isnt it one thing or another...

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

MY god.. this weekend sure isn't my weekend.. Now ,my problem is I ran out of rabbit feed had some .. but when I went to dump the rest of the bag in my small can to make my rounds this morning.. it was a moldy... I couldn't even pick them out as there was allot.. So I don't have another bag.. I have to order my feed and when I did.. it turns out it was when the truck was already in.. so I have to wait two weeks.. It has been one week already... but I ran out yestudaybecause I couldn't give them feed this morning because it was bad.. So I gave them some grains that I had in storage.. but it is old.. along with some hay which I never give in the morning only at night... so my question is ,, I can get feed at the store..but it isn't the same feed that I get.. some new rabbits are just been switched over to my feed and I have 4 week old babies that are on that feed.. what should I do..

 

[skysthelimit]

I'm in the same boat. I could not get the vender to respond, then I had to get whatever I could, lost one adult from the new bunch, she bloated. Finally he responded, then the van broken down. Got someone to take me, but then he called and said the distributor wants the feed back. So now they are eating TSC brand, but she only brought me one bag, thinking it would last--hmm--it's out tomorrow, and the other vehicle is not ready yet..

In your case, you can feed hay and water, some toasted bread for a while, maybe a week. It's been done before. In my case, I am out of hay, it's kind of hard to come by here. I will pull every last leaf off every tree and pull up every edible green thing out of the ground for as long as I can. Are we not in the hands of G-d? Got that Job feeling lately? Seriously, between you and me both, I'm a little tire of standing in the rain.

Best wishes to us both.

 

[caroline]

Are we not in the hands of G-d? Got that Job feeling lately? Seriously, between you and me both, I'm a little tire of standing in the rain.

I don't have the feed issue. I usually drive 2/5 hours each way to by a pallet of feed every few months. But I sure have had "other" issues.
I've lost rabbits to a variety of things in the last month. The latest one was day before yesterday. I was grooming and thinking about entering a show in a few weeks. And then there was a BIG commotion in one of the cages and I looked over to see a doe with a 4 week old litter flipping around the cage in convulsions. When I went to get her I could see her eyes look almost bloody and she had small swellings all around them. Right away i thought "Myxomatosis." I've never seen it before but it sure looks like what I've seen pictures of... I put her in a crate by herself and within an hour she was dead. She had seemed perfectly fine the night before.

So now I guess I just wait to see if others get it. Never had it but a neighbor did some years ago and lost her whole herd. I put the corps in a bag in my barn frig and am trying to decide if there is any point to spending the $120 that the vet lab at UC Davis charges to do a necropsy. I'm still getting the lab results from the 2 I sent 2 weeks ago: one was pneumonia and the other still undetermined, although something may have been going on with the pregnancy.

Each morning that I go out to feed I am grateful if they all seem OK for now and it's hard to stay in the present moment and not run some future catastrophe in my mind. But I am getting pretty good at running a few slogans, so maybe that's why I'm having this experience so I can do" "One day at a time." "Let go and let God." "Breathe." "This too shall pass." "The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them."

 

[Demamma]

I usually have a bag of oats on hand to feed when I run out of pellets. I give hay also but have to pick up the rest of my bale at x's. I just the other day switched back to grain as I learned the pellets cost a lot more than pellets even when they scratch some out at the feeders. If you can get them oats and hay they should be ok till your feed comes in. I would worry about trying another brand of pellets without some transition time. Too bad your bag got moldy but I am glad you noticed. Would of been horrible to lose some rabbits to mold.

 

[Miss M]

I also try to always have oats on hand. I fed the bunnies mixed bird seed when I ran out of pellets once.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

yes you are right Demamma.. If I didn't notice it would of been worst.. I always look , because it happens quite often. SOme times I have gotten moldy feed from the store when I open the bag.. .. I have hay , grain, oats ect.. just no pellets.. I know the adults should be fine.. it is the litter that I am raising without mom.. they are not use to grains.. So I cant give them that at 4 weeks old. . They are only use to hay and oatmeal.. they cant live on oats and hay for a whole week. ..If I give them different brand of food.. I can risk loosing them all.....now I wonder if I was to get the same brand name of feed at a different protein level.. I wonder if that is ok until my feed comes in.

thanks sky.. I do have hay .. I just picked up 6 bales the other day because I only had a handful left.. thank god I have that.

__________ Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:33 pm __________

I also try to always have oats on hand. I fed the bunnies mixed bird seed when I ran out of pellets once.

Mine get birdseed every day along with flax seed and horse feed etc.. but this is only pinches... it is the litter that I am very concerned about.. they don't get that stuff.. to young.<br /><br />__________ Wed Sep 04, 2013 6:09 pm __________<br /><br />the regular food was this week.. thank god..

 

[ckcs]

I have switched feeds several times both within a manufacturers line and to different manufacturers. I'll admit that I am horrible about blending the feeds as I have always done it when I ran out. Money is always tight so I've just jumped from one feed to the next. Definitely not ideal but I'm not perfect. I have not had a problem doing this with adults or babies. No doubt people have had problems, just my personal experience. I only go through 2 bags a month and only keep 1 bag on hand. One of the reasons I switched from Purina to Mana Pro was Tractor Supply only carried 1 type of Purina and 3 types of Mana Pro. I liked Mana Pro's variety and figured if they were out of Pro I could get Gro or Sho and it wouldn't be as much of a change for the buns. Once I get my babies to selling age and the rabbit money trickles in, I'd like to have more than 1 bag on hand.

I feel fortunate to live in the country and only have to drive 3 miles to get my feed. Southern States is even closer at 1.5 miles.

 

[skysthelimit]

I convinced my brother to drive me to TSC to get some feed, but in his small car we could only get three, that lasts about 10 days. Since I am waiting for the Rowe to reappear, it made no sense to go back to MannaPro, Purina is not an option. Only thing left as Producers Pride, so I got some BOSS to help it along the way. Without the van, and the other car being too small to carry anything, I need to cut back on feed, so I have to cut back on rabbits.

 

[amandainohio24]

Wish you were closer Sky. We have a Rowe distributor in the town next to mine.

 

[skysthelimit]

yes you are right Demamma.. If I didn't notice it would of been worst.. I always look , because it happens quite often. SOme times I have gotten moldy feed from the store when I open the bag.. .. I have hay , grain, oats ect.. just no pellets.. I know the adults should be fine.. it is the litter that I am raising without mom.. they are not use to grains.. So I cant give them that at 4 weeks old. . They are only use to hay and oatmeal.. they cant live on oats and hay for a whole week. ..If I give them different brand of food.. I can risk loosing them all.....now I wonder if I was to get the same brand name of feed at a different protein level.. I wonder if that is ok until my feed comes in.

thanks sky.. I do have hay .. I just picked up 6 bales the other day because I only had a handful left.. thank god I have that.

__________ Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:33 pm __________

I also try to always have oats on hand. I fed the bunnies mixed bird seed when I ran out of pellets once.

Mine get birdseed every day along with flax seed and horse feed etc.. but this is only pinches... it is the litter that I am very concerned about.. they don't get that stuff.. to young.

__________ Wed Sep 04, 2013 6:09 pm __________

the regular food was this week.. thank god..

(insert sigh of relief smilie)

 

[ladysown]

just get them some feed, as long as the percentages are about the same I wouldn't worry on it.