Colostrum Question...

[Jenk]

Zoe saw the vet (again) yesterday;I didn't think to ask this question at the time (*slaps forehead*) and, so,figured I'd ask it of you, the most rabbit-savvy community on the planet.

Does anyone know if it's too late to boost a bun's immune system with colostrum beyond babyhood? Zoe's now 9 months old.

Zoe was weaned too early (by 4 wks. of age.) Thevet suspects that most of her digestive issues stem from not receiving enough colostrum to boost her immune function; also, he feels that she wasn't as strong/ healthy as Emma. He says that a lack of colostrum has disadvantaged Zoe and is the reason why she's not yetreached a good bacterial balance and has much trouble digesting anything (including leafy veggies, per my experience).

Thank you,

Jenk

 

[naturestee]

Erm, if I remember right colostrum is only produced by the mom immediately after giving birth. It's like a super-boosted first milk for the newly separated baby.

I have heard of chronic digestive problems in rabbits weaned too early, but there's no proof and to my knowledge no treatment for it. It's too late to go back, and anyway rabbits like most mammals usually become lactose intolerant after weaning.Lactose/milk digestion isa use-it-or-lose-it thing (aside from the genetic aspect you see in some humans).

What would be nice is if you could get Zoe to eat a cecal from another healthy rabbit to get a dose of their intestinal bacteria, however that's not very likely and it doesn't work if you mush up the cecal and syringe feed it, because the mucous binding the cecal is supposed to be unbroken to protect it in the stomach.

 

[Jenk]

naturestee wrote:

Erm, if I remember right colostrum is only produced by the mom immediately after giving birth. It's like a super-boosted first milk for the newly separated baby.

According to a few websites with info. provided by Dana Krempels, it's possible to buy colostrum powder (in capsule form). I just don't know if Zoe's too old to benefit from it.

 

[tamsin]

Although 4 weeks is much to young to leave mum/home rabbits have actually done most of their milk drinking by then. I know in situations where females have got pregnant whilst raising the first little the youngsters have been removed at 4-5 weeks when the second litter arrived and have done fine.

You can buy probiotics (good bacteria) for the gut which can help with stomach issues.

What diet are you feeding and what symptoms does she have?

If she's otherwise healthy I'd suggest feeding just hay for a week or so then gradually introducing other types of food and keeping a diary of what she is okay with and what upsets her. You may find a diet of hay and a pich of pellets keeps her fine or it could be the pellets causing the issue and a few veg are fine. Herbs can sometimes be a gentler alternative - blackberry leaves are meant to be particularly good. I fed those as first foods for the baby I handreared he was on kitten replacement from 7 days old and has no stomach issues at all (the little pig)

 

[Jenk]

tamsin wrote:

You can buy probiotics (good bacteria) for the gut which can help with stomach issues.

What diet are you feeding and what symptoms does she have?

If she's otherwise healthy I'd suggest feeding just hay for a week or so then gradually introducing other types of food and keeping a diary of what she is okay with and what upsets her. You may find a diet of hay and a pich of pellets keeps her fine or it could be the pellets causing the issue and a few veg are fine. Herbs can sometimes be a gentler alternative - blackberry leaves are meant to be particularly good....

Zoe was on Bene-Bac for 1.5 months. (Just this week, her vet switched her to an enzyme-probiotic compound.)

Zoe's eaten onlytimothy hay for the last several weeks. (Her last GI stasis bout seemed brought about by the oat hay that she sampled. :shock

She has megacolon (odd-sized/ -shaped poops) and ileus (slimy-feeling poops). She'sexperienced GI stasis several times during hernine-month life. Due to her digestive issues, I removed pellets from her diet long ago; even leafy greens seem to cause her issues.

Within the last 24-36 hours,her poops have started becoming more dry again. Plus, she's zipping around her enclosure like a new bun; she's clearly feeling better at the moment.

When I do re-introduce anything new into her diet (again), I think it will be more along the lines of herbs, as you've suggested.

 

[tamsin]

Awwy poor girl she does sound very sensitive! I can't think of anything other than what you're doing. I'd be tempted just to go with a hay diet for life - it's probably a pretty healthy option anyway. You might want to think about a vitamin supliment just to make sure she's getting the full range of nutrients if she's not eating a varity of plants.

I was very paranoid when I was first introducing foods to my handreared baby because of potential stomach issues so I went with dry herbs/natural plants eg blackberry leaves, dandelion etc. You can buy alot pre-dried or I picked fresh then dried them in the oven on the lowest heat setting.

The other thing to watch out for would be changes between cuts in hays. Rather than finishing a bag and starting a new one you might want to start the new bag before you get to the end of the previous so you can mix the two. Plus, if the new bag causes an issue you've still got some of the 'safe' hay will you try and source a new supply.

Tamsin

 

[Jenk]

tamsin wrote:

Awwy poor girl she does sound very sensitive! I can't think of anything other than what you're doing. I'd be tempted just to go with a hay diet for life - it's probably a pretty healthy option anyway. You might want to think about a vitamin supliment just to make sure she's getting the full range of nutrients if she's not eating a varity of plants.

I was very paranoid when I was first introducing foods to my handreared baby because of potential stomach issues so I went with dry herbs/natural plants eg blackberry leaves, dandelion etc. You can buy alot pre-dried or I picked fresh then dried them in the oven on the lowest heat setting.

The other thing to watch out for would be changes between cuts in hays. Rather than finishing a bag and starting a new one you might want to start the new bag before you get to the end of the previous so you can mix the two. Plus, if the new bag causes an issue you've still got some of the 'safe' hay will you try and source a new supply.

Tamsin

One vet did say that it's possible Zoe will forever be on a hay-only diet. If anything, I don't know that I'll ever try her on something as tough-feeling as oat hay because that certainly threw her system for a loop.

I currently have 9 lbs. of timothy hay with 9 lbs. on the way from another supplier. So when the new hay arrives, I'll very slowly mix a tiny amount of it in with the current hay (and cross my fingers that I don't undo the recent progress made).

I'm curious: Is there a reason for oven-drying the herbs, rather than feeding them fresh? Does drying them somehow prevent digestive upsets?

 

[naturestee]

Maybe because some rabbits can't tolerate greens at all but are ok with dried foods? The water content might be part of what's throwing them off. After all, these are animals that have been bred to thrive on a diet of commercial pellets. No wild European rabbit with an innate sensitivity to fresh greens would live very long or breed successfully but domestic rabbits tend to be the other way around due to our breeding practices.