Salt block and drinking more water

[ZRabbits]

ZRabbits - your Fawkes is a indoor rabbit, with a air-conditioned, stable, low stress environment. These are outdoor and were raised wild. They are used to being more alert and a "lot" more active then Fawkes.

__________ Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:57 pm __________

the brown mineral salt blocks are like rabbit electrolytes. Think Gatoraid, but w/o the sugar. Her rabbits are more active, athletes than Fawkes.
-- How many pellets is that rabbit eating, too? Mainly hay?

lol, you can tell him how active he should be as an indoor rabbit. Very active and very alert.

Karen

 

[Piper]

ZRabbits - your Fawkes is a indoor rabbit, with a air-conditioned, stable, low stress environment. These are outdoor and were raised wild. They are used to being more alert and a "lot" more active then Fawkes.

__________ Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:57 pm __________

the brown mineral salt blocks are like rabbit electrolytes. Think Gatoraid, but w/o the sugar. Her rabbits are more active, athletes than Fawkes.
-- How many pellets is that rabbit eating, too? Mainly hay?

lol, you can tell him how active he should be as an indoor rabbit. Very active and very alert.

Karen

I love your Fawkes and I am 'not' saying he is a slouch. Just that a rabbit that has live 'wild', is used to being a 'bit' more tense, than he has to be. Also, he is still growing into his muscles, these rabbits 'seem' to be exceptional used to using theirs.

When it is cool at night, I should make a video after dark what they do. They are nuts. I almost worry they have too much room and are going to get hurt. They run in through the holes, look at each other through the wire, run back out and run down the wire, kick their legs and jump up and go run back in through the hole again.

 

[garden lady]

the brown mineral salt blocks are like rabbit electrolytes. Think Gatoraid, but w/o the sugar. Her rabbits are more active, athletes than Fawkes.
-- How many pellets is that rabbit eating, too? Mainly hay?[/quote]

Not an athlete anymore, but she is different than the other 4 because the people had her in a hutch and did not feed her pellets, lots of weeds and grass. The 4 were loose and eating more than she was. Now she is eating pellets, maybe for the first time in her life. As soon as she started licking the salt she started drinking more water.

 

[Piper]

She still can be deficient on some mineral, when she catches up, or it becomes cooler, she may slow down.
How many pellets / hay does she eat?

 

[garden lady]

She still can be deficient on some mineral, when she catches up, or it becomes cooler, she may slow down.
How many pellets / hay does she eat?

I keep this bowl full. She will have it empty in the morning and then I refill it and by night I have to fill it again. It holds half a cup, so a cup and maybe a little more of pellets and hard to tell with the hay. They have it in the bed and on the board to eat whenever they want. She is very active tonight, more than usual for her. She was licking the board and kind of chewing on her foot, which is what Lulu did the night I think she had her babies. :shock: opcorn: I do not know if it is true about pregnant does craving salt, but she is craving salt and she is huge in the belly. Going to watch her off and on and make sure I have a good place for her if she did have babies. She is using the back part as a potty, so I know she will not have them there. She has a nset box my husband built in front and she did kind of do something with the hay like a hole in the middle, but that was a week or more. She never carried hay in her mouth, she just kind of shoved it around with her feet and I think she is keeping house and not building a nest. She moves her bowl and other things around.

 

[3mina]

They don't all get a haystache, if she's making a nest (she has) you're going to have more popples.
Congratulations

 

[garden lady]

They don't all get a haystache, if she's making a nest (she has) you're going to have more popples.
Congratulations

I checked on her twice. She was just odd for her. Went all over the place just breaking hay in half. I came back later and she had been in her nest box and made the hole in the nest bigger. She must have scratched and dug and pulled all the hay back off the board where it is mostly bare in the back and has it piled high in front of the nest box. You cannot see the board in the front of the box. It is covered up. She ate and not in distress, but she will all of a sudden bite her sides. She bites and licks her dewlap. Picture of her box and of how wide she is. She is shedding fur, but not pulling it.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

She is trying to dig a tunnel, which is why all of the bedding is at the entry. After she has dug her tunnel deep enough :roll:, she will start gathering hay and arranging it at the end of her "hole". Then the fur should start flying, and before you know it... popples!

