How many Cecals is not enough for a Baby

[Verity]

Hey sorry if this is a bit of a dumb subject I'm very new to rabbits and I really want to make sure I get things right, before things go wrong... 

Why does my rabbit not eat all her Cecals?

Background info-

I have a baby rabbit, Edee. 
She is about 11 weeks old now.

She's got a continuous amount of hay to munch on, which I buy from the pet shop my boyfriend got her from. (local Hay from Worcestershire -the county I live in) 

And I feed her the 'mixed rabbit food with alfalfa' which I also get from the same pet shop. She was fed on the mixed food at the shop, so I kept her on this.
(I bag this stuff up myself rather then buying the already packaged stuff. So I'm not 100% off the top of my head what the make is, but according to the little sheet above the food - 
Protein 14.9%
Fibre 9.7%
Oil 3.6%)

I give her one handful of food in the morning (around 7am) and one at night (around 6pm) 

I also have a bag of Burgess Excel (junior & Dwarf) pellets, which was given to me by a friend (as they made her rabbit fat apparently) but I havnt given her this as I got pretty confused on what was better pellets or mixed food, as I found lots of contradicting info on which was better for rabbits.

She doesn't have any fresh foods at the moment as I've heard that they shouldn't have anything until they are 6 months old
(though reading 'the importance of diet' article on here it says - " Green foods are also important and a variety should be fed daily to rabbits of all ages." 
So is what I've previously read wrong?



I know she does eat some of her Cecals as I have seen her munching away when her head has come up from her bottom. But I keep finding some in her hutch.

For example i cleaned her out yesterday.  
This morning (24hr since cleaning) I have found 2 complete little piles and what seemed like 1/2 a pile (but it might have been cos it was squished so looked a bit different) which have gone uneaten.

And I have just found a further three (so making a total of nearly 6 in 31 ish hours)

(these have now been binned so she doesn't step in them) 

Looking into it I know babies dont tend to eat all of their Cecals as they are still learning.

But how many are too many (not to be eaten?)

is 3 ish piles in 24 (6 in 36) hours a lot?


If it is how do I stop this? Looking at other threads it seems often that the owners are advised to stop feeding fresh food. But she doesn't have any anyway. So I'm not sure what I can do. 

 

[LakeCondo]

I think things are ok with the cecals, but you can always try to feed one to her from time to time. I would also mix in the pellets with the food you're currently using, as it won't make a growing bunny fat. As long as it smells & looks fresh [deep green not brown], that is.

 

[Verity]

I just went outside and there was quite a lot in her hutch again. Which seems to appeared in the past hour as i had her out running around for a bit.
Is it just me or is that quite a bit?

LakeCondo wrote:

I think things are ok with the cecals, but you can always try to feed one to her from time to time. I would also mix in the pellets with the food you're currently using, as it won't make a growing bunny fat. As long as it smells & looks fresh [deep green not brown], that is.

Thank you for your reply. I shall try feeding her some now.
And I will also mix some of those pellets in

 

[Happi Bun]

From the picture that does look like an excessive amount of uneaten cecals. One red flag I noticed is the food you are feeding is extremely low in fiber. At a minimum it should be 18% while the food you are feeding her is 9.7% in fiber. That is way low!

Plain pellets are much healthier than mixed food. The subject of feeding greens to baby bunnies is highly debated. For now I would not worry about adding greens into her diet because her GI track sound a little off. Keep it simple for now. Unlimited hay and a high quality *plain* pellet.

What I recommend:

• Find a higher quality *plain* pellet and slowly transition her to the new pellet. Ideally you want one with a Fiber of 18% MIN. and Protein 12 - 14% MAX.

 

[Verity]

Looking at The pellets I have from my friend, it says;

Beneficial Fibre 36%
Crude fibre 17%
Protein 16%

the protien is a little higher then you quoted. And I have no idea why there's two Fibres!! Which one is the important one to focus on? Or are they both?

Would it be ok feeding her these pellets or should I find some exactly within the %s

Thank you for your help

 

[Happi Bun]

I believe it's mostly a marketing ploy and relates to the difference between indigestible and digestible fiber. Crude fibre is the one you should look at.

The Burgess Excel is a lot better in the fiber department than what you are currently feeding. It's a little high in protein, but honestly since she is a baby and growing I don't see it causing a problem.