French Angora, new acquisition, feed question

[Frecs]

I brought Rizzo (nicknamed "Sugar Girl" by Mother) home today. Man, she is a sweetie!

The previous owner was feeding her "pet rabbit" feed plus letting her graze. The lady said Rizzo doesn't like the pellets in the "pet rabbit" mix. She "prefers" apple/oats horse treats and grass. She only gave me a small amount of the food Rizzo was getting. Not nearly enough to do a slow transition.

If I give her the pellets my rabbits get with a liberal serving of whole oats added, how much problems could I run into with her digestive system do you think? Any suggestions to help her adjust?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

You got her???

Where are our pictures?

My rabbits love apple oat horse treats too.

I would put her on hay and oats and slowly add in pellets. Ann Claire suggested to someone else that 1/4 cup pellets morning and evening for 3 feedings, then up to 1/2 cup, etc. will help her transition.

I no longer feed pellets, just grains and hay, weeds, etc. and I haven't bothered "transitioning" new rabbits from their old pellets to the grains and haven't had any issues. Of course, this has only been my experience with the two Lionheads and two Beveren. But based on that I haven't seen that switching to oats and hay will cause any problems.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Oh Congrats on you FA. I would love to see pics. I wont be able to bring my EAs home till end of February. So living through every one else right now.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

TM, you can see her here:

2-year-old-doe-that-has-never-had-a-litter-t12073.html

 

[Frecs]

You got her???

Where are our pictures?

My rabbits love apple oat horse treats too.

I would put her on hay and oats and slowly add in pellets. Ann Claire suggested to someone else that 1/4 cup pellets morning and evening for 3 feedings, then up to 1/2 cup, etc. will help her transition.

I no longer feed pellets, just grains and hay, weeds, etc. and I haven't bothered "transitioning" new rabbits from their old pellets to the grains and haven't had any issues. Of course, this has only been my experience with the two Lionheads and two Beveren. But based on that I haven't seen that switching to oats and hay will cause any problems.

Sorry...today was crazy busy so I didn't get a picture. I'll try to do better tomorrow!

I'm still on pellets for the SFs as I work on working out the rough spots for feeding grains/greens/hay. :roll:

So, oats and hay will help her transition without digestion problems? That's great to know!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Sorry...today was crazy busy so I didn't get a picture. I'll try to do better tomorrow!

Oh it's okay! Getting her settled is more important.

So, oats and hay will help her transition without digestion problems? That's great to know!

Yes, the oats are great for sensitive digestive systems. You could also give her some probiotic paste which will help even more.

My Beveren doe Cedar had some slightly mushy poop (but mostly normal bunny berries), and I sprinkled the probiotic powder I have for our horses on her grain for a few days.

 

[Frecs]

So, oats and hay will help her transition without digestion problems? That's great to know!

Yes, the oats are great for sensitive digestive systems. You could also give her some probiotic paste which will help even more.

My Beveren doe Cedar had some slightly mushy poop (but mostly normal bunny berries), and I sprinkled the probiotic powder I have for our horses on her grain for a few days.

Excellent, thanks!

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

She is cute. Congrats!! I have been considering getting a couple french but Idk. We'll see....

 

[ZRabbits]

I'd let her settle in first before changing from that "pet food' to what you want to feed her (oat and hay). Once she's settled, I think the transition will go smoother and you won't have any issues regarding digestive.

And regarding "pet food", was it just timothy pellets or alfalfa pellets? Or was it a "fancy" product? If it was just timothy or alfalfa pellets, which I feed my pet rabbits, the transition will probably go much smoother. The "fancy" stuff is just junk.

Karen

 

[AnnClaire]

LOL - yeah, I walk by the "pet rabbit" junk at the store and I cringe knowing that some folks are feeding that ... poor bunnies!

Frecs if you are taking her off of that ... just throw out what the seller gave you and go straight to hay and oats with plenty of fresh water. When you start her on your pellets, well, that will be like cutting someone off of processed foods loaded with sugars ... when they start eating "real food" they will miss the sugars and not like the real food for a while. Your bunny is in that same position, so with the oats and hay, you will have her at the point where she will eat your pellets whether she "likes" them or not ... and once you get her weaned off of all the processed sugars from the pet crap, she will be much healthier.

Also, if you are wanting to breed her, I would suggest that you actually keep her a bit on the lean side until you see how she goes with breeding. While I realize she is in quarantine right now, I would expect her to be ready to breed by the time she is out, especially if you can get her trimmed down ... perhaps with a board in her cage so she has to hop over it to get from the food to the water. I have a suspicion that she has a lot of internal fat due to the diet she was fed.

You might want to set up a runout pen for her to spend a bit of time in each day, too. If you have an area a bit away from the others, it would help her get some of that fat burnt off.

 

[Frecs]

I'd let her settle in first before changing from that "pet food' to what you want to feed her (oat and hay). Once she's settled, I think the transition will go smoother and you won't have any issues regarding digestive.

And regarding "pet food", was it just timothy pellets or alfalfa pellets? Or was it a "fancy" product? If it was just timothy or alfalfa pellets, which I feed my pet rabbits, the transition will probably go much smoother. The "fancy" stuff is just junk.

Karen

It was that "premium" stuff with the corn and colored pieces of God-only-knows-what.... :x
Sugar Girl likes the oats and hay. <br /><br />__________ Sun Jan 13, 2013 7:55 pm __________<br /><br />

LOL - yeah, I walk by the "pet rabbit" junk at the store and I cringe knowing that some folks are feeding that ... poor bunnies!

Frecs if you are taking her off of that ... just throw out what the seller gave you and go straight to hay and oats with plenty of fresh water. When you start her on your pellets, well, that will be like cutting someone off of processed foods loaded with sugars ... when they start eating "real food" they will miss the sugars and not like the real food for a while. Your bunny is in that same position, so with the oats and hay, you will have her at the point where she will eat your pellets whether she "likes" them or not ... and once you get her weaned off of all the processed sugars from the pet crap, she will be much healthier.

Also, if you are wanting to breed her, I would suggest that you actually keep her a bit on the lean side until you see how she goes with breeding. While I realize she is in quarantine right now, I would expect her to be ready to breed by the time she is out, especially if you can get her trimmed down ... perhaps with a board in her cage so she has to hop over it to get from the food to the water. I have a suspicion that she has a lot of internal fat due to the diet she was fed.

You might want to set up a runout pen for her to spend a bit of time in each day, too. If you have an area a bit away from the others, it would help her get some of that fat burnt off.

The previous owners said that they would put her in the (former) horse pasture and "she never ran off". I purchased the "pet play pen" from them that they used to exercise her when not putting her out in the pasture. From what I see, she didn't "exercise" much. So, that and the type of feed suggests you are quite right about her having some fat. I am going to work on plucking her wool and getting her in a more lean condition so we can do a test breeding. I'm going to let my Silver Fox buck breed with her for the test breeding.

 

[-HRanchito]

going to work on plucking her wool and getting her in a more lean condition so we can do a test breeding. I'm going to let my Silver Fox buck breed with her for the test breeding.

AHHHMEGERD frenchie foxgora! What are the color genes on silver fox? I wonder how it would look on a long coat!!

 

[Frecs]

going to work on plucking her wool and getting her in a more lean condition so we can do a test breeding. I'm going to let my Silver Fox buck breed with her for the test breeding.

AHHHMEGERD frenchie foxgora! What are the color genes on silver fox? I wonder how it would look on a long coat!!

I do not know the color genes on silver fox. I do know they have a unique coat in that if you run your hand up it's back, the fur does not lay down on it's own. So, it could be very interesting combo... opcorn: opcorn: