My Heart's on Fire for Elvira

[whitelop]

I´m looking at pellets as well cos the ones I´m feeding them I can´t hold of over here and although I can get them from the UK, I was gonna order the same brand but the higher fibre ones. The ones I feed at the moment are fruit and fibre nuggets, which have around 15% of crude fibre but they do love them. The same company do a junior and dwarf rabbit pellet which has 17% crude fibre and 36% beneficial fibre. They have had this before but I had to change them cos I couldn´t get it out her and started on the Lifelong fruit and fibre nuggets. Do you think it would be best to order the same food they´re on or change to the other. I´m gonna order from amazon as they deliver free to Spain if I spend enough

The new type of pellet sounds pretty good with the fiber. What is it called? I'm just curious, I would like to see the ingredients.
As long as you have enough food to transition them slowly then you could switch.
I'm not sure about the foods though since I've never heard any of them. But the higher the fiber the better. You just have to watch out for high calcium and fat. Does the lifelong have a lot of sugar?

 

[JBun]

Actually Morgan, I fed the small world food to some of my rabbits, before I switched everyone over to sherwood, and I never had any problems with feeding it to my buns like I have with the sherwood. Baby is still on it and she's chunking out. I'm going to have to put her on a diet, haha.

Your timothy sounds like it's really good. I doubt they would go through the trouble to dye it. If hay is dried and baled at just the right times, then you will get really green perfect looking hay. Count yourself lucky. Now if her pee starts coming out green then you'll know for sure it's dyed, haha, that would be pretty funny to see.

 

[whitelop]

That would be pretty funny to see if her pee was green. But I would probably be really pissed if that happened! haha. She really likes the hay so I guess thats all that matters.
Then you know what, I'll just skip the high prices of oxbow and skip the search and I'm just going to feed her small world! haha. I have like 2 lbs left of the sherwood and I'll transition her nice and slow, just to make sure there is no upset. Her stomach seems to be pretty solid though!

So Jenny, you don't think she's stunted? I think she is! hahaha. I don't know, it jut doesn't look like she's grown any in a while, even my husband said something about her remaining the same size. I wonder with the different food if she'll start to grow more?

 

[PaGal]

well we've been talking for a while about getting some chickens. We put it off last year because our neighbor has some and kept us supplied with more than we could use until the winter. So I started thinking and reading about ducks because we could still get eggs, I've heard some prefer them because they have a richer taste and I thought maybe the thought of being attacked by a duck would be better. At least I don't see them using their feet as a weapon just pinching with their bills.

I've found that if you're placing chicken in a microwave (at least to warm it up) then it gets less dry if you put it in a plastic bag, like a ziplock one. make sure you don't zip lock it completely so the bag doesn't explode.

Also, I meant to mention that we try to avoid using the oven in the summer as well. If we don't grill then a lot of our meals we can cook in a toaster oven. Like our meat and then we just cook veggies or other sides in pots on the burner. It's just some things we can't due to needing to cook more than can fit in the toaster oven, these three tiny girls eat like teenage boys. Ha.

I don't think I've seen Phineas and Ferb.

 

[whitelop]

I love my chickens, they are such great pets! They're pretty self sufficient, I just have to scatter some food out every day and they're happy. haha. They're pretty easy, its just their enclosures that are costly and difficult to get just right. I'm learning that right now with the coop.

 

[JBun]

I think I'll just go back to the small world food too. It's a good price and easy to get. Plus my rabbits did well on it.

I'm not there to see her, so I can't really say for sure she isn't stunted. I just know that with my bunnies, they kind of go through different growing phases until full grown. They grow super fast until about 3-4 mo., then the growing seems to level out a bit and the growing seems to be more gradual after that, so much so that you can hardly even tell they are growing much. Since you are changing her food soon, I guess you'll be able to see if it makes any difference with her.

