Question
Squeakers
I had a Mini rex rabbit who was apparently pregnant when we
got her. She kindled about two weeks after we got her. The
babies were born 8-08-08. All but two have gained weight
and grown to normal size for their age. However there are
two (one male and one female) who have stopped growing at
about two weeks old. They are both eating and have had no
problems with bowels so I am not sure why they are not
continuing to grow as the rest have. I have them all on a
multivitamin in their water and they get plenty of hay and
no fresh veggies yet. No respiratory problems or any other
visible or behavioral changes. Any advice on what I should
do to help these guys gain some weight or their life
expectancy?
AnswerHi Nancy,
Great pic...looks like some Dutch and English Spot in there too. There are numerous things that can cause this condition. Several of them....such as dental issues or mechanical problems in the GI are somewhat unlikely in these rabbits since if it were a concern, most likely they would not be with you now. It is possible to be intestinal parasites but that would probably be unlikely unless the mother was infected. So the most likely cause is nutritional....and that is what we will look at first. I have heard of "peanuts" from breeders (as a rescue, we do not breed here) and I have seen a similar condition in wild cottontails that come in as "pinkies" (newborn). Rabbits are notoriously difficult to hand wean so we have some advanced protocols for dealing with issues such as this.
First thing is that I would closely monitor the food intake of these two guys. They should be fully weaned by now and eating totally on their own. They should be receiving a high quality alfalfa based pellet. Note I said "high quality pellet". Many of the pellets available at discount and pet stores are nothing more than junk. Do not feed the pellets with the "colorful" treats as most rabbits will eat the junk treats and not the nutritious parts. Some of the most readily available top brands that offer a strict pellet form are Purina, Kaytee and Mazuri. There are several available online such as Sweet Meadow Farms, Oxbow and American Pet Diner. At this age, pellets should be available "free choice"...all they can eat all the time. I usually offer a buffet of hays with the majority being legume hay.....alfalfa. Alfalfa has much higher protein than other hays. Alfalfa can be offered to babies free choice but should be limited in adult rabbits due to the protein level as well as high amounts of calcium which has been linked to some kidney issues in older rabbits. They should have fresh clean water available at all times. I do not use any vitamins or supplements in the water as their effectiveness is questionable...but you do get contaminated water. Vitamin supplements should not be needed for any rabbit except those that are elderly or have been very sick. And there is a powdered vitamin that is much easier to use. I might would also introduce some high digestible energy veggies. I raise cottontails strictly on hay and greens. The key to feeding veggies to very young rabbits is moderation. As with any change in diet, make changes to the diet in small increments over a period of 5-7 days. I routinely use dandelion greens and kale to add punch to their nutrition.
Something else that might be of help is the use of a probiotic. A rabbit is a hind gut fermenter and requires a high number of bacteria thru the GI tract, especially the cecum, in order to break down and extract nutrients from food. Remember that in the wild, rabbits eat mainly low nutrtion foods such as grass, leaves and bark. I use a product called Bene-Bac. It is available at most pet stores, vet clinics and many places online. It comes as a paste or a powder.....I prefer the powder. This product contains very beneficial strains of bacteria....notably L Casei and Enterococcus. The primary function of this bacteria is to stabilize and maintain an acidic pH in the gut in order to provide a good climate for beneficial bacterial growth. Rabbits also practice "copragraphy". It is much like a cow chewing it's cud. It appears the rabbit is eating it's own poop....and in a way, it is. The cecum provides cecals which look like poop shaped like a bunch of grapes. These cecals are undigested food, bacteria and vitamins. Usually at night, the rabbit will stimulate it's anus and the cecum will excrete these special poops and the rabbit will reingest them. If a rabbit is sick, overweight, has mobility issues or even sometimes if they are on a wire bottomed cage...they either can't get to the cecals or they drop thur the wire. It is essential they eat these cecals in order to have a "ready gut".
This is a lot of info to digest. A rabbit's GI is a complex machine. Read over this, re-examine your feeding protocols and get back in touch with me and we will see about doing any "tweaking" and see if we can get these guys going. I will tell you that they will catch up eventually....some of my largest cottontails I have released have been runts.
not hungry bunny
Question
Patchie Baby
I own a rabbit and she is
Bunny producing massive amounts of cecals after spay
Question
So many bunny cecals
My dwarf bunny got
swollen testicle
Question
rabbit testicle
My rabbit has a swollen
Spencers Update!!!
Questionpoop
poop
QUESTION: Hi Dana Madam
Horny rabbit
Question
Squirty
Hello.
We have just bought an