 

[garden lady]

She is trying to dig a tunnel, which is why all of the bedding is at the entry. After she has dug her tunnel deep enough :roll:, she will start gathering hay and arranging it at the end of her "hole". Then the fur should start flying, and before you know it... popples!

I need a Smiley that FAINTS!!!! My gosh!! Last Feb. Zoup was loose then and dug a TUNNEL in my front yard under the roses and then she went back through the fence to the owners and they caught her and were going to give her away. She missed her ride and the other 3 had been picked up. He put her in the hutch and did not know she was bred and she had 9 babies on the wire and all died. I think I have the answer why Lulu's babies were so big and born with fur, she was late. She had her babies on the LEAST date of 33 days. I have no idea when she was bred, but had to be before 33 days. These females also were exposed to a male for days, not once. Zoup has been caught now today 37 days!! I read on line not uncommon to go 38 days. I just have a feeling she is going to have some, but not many and worry how big they might be, but since she did have a litter before then maybe not that much to worry about?? :?

 

[SatinsRule]

Think of the last time you had a bag of popcorn at a movie theatre. Did you need anything to drink with it? Pretty sure the same principle applies here.

 

[Piper]

green grass you put in the nest and her biting herself and the salt / minerals - if she is slightly anemic.
- Check this out, and the only thing that might be safe, is DE. MSD has more experience with DE, since you will be using it around newborns.
- Harvest Mites (chiggers) - http://www.hammysworld.com/index.php?p=harvestmites

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I also read signs of being pregnant was eating more and drinking more. I had noticed that the 3 females did that, so I worried all 3 were going to have babies, but since the salt, her water intake has probably doubled, but it has been hot too and she is bigger than the rest of them.

She is drinking more because you are giving her the salt lick. It really isn't needed unless you are grain feeding or green feeding. Rabbits will eat as much as you give them to eat, and will get fat, whether they are pregnant or not. Even in my big rabbits, they only gain 1/2lb to 1lb when pregnant and you cannot always tell by looking at them.

I felt of her today to see how fat she is. She has a tummy on her, but she is shedding unreal. I run my hand down her back and fur is just flying off her. She has a thick thick coat and underneath this stuff I can see some shine to her.

She is molting, not just shedding. She needs a good brushing and you can add some protein to her diet to help her "blow her coat" or quickly finish molting. Try Calf Manna, 1 Tblsp per day or BOSS, 2 Tblsp per day.

__________ Tue Sep 25, 2012 1:30 pm __________

When it is cool at night, I should make a video after dark what they do. They are nuts. I almost worry they have too much room and are going to get hurt. They run in through the holes, look at each other through the wire, run back out and run down the wire, kick their legs and jump up and go run back in through the hole again.

My caged rabbits do this when I let them loose to play...that is normal. <br /><br />__________ Tue Sep 25, 2012 1:32 pm __________<br /><br />IF she is that far along, you should be able to feel any kits in her belly easily...just try it. Even pressing gently with your fingers on her sides as she is lying down will allow you to feel the kits bodies....

 

[garden lady]

green grass you put in the nest and her biting herself and the salt / minerals - if she is slightly anemic.
- Check this out, and the only thing that might be safe, is DE. MSD has more experience with DE, since you will be using it around newborns.
- Harvest Mites (chiggers) - http://www.hammysworld.com/index.php?p=harvestmites

Are these the same chiggers that are in Oklahoma and the south that are in the grass and bite your legs?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Are these the same chiggers that are in Oklahoma and the south that are in the grass and bite your legs?

I have no idea- we don't have chiggers here. The DE will kill them if she has them. You probably only need to use about a teaspoon or so of it on her. I sprinkle some onto my hands or lightly onto the rabbit and then rub it into the fur.

 

[garden lady]

Are these the same chiggers that are in Oklahoma and the south that are in the grass and bite your legs?

I have no idea- we don't have chiggers here. The DE will kill them if she has them. You probably only need to use about a teaspoon or so of it on her. I sprinkle some onto my hands or lightly onto the rabbit and then rub it into the fur.

