need advice on this

[Piper]

diarrhea can kill a rabbit, when you get the ProBios paste also get the brown salt / mineral block - for the minerals that were flushed away, in the diarrhea.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Wow- that is a lot of Calf Manna! I would cut the Calf Manna and replace it with an equal amount of oats, and then gradually increase the Calf Manna. If you don't want to cut the CM completely, reduce it to about 1/4 cup and see how the stools are. If they are okay, keep them on that recipe for a couple of days, and then increase by a TBSP or two a day while monitoring the consistency of their feces.

Hay and oats (with probiotics as OAF suggested) is probably the best course until the diarrhea clears up, but you could try the recipe without the Calf Manna (5 cups oats, 1-1/2 c pellets, 1/2 cup BOSS) since it is primarily oats anyway, and see how they do.

How much oil are you adding? I would think a TBSP or two would do. In the winter I often feed our elderly horses a mash to keep weight on, and I add anywhere from 1/2 to 1 cup of Soybean oil to their buckets. The horses weigh about 1000 lbs.

 

[Piper]

Get the diarrhea cleared up, before trying MSD advice. The kit could still die, from dehydration.
Diarrhea can equal dehydration. Are the rabbits, inside or outside?
If just oats are working, for now, that is fine, though I would add back the hay. Hay provides fiber and helps
slow down the intestines, helping stop the diarrhea.
Is the diarrhea gone yet, or what progress has the baby made?

 

[tracie123]

The 4-H leader gave all of us this recipe and said to mix it in a bucket and then free feed them, I pulled all the feed and this pen now just has water, hay and oats and seems all are ok, did give the 1 with loose stool some probios. It sure didnt like a bath. I am not going to feed calf manna to them anymore,and will stop the wheat gearm oil.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE HELP!!!!!
Tracie

 

[Piper]

The 4-H leader gave all of us this recipe and said to mix it in a bucket and then free feed them, I pulled all the feed and this pen now just has water, hay and oats and seems all are ok, did give the 1 with loose stool some probios. It sure didnt like a bath. I am not going to feed calf manna to them anymore,and will stop the wheat gearm oil.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE HELP!!!!!
Tracie

1) I would not discount the 4H leader's advice, they may have a lot of experience with meat rabbits, but I also think that they had their rabbits on hay and oats, before starting the recipe! It seems as if you started the hay, a bit late. I would still add a salt block.
2) Wait bout 12 hours, after the last time you saw diarrhea, and then start the recipe at the level MSD recommends.
3) Get a digital scale and keep daily weights on the rabbits, it can tell you if the one that had diarrhea, is gaining weight at the same rate as the others.
4) You will get a lot of different advice, on this board. Rabbit pellets have hay and salt, as part of their ingredients, so some people do not think that extra hay or salt is needed, and it may not be, "if" your rabbits are in an enclosed, environmentally controlled building or house, w/o the added stress: kids, other pets, and so on.
- Some of use feed "pellets and no hay", some "pellets w/ hay", some "pellets, hay and salt block" some "pellets, hay, BOSS - Black Oil Sunflower Seeds", while other people prefer to feed natural grains, grass, weeds, hay and a salt block. On natural feed, the rabbits do grow slower, and may not be ready for the meat pen judging.
- I feed pellets, grass, weeds and a salt block - my rabbits are outside, with my chickens, ducks, geese, quail, and guinea pigs. My rabbits are not going to be judged as a meat pen, though. Currently I am learning about sprouting the feed, to save on costs and as a more natural way to go. I also, only have about 10 rabbits, some people on this board, have a 'lot' of rabbits!

 

[OneAcreFarm]

1) I would not discount the 4H leader's advice, they may have a lot of experience with meat rabbits, but I also think that they had their rabbits on hay and oats, before starting the recipe! It seems as if you started the hay, a bit late. I would still add a salt block.

I don't know, they *may* or may not have experience but that recipe is a recipe for disaster in weanlings. I would NEVER free feed that mixture...way too much rich, fattening foods. I might use it as a top dressing, 1-2 Tblsp per day....

Rabbits that eat a pelleted diet get all the salt they need from their feed...only grain fed or pastured/green fed rabbits need a mineral/salt block. Just my own opinion, but in this case, I would rather see the kits be given some kind of electrolyte solution rather than just be given a salt block....