Worried

[baefull.wolfbunnies]

Hi everyone.

I am getting worried about Roxie (my cinnamon doe), since her due date which was April 3rd she has become essentially skin and bones. I took to the RT chat and asked for help. Zass said she might need carbs, so I started making a mix of oats (1/4 cup) and BOSS (1T) for each rabbit. They have also been getting double the amount of forage that I had been giving them. She has not gained any weight even though she has been pushing Amos (my cinnamon buck) out of the way to get to the forage/hay/feed bowls. Since the middle of March, Amos and Roxie have been living in a colony style cage that I am hoping to transfer my Beveren doe's into. I even went so far as to separate them at food time and only putting them back together after she was done eating the food she was given; which was about 15-20 minutes each day. I have palpated her several times but I have never felt kits. Her berries have been a consistent size, she is drinking normally, she does have an increased appetite but has not been pulling any fur nor haystaching.

I really don't know whats going wrong. Roxie is the only one that is showing any issues. It might be that she is in a larger cage or it might be something that I've done. Could she have a stuck kit? Could she have a parasite? I would hate to cull such a beautiful animal but if she is just wasting away then what is her quality of life? Literally she looks like one of those shar pei dogs; rolls of skin with not much muscle.

Here is what she is getting each day; my other rabbits are getting nearly identical feeds with the exception of the Angora I have which is getting more BOSS due to her wool. I have also added ACV to the water all of them are getting.

-Handful of Crab grass, dandelion greens, with a bit of Raspberry or Blackberry vine with leaves
-1/4 cup Quaker Oats
-1 Tablespoon Black Oil Sunflower Seed
-10 oz (roughly) Pasture Grass grown Fodder
-Home-made treat (ingredients below) [once a week]
-Pumpkin, Oat, Flour, water, Banana
-1 Leaf Kale; bought at Winco either Organic or non depending on which is a better price
-Small Hand full of parsley; bought at Winco for $.58 a bunch
- Unlimited Timothy Hay (usually given in three sections over the course of the day)

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Fresh foods are not as nutrient dense as pellets because they have more water content- so maybe she isn't eating enough to get everything she needs?

I would try giving her pellets and see if that makes a difference. Start with a 1/2 cup or so and work up to free feeding her until she gains weight (or not).

You might also add something sweet to the water (blackstrap molasses would be my choice since it contains lots of nutrients) to up her water consumption to see if that increases her appetite.

 

[MaggieJ]

All good stuff, BWB, but it seems a bit low in protein. For years I fed my rabbits an all-natural diet, but it was based on free choice alfalfa hay which is high in protein. On the other hand, the fodder may have sufficient protein . . . I'm just not sure.

She also could have internal parasites. I've never wormed my rabbits, so can't offer advice on it, but if you look in the Illnesses, Injuries and Parasites forum, you should find numerous threads on the subject.

Sorry I'm not more help to you.

 

[baefull.wolfbunnies]

I would try giving her pellets and see if that makes a difference. Start with a 1/2 cup or so and work up to free feeding her until she gains weight (or not).

I'll look into getting pellets

For years I fed my rabbits an all-natural diet, but it was based on free choice alfalfa hay which is high in protein. On the other hand, the fodder may have sufficient protein . . . I'm just not sure.

She also could have internal parasites. I've never wormed my rabbits, so can't offer advice on it, but if you look in the Illnesses, Injuries and Parasites forum, you should find numerous threads on the subject.

Thanks Maggie. The Pasture grass fodder I use is a mix of two types of Rye, red clover (I believe), Fescue grass and Orchard grass

I looked over some of those threads as research for making treats and as natural feed supplement. That's why the treats I give them have pumpkin. As Pumpkin is a good natural parasite controller.

 

[Marinea]

I agree with Maggie- seems a little low in protein. If you can find alfalfa, it might be a good addition to your natural foods. If not, I would try pellets and see if they make a difference. If they do, maybe you can find a natural high protein addition and sub that in later.

*fingers crossed*

 

[Miss M]

Red clover is supposed to be really good in protein (20% or so), and a little lower than alfalfa if it's dried. But there may not be enough of it in your forage mix to give a high enough protein percentage.

:clover:

 

[ladysown]

You do need to be careful feeding red clover to horses and rabbits. It makes them more sun sensitive and is quite prone to mould. Be careful feeding it.

I think her diet is light on protein....and some rabbits do not do well on a pellet less feed... regardless of how good and natural it is.

anyone know if rabbits can eat things like hemp hearts? They are high in protein so it might be an option as well.

 

[baefull.wolfbunnies]

Ladysown it's in a seed mix and it sprouts like 1 in 20 times when I'm growing the grass fodder. I included it cause it was listed on the package. But I see your point. I am thinking of moving her out of the colony and into her own cage, u think the buck is bullying her a bit. Thanks for the input.

 

[Susie570]

Ladysown it's in a seed mix and it sprouts like 1 in 20 times when I'm growing the grass fodder. I included it cause it was listed on the package. But I see your point. I am thinking of moving her out of the colony and into her own cage, u think the buck is bullying her a bit. Thanks for the input.

I think it would be best for now.
I recently posted about a kit of mine who was looking 'lean', her backbone wasn't poking up or anything, but she was obviously looking 'leaner' than her sister (who she was housed with). I never saw the plumper sister bullying the leaner one, but I separated them 'just in case'. The leaner kit (Sprinkles) is starting to plump out a bit now, I think.

I also discovered that the SPOILED girl doesn't enjoy eating her hay from her hay holder :roll: She likes to have it on the cage floor in a pile, where she plays with it and munches on it. Since I've started giving her additional hay in a pile, that seems to have helped as well. Just some 'food' for thought.