We do not have chiggers either, at least what I grew up with in Oklahoma, biting devils! I so far have not seen anything on them, but I will use it if I do.

 

[Piper]

She is drinking more because you are giving her the salt lick. It really isn't needed unless you are grain feeding or green feeding. Rabbits will eat as much as you give them to eat, and will get fat, whether they are pregnant or not. Even in my big rabbits, they only gain 1/2lb to 1lb when pregnant and you cannot always tell by looking at them.

I agree with OAF, except for the salt block. Most of the rabbits I have, drink from crocks and drink a lot more when they get hot, yet do not eat till it gets cool. During the day, they will use the salt block. She is pregnant 'or' big enough, you believe she is pregnant. Carrying extra weight can make a rabbit hotter too.

Are these the same chiggers that are in Oklahoma and the south that are in the grass and bite your legs?

Yes, chiggers are in the north too, this is from NY. You can decide if you think she may have them, if so, they die in a few days. Get grass from sunny areas, that the chiggers should not be in.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/ehs/ehschig.shtml

Since you have several threads about Zoup
this thread, and
how-do-i-know-if-the-doe-is-in-trouble-with-labor-t10009.html
what-does-this-movement-mean-in-the-video-t9916-30.html

I am just going to ask on this thread. Have you decided if Zoup is pregnant? Is she still biting at herself?

 

[garden lady]

I agree with OAF, except for the salt block. Most of the rabbits I have, drink from crocks and drink a lot more when they get hot, yet do not eat till it gets cool. During the day, they will use the salt block. She is pregnant 'or' big enough, you believe she is pregnant. Carrying extra weight can make a rabbit hotter too.

Sounds like what she does. She does not eat when it is hot, but she is leaving the salt alone, BUT also it is a lot cooler.

Since you have several threads about Zoup
this thread, and
how-do-i-know-if-the-doe-is-in-trouble-with-labor-t10009.html
what-does-this-movement-mean-in-the-video-t9916-30.html

I am just going to ask on this thread. Have you decided if Zoup is pregnant? Is she still biting at herself?

She is not biting herself and seems calm. I watched her last night in the nest box and she is not building a nest, but I think playing in it. I caught her 38 days ago and she has not been with a male and seems fine. I believe she is not pregnant and the other doe Sunshine is not pregnant. It is a miracle only 1 got pregnant running loose with 2 males for months, but they are young and it was hot. I am happy how it turned out. The 5 new babies are so pretty and having fun watching them grow. My husband is going to build on to the hutch for them when they are weaned and separate the males from females and by spring they will have their own space.

 

[Piper]

The reason I thought chiggers, is that you said the rabbits were running free, and I 'assumed' that you did not have a dog, and that you did not use DE. I have a lot of problems with chiggers, in my yard, and it may be because I have not used chemicals on it for over 15 years. I would have tried dust-able sulfur, but my mom hated the smell.
Congratulations! Saw the popple pictures on the other thread, they are cute!

 

[garden lady]

The reason I thought chiggers, is that you said the rabbits were running free, and I 'assumed' that you did not have a dog, and that you did not use DE. I have a lot of problems with chiggers, in my yard, and it may be because I have not used chemicals on it for over 15 years. I would have tried dust-able sulfur, but my mom hated the smell.
Congratulations! Saw the popple pictures on the other thread, they are cute!

No dog, but 3 cats, 2 inside and 1 that goes in and out. I have lived in Idaho off an on since 1988 and then moved her permanent in 1998 and never had a flea. Saw a flea last year and went to the vet and they said I was just lucky that there has always been fleas here and I do not believe it. I think more and more people have moved here, but weather could change or something. I have had indoor/outdoor cats all this time, but I finally got rid of the fleas, I hope. My outside cat likes to go visit any cat he can find. He is fixed, but he likes cats. I remember chiggers from Oklahoma and they used to eat me up every year. I lived in Kansas for years and never saw a chigger though. I will have to post pictures of the popples when their eyes open. Their ears are huge! We have been petting them and holding them once a day. Thank you!

 

[3mina]

Only once a day? How can you resist?