Just something to consider is that if a rabbit has parasites, it can make it so that they will eat a ton of food but not seem to be able to maintain or put on weight. I don't know if it's the case with Ellie, but it is a possibility, especially if you are really feeding her 2 cups a day and she is looking skinny. I was feeding Flopsy and Dakota 1 1/2 cups a day, and their combined weight is more than 13 lbs. If you think it could be parasites, it's pretty easy to deal with.

 

[Chrisdoc]

I don´t think it´s got too much sugar but it doesn´t specify exact proportions, it´s by Burgess and is called Lifelong Fruit and Fibre nuggets.

I think I might just order the same food this time and then when I do a new order, I´ll order the Burgess Junior and Dwarf Rabbit pellets which they have had before.

I was thinking Ellie´s size but if she´s a dwarf dutchie, she won´t get that big, they are around 2-2.3 Kg when fully grown. My two boys are quite small so Ellie may be around their size.

Hay is really funny. The one I was buying here from the department store and which they really liked was really green, probably what you´re saying about the Kaytee where it looks a bit artificial but I´m sure it´s not but the one they used to eat and which my friend has now brought which is Meadow hay is a lot browner but they´re eating it fine.

 

[whitelop]

I thought about parasites! AHHHH! NO! I hope its not that! She has been following me around a lot lately and I've been watching her and she doesn't look like skin and bones skinny, but I can see a definition of her rib cage when he walks. I'll try to take an over head picture of her so you guys can get what I'm saying. I can't feel her spine and I can't feel her hip bones or ribs, but I can see them. They still feel well coated and her belly feels plump? I just don't know. Maybe its ME?! Maybe I'm freaking out over nothing? I don't know.
I know that she is a different breed than Foo, so I'm used to looking at a mini lop I guess. What are dutch buns supposed to look like? They're supposed to be balls right? Like pretty round, with just a head and ears and some stick legs? Thats what all the dutch buns I've seen look like.

I just took some pictures of her from above. Its hard to tell in the pictures because she's black and the flash makes he looks shiny. BUT I wanted to mention that she isn't that shiny and she isn't that soft. I don't know if its from her baby coat or what, but shes soft but not silky or smooth. Her fur is a little like...chalky feeling? I don't know, its hard to explain. It might just be a baby thing.

And here is one with her and my hand. Now, I don't have unnaturally large hands, so don't y'all get all feisty on me. haha. I have working hands, rough knuckles and such. But still womanly in size and dainty. lmao.

Oh and you guys get a sweet view of just my toes. lmao. I literally just laughed so hard about that! Its like just my toes. bahahahaha. SO funny.

 

[PaGal]

I got interrupted mid-post by my hubby calling. His job has had him working 15 hour days for two weeks which is unheard of plus usually we get to at least talk when he goes to lunch but we haven't even been able to do that, I received several bits of bad news and it's our anniversary so I posted what I had because otherwise my possessed computer probably would have disappeared it.

Building a coop shouldn't be a problem, my hubby is great at building and fixing things plus he's taught me as well over the year. I also thought ducks might work to let in the garden and take care of the pesky bugs. But he'll probably have it his way, he usually does and I'll just have to try handling and petting from the get go.

As for the finches, could you try looking for someone to adopt all or some as quickly as possible?

I have Thumper on feed from Southern States, the breeder uses it, from everything I've read it is a good feed. His urine has a smell but it's not overwhelming and now he eats all of his cecals but when he was young sometimes he wouldn't get them all and I've never noticed a bad smell with them, not like I've been reading here lately.

I'll have to try recording and watching some Phineas and Ferb. My husbands picky about what the kids watch. Mostly they read but we will watch cooking shows or animal shows because they love them. I have wondered if the writers of the shows write some for adults because they know parents are often stuck watching as well or if it just happens because it is adults writing the shows and they can't think like children all of the time.

