Mia
Active Member
A couple of months ago, I found a local source for orchard grass hay and I was thrilled that I could offer my three bunnies virtually unlimited quantities of hay, which I could not do when paying $20 per bag for a five-day supply at the pet grocery.
As my bunny Silver had gained quite a bit of weight, I decided to reduce their pellets and feed primarily hay and their veggies, with just a few pellet meals per week. Since then, they've had hay around the clock, and two small veggie meals per day. They are also out on grass for a few hours several times per week.
Until today, the only change I noticed since increasing hay was that my lop, Hope, was drinking and peeing more. But today we found fly eggs (not maggots) on her, and in the process of carefully inspecting her to make sure there were no open sores, poopy areas, etc., and in removing the eggs, I noticed that she was quite thin.
My other two bunnies are not thin. Silver is as fat or fatter than ever, and Winter seems lighter than before the hay increase, but still a healthy weight/muscle combination. But Hope is a larger, older bunny and has had a harder life.
About two years ago, Hope came to the shelter where I volunteered as part of a starved trio whose owner brought them in because she could no longer afford to feed them. They were bone thin and had nibbled off all of each others' hair. I would hate to think that even with hay available at all times, Hope has has been feeling hungry. But seeing how thin she is today, I am afraid that must be the case. She was certainly eating the hay, but clearly, it wasn't giving her enough nutrition.
I put her back on pellets (with hay & veggies) starting today. Tomorrow, I will get her some oats, too, as I've read here that they may help her gain.
Among the lessons I've learned is that I wish I had weighed my bunnies regularly. I really have no idea how much she may have lost, or how gradual the weight loss has been, as she hasn't been weighed since she went in for her spay surgery. I carry her out to her expen almost every day, so I'd like to think I would notice sudden changes in weight or tone, but I didn't.
As my bunny Silver had gained quite a bit of weight, I decided to reduce their pellets and feed primarily hay and their veggies, with just a few pellet meals per week. Since then, they've had hay around the clock, and two small veggie meals per day. They are also out on grass for a few hours several times per week.
Until today, the only change I noticed since increasing hay was that my lop, Hope, was drinking and peeing more. But today we found fly eggs (not maggots) on her, and in the process of carefully inspecting her to make sure there were no open sores, poopy areas, etc., and in removing the eggs, I noticed that she was quite thin.
My other two bunnies are not thin. Silver is as fat or fatter than ever, and Winter seems lighter than before the hay increase, but still a healthy weight/muscle combination. But Hope is a larger, older bunny and has had a harder life.
About two years ago, Hope came to the shelter where I volunteered as part of a starved trio whose owner brought them in because she could no longer afford to feed them. They were bone thin and had nibbled off all of each others' hair. I would hate to think that even with hay available at all times, Hope has has been feeling hungry. But seeing how thin she is today, I am afraid that must be the case. She was certainly eating the hay, but clearly, it wasn't giving her enough nutrition.
I put her back on pellets (with hay & veggies) starting today. Tomorrow, I will get her some oats, too, as I've read here that they may help her gain.
Among the lessons I've learned is that I wish I had weighed my bunnies regularly. I really have no idea how much she may have lost, or how gradual the weight loss has been, as she hasn't been weighed since she went in for her spay surgery. I carry her out to her expen almost every day, so I'd like to think I would notice sudden changes in weight or tone, but I didn't.
April
