Odd doe behavior

[fuzzy9]

A doe we just bought a couple weeks ago, really has me baffled! :? We feed an all pellet diet by choice, but I transitioned her to our pellets by adding hay a.m. and p.m. I slowly reduced the hay amount to just a tiny bit, to where she was eating basically an all pellet diet, and she was doing great, eating everything I gave her pellet wise. I know where we bought her from, they added oats in their feed, and we don't.

The last two days we've had pretty hot weather during the day, and cooler weather at night. Yesterday morning I noticed she hadn't eaten her pellets from the night before, none of them. I gave her fresh pellets, and a couple big handfuls of hay throughout the day, I mean, she has to eat. Last night she ate half the pellets I gave her yesterday, and all of the hay I gave her throughout the day.

This morning I noticed poop pellets stuck in the cage bottom that has hair in it, and I saw her actually pulling hair, then eating it, rather than eat her pellets. I also noticed her litter tub has hair scattered all over it, like she's shedding alot of hair. I tried another pellet type to see if she preferred it over the other, and she didn't, so it's not the pellet type I don't think. She has free choice water 24/7. I gave her hay, and she ate it. I did have all the doors open, and we have alot of air flow through there with the doors open, so it wasn't bad in there.

She was bred right before we picked her up, but she isn't near her 28th day. She obviously wants hay, and not pellets. I guess my question after all of this, is can she sustain a pregnancy and kits, by eating mostly hay, and supplementing with pellets that she will eat? We feed just a grassy hay, should I change her to a quality alfalfa hay?

 

[xlt]

I noticed a couple does doing this... seemed to be nutritionally driven, as when I switched to a higher protein percentage feed they stopped.

 

[fuzzy9]

Weird. Our feed is 16.5% protein. Did you jump up to an 18%?

 

[xlt]

yes, but granted, my does were in the middle of a very intensive breeding schedule experiment as well.

 

[akane]

Alot of rabbits start molt when switched to a new feed. That could be why there is hair everywhere and she is pulling on it. Some rabbits love hay and some rabbits love pellets. I have some that will eat all their hay and then try to wait me out and get more before they'll give in and eat their pellets. Then I have some who inhale pellets and most of their hay is still there the next day.

 

[xlt]

I would try a switch to alfalfa, my does eat a lot of hay in addition to their pellets durin pregnancy

 

[fuzzy9]

I have some that will eat all their hay and then try to wait me out and get more before they'll give in and eat their pellets.

This is kind of what I feel like is happening LOL! :lol: Maybe she's just to smart for her own good! Thanks for the info on the molting too. It's just her, the male I bought with her isn't doing this, but I understand each is effected differently by certain things.

 

[rickerra]

Is there a reason you don't free feed hay? (just curious... I'm new to rabbits)

Hay is cheaper than pellets, the fiber is good for their digestion, helps keep teeth in check from chewing, and gives them something to do, right?

My two does (Amer.Chinchilla-D'Argents), one just kindled last night (yay!) and the other is expecting, both eat a lot of hay... and not much pellets. Not sure if this is the norm for them when they are not pregnant (I got them bred).

My buck, on the other hand, eats more pellets than hay.

Since my buns are all 2 years old... I didn't have the liberty to train their eating habits. Metered pellets and free hay works well for me anyways.

Cheers!

 

[akane]

Most of mine get unlimited hay. It is nearly a perfect food for them and is cheaper than pellets. A few though would never eat anything else and hay not a complete food so I let those run out of hay for a half day or so to make them eat a more varied diet.

 

[fuzzy9]

Well, we chose to feed an all pellet diet because of the faster growth rate for kits, but I did give her a feeder for free choice hay this morning. I honestly think it has something to do with the heat. I've got some other does with the same hair in the poop pellets on the bottom of the cage, and a few others that seem to be eating slower today. It was actually warmer than it was yesterday though, higher humidity, and I had all doors open, with some fans running in the barn. She maybe just handles the heat differently.

 

[Miss M]

My rabbits usually seriously drop their pellet intake during hot weather. Sometimes they will eat more hay, sometimes not.

I know I can never predict the eating habits of my pregnant does. They'll eat like mad one day, and barely touch the pellets the next. I think they do it to drive me crazy.

 

[cereshill]

I would suggest that your feed isn't as high in protein as the label implies. It is also likely lacking the full spectrum of vitamins/minerals.
We supplement with dandilion, willow, oat grass, kale, raspberry, blackberry and grass. This has helped with condition, breeding and growth.

 

[eco2pia]

So, I don't deal with heat often here, but I am thinking that my big concern is that she has fur in her poops, she is shedding like mad/grooming off lots of fur, and you don't (usually) feed hay. I would be very concerned about wool block (when they get intestinal blockage of consumed fur).

I know you want to feed all pellets for maximum growth, but rabbits are built to consume fiber--and hay provides that. Perhaps a compromise might be to offer hay in the shedding season. A commercial rabbitry my never offer hay, but is likelier to be climate controlled and have less annual temperature variation, and they have probably culled for rabbits that don't have dramatic molts/problems with wool block. Another option (one that I don't usually consider, because hay is cheaper here) is papaya extract.

The small bit of heat I do get causes my rabbits to be inactive during the day, and all food is consumed at night, at these times they really appreciate the fresh greens I give over the pellets. So their eating drops of a bit i'd say.

 

[akane]

A legume hay will have as much if not more protein than your pellets. Clover hay can get up to 30% protein. If you feed the right hay you should not slow down their growth at all.

 

[fuzzy9]

I don't know that I can get a good clover hay, but what if we opted to feed an alfalfa hay? I work from home, and I usually fill waters 3x a day. What if everyone got a handful of alfalfa hay 3x a day also? Would that effectively be doing the same thing as feeding a pellet? They could then choose between the pellet, or hay.

 

[MaggieJ]

Alfalfa hay is comparable to clover hay for protein. Most alfalfa hay has at least some grasses mixed in. The best I've ever had was about 80% alfalfa, 20% grasses and weeds. This gives the rabbits both good protein and good fibre.

Pellets contain other ingredients, of course. Grain, for instance, as well as fat and added vitamins and minerals. If your rabbits stop eating pellets they will need these other components. They are usually fed as whole grain and seeds such as BOSS along with a trace mineral salt block. If they are eating some pellets and some hay they will likely balance their needs. The only thing you will need to watch is that they may get fat on alfalfa or clover hay PLUS pellets.

Most people who intend to continue with pellets and feed hay for the fibre and to satisfy the rabbits' need to nibble, choose to feed a lower protein grass hay to prevent weight gain. It's always a balancing act.