 

[whitelop]

Ducks will do a great job taking care of bugs, spiders and even frogs. We originally got chickens because I have a pond in my back yard and we usually have about 8 million toads hopping around and being gross. The chickens eat them and that solves my toad problem! haha. Win win!
No coops aren't that hard to build, you just have to be sure that they're secure. I know that from experience, raccoons are a HUGE predator for chickens and ducks. If you have foxes in your area, they'll be attracted to the smell. You just have to make sure its secure. With raccoon's they say that if a kid can open the lock then so can a raccoon. I have double locks on my hen house. Snakes also steal eggs, so do rats. You would be totally surprise what critters will come out when you get other animals. haha. Its weird. BUT chickens will eat mice, I'm not sure about ducks.
With ducks you'll still want a coop, so they can be protected and whether you let them into the garden or their run is big enough I would get a baby pool for them. I have this old bathtub at my house and I would LOVE to put into the ground to make a small pond to put into a duck coop, but I don't have any ducks! I also have a full sized pond for ducks, but still...no ducks. I would love some ducks or some Sebastopol geese, those are my favorite geese.
Ducks are funny and their eggs are really good!

 

[agnesthelion]

Morgan, about the church preschool thing. I'm not into organized religion either. (I'm not trying to offend anyone either, lol) but I'm actually totally against organized religion, heck I'm probably considered Agnostic because I don't know what I believe in but it's not organized christianity that's for sure. Any who, they don't need to know that. My son went there last year for one morning a week and this year 2 mornings a week. It was a great experience.
Without turning this into religious debate, haha, I was raised conservative Lutheran, my husband is catholic. Neither one of us identify with those beliefs anymore. With that being said, we want our son to make his own decisions about religion. He's little enough and they didn't talk about God and Christianity that much at his preschool but if they did and he had questions I just tried to answer as unbiased ad possible. Same way I hated being "brainwashed" to think a certain way as a kid, I don't want the same for him the other way.

Anyway, just wanted to share my experience since you mentioned your doubt with the church thing. It was a very positive experience and it has been GREAT for him to get the social aspect of being with kids his age. I'm so glad I did it

 

[JBun]

You're right, she does look skinny. Well, you could just wait and see if switching food takes care of it, or you could go ahead and worm her for parasites. Make sure you never use ivermectin on Ellie as the dutch breed can be sensitive to it and in some cases it can be fatal. I use Safeguard for my rabbits. It's supposed to be pretty safe. I use the liquid stuff for goats, but you could use the paste for horses. Either safeguard or panacur will work. If you don't feel comfortable doing it then you could ask your vet about it.

 

[JBun]

They're supposed to be balls right? Like pretty round, with just a head and ears and some stick legs? Thats what all the dutch buns I've seen look like.

:laugh: I LOVE your description of Ellie, a ball with stick legs, hahaha.

 

[Katielovesleo3]

I forgot where, but I read somewhere to never use the horse paste because they ingredients are well mixed and there could be too much of one ingredient or not enough of another. I dont remember what else but I remember reading it and thinking, "ahh they have some good points"
Ellie's fur does look....un-soft lol. And I think she seems skinny too. I'm feeding something from the feed store, called "Mazuri", it has a decent amount of fiber and everything else is reasonable as well, he REALLY loves it and I feed 1/4 of a cup, when I put the bowl down, I do a little pet over the length of his back real fast and he seems quite meaty and fatty. I can't feel ribs, spine, or hip bones....then he runs away afterwards and comes back lol. He is such a terd.

Aww, why do men have to be so.....uncompassionate! I am reading a book right now about the neighborhood next to mine, the built section 8 over a slave cemetary and this one particular house was the first one and they basically had a poltergiest. The woman got some finches because she loved birds, and they had babies, then they separated the two generations and the babies pecked each other to death and flew around in a frenzy and died, then the mama and papa (*oooo I just got the goosebumpies!!!!! this part scared me!) were eaten by huge black ants, she was frantically looking around for a trail of ants but couldn't find one so she grabbed the birdcage and carefully took it outside and threw it and the dead birds into the woods (where most of the cemetary was) and buried them the next day. AHHHHH! That book is sooo scary. AHHH more chillybumps!!!

