider vinegar in your water? How about papaya tablets? How much hay and what type do you feed?

If it's GI tract instability / slowdown more fiber would help.

Do you use sipper bottles or crocks? More water is always a good idea and a switch to crocks sometimes helps.

Hmmmm....
 
She had 2 doses of ivermectin not long ago for ear mites. I was wondering about trying to give her something else though for worms...
We do use water bowls, and they get unlimited grass hay. But none of the other stuff. I did at one point buy her those oxbow digestive support herbal treats but none of my rabbits will even touch them (the dogs on the other hand love them? Ugh).
I wish I could use a different feed that has higher fibre for all my rabbits but oddly enough I can't find anything like the "Purina Fibre 3" food which looked good here in Canada. Not in bulk at least.
 
Most worms would also be killed by the ivomec. I suppose a very could look at a still sample to see of something else is going on.

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) can help with digestion issues. It's just a boost, and relatively inexpensive. Buy it at the grocery store. I get the organic, to know more live culture is still in there.
I buy the papaya enzyme at Wal-Mart, but whole foods and gnc health centers carry it to. It's just a little tablet that my guys looked forward to. Again, keeps the cecum healthier.
The ivermectin she had may have killed off some of the good stuff in her digestive tract, so she may need help reestablishing it.
 
I hadn't thought of that. I'm going to pick up some prebiotic this weekend for her too.
The fancy rabbit food has yucca as well which I think is good for the GI tract. Thank you!
 

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