Haha, you have unnaturally large hands! jk jk jk!!!!! I got a little fiesty there lmao

 

[whitelop]

Haha, you have unnaturally large hands! jk jk jk!!!!! I got a little fiesty there lmao

LMAO! I don't know why I had such a problem with the way my hand looked in that picture. But I'm really pale and the flash on the camera totally washed out my hand pigment and made my hand look puffy and large. Its weird and it really bothers me! hahaha. I'm having a total "girl" day right now, as in...my girl brain is going nuts!

 

[whitelop]

I have dewormer from TSC, its called D-Worm(clever) its for cats/kittens, dogs/puppies. Its active ingredient is piperazine(dipiperazine sulfate) Is that okay to use? I knew not to ever use ivermectine because she is a dutch or to use it on a VM bun, I wonder why that is, just something about their genes? Jenny does that mean you can't use ivermectine on Roo, since she is dutch marked?(did you figure out if she is a she or a he? hahaha)

With the stuff I have, it says to use a 1/4 tsp on 2.5 lbs or less. Thats not that much, but I would rather not poison her.

So Ellie won't stop following me around. At first I thought it was kind of cute, but now shes on my nerves. She is constantly under my feet and I constantly kick her or step on her feet. Like tonight I'm trying to bring some groceries in and she got in the way and I pretty much kicked her in the face. Thank god I was just standing there and I turned to take a single step, well she got a foot to the head. haha. Its sad but then its like 'just get out of my way!' I think she thinks I'm going to feed her! I eat salads a lot, like for breakfast and lunch a lot of the time. I'm like 'oh I have lettuce, cheese, croutons, hot sauce and sour cream...that could be a salad' or 'oh I have lettuce, cheese, an avocado and bacon bits, and some hot sauce...theres a salad.' haha. Thats how it goes usually. So she thinks that whenever I go into the kitchen she is going to get food! She is making me insane.

PS yes. I always have hot sauce and lettuce...thats a salad. LMAO.

 

[JBun]

Haha, yeah Roo is a she. Gotta love that sex change fairy

Hotot's can be negatively affected by ivermectin too. It has to do with the dutch breed being susceptible to it passing the blood brain barrier and entering the central nervous system and causing a toxic reaction. Collies are also sensitive to it. You can give piperazine to rabbits. I think fenbendazole is more effective on a wider variety of parasites, but piperazine may help. Just make sure to get her weight and measure the dosage correctly.

Ahhh, poor Ellie just wants some LOVE, haha. I know though. I've scooted a few across the floor too. They shoot right under my feet just as I'm taking a step. You would think they would figure out to stay away from our big clomping feet. Geez!

 

[Chrisdoc]

Morgan, I actually think she looks OK from what I can see in the picture, very much like my two, sort of in between the two as Snowy is smaller than Houdini and Houdini is more rounded, Snowy is slimmer. So, I think she´s about the right size and weight for a dwarf dutchie but it might be just as well to treat for parasites just in case.

When looking at your hand, you have to take into account the size of your bunny and she´s only a little one so it´s not that big.

They do get under your feet sometimes, I´ve accidently knocked mine a few times and I get so guilty just in case I´ve hurt them but you´d think they´d know not to go there.

I love the fact that you have hot sauce with lettuce. My friend has mashed potato with salad and I though that was weird too. Some combinations are just not what we´re used.

 

[whitelop]

Chris, she isn't really a dwarf rabbit though. The breed itself is small, but not as small as your boys. By breed standard she should weigh 3.5lbs/1.5kg to 5.5lbs/2.4kg. Thats bigger than your boys by a few pounds! haha. I don't think she'll reach the high part of the breed standard though. I think she is going to stay really small.
I hope that switching food and adding some alfalfa hay to her diet will help her gain a little bit of weight.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Morgan, didn´t realise and yes, she is about their size now or just a little bigger. Snowy is just a kilo and Houdini is a few hundred grams more. It´s probably all this running about she does, she´s a bundle of hyper bunny lol. I´m sure if you increase her alfalfa, she´ll fill out, she is still quite young anyway. I just love seeing pics of her and still adore your avatar pic, she is so gorgeous.