Switching Bunnies From Dog Food...

[Kipcha]

Alright, so we got these three rabbits last night(Now two, one of them found a home last night before it even got here luckily) from someone who kept these rabbits outside in a hutch. We had thought there was joking when the parent of the owner said they would send a bag of dog food with the rabbits so they had something to eat for a while. However, when they got here, there goes the bag of Beneful Dog Food. We were shocked to say the least.

These rabbits have never had a proper diet and it has mainly consisted of spinach, broccoli, carrots, banana and dog food along with some hay. What I'm worried about is how to approach switching them over to a proper diet?

I felt so bad for the previous owner because she really did love her rabbits to death and really cared about them, but she really just didn't have the support from her parents and provided for them the only way she could. They told her last night when she got home from school that they were tired of the bunnies and that they were donating them to a petting zoo (To which we said we would take them and find them good homes), she was devastated

Anyways, so these rabbits are a mini lop doe who is 4 years old, a lionhead (The one that found a home) that is 3 years old and a lop X (Daughter of the mini lop) that is 2 years old.

What concerns should we have with A. Taking them out of -20 temps and bringing them indoors (They are in a cooler part of the basement right now as I think they would have a tough time anywhere else) and B. Switching them over to a good diet.

 

[Ronin Shinobi]

Defiantly cut out the dog food. I would then slowly get then on right diet and puse a vitamin supplement in their water until they are completely eating right.

 

[irishbunny]

If it were me I'd stop the dog food totally. Keep them on hay and veg and slowly introduce pellets.

 

[Kipcha]

Oh, the dog food is gone right off the bat. We aren't giving them that but they have a load of hay and more portioned vegetables and gave them a small bit of pellets which they haven't even touched yet.

I was a bit concerned because they hadn't been popping but since we let them out to run around this level while I was on the computer, they've been pooping everywhere, so it's good that they are passing well now, it's already a little more solid then what they had in their carrier, I guess because they have been eating so much hay?

 

[woahlookitsme]

Dont completely stop the dog food. You have to slowly transition them or you will destroy the microbes in the gut! Give them some probiotics or regular yogurt(no flavoring) while slowly switching them to pellets. Hay is also good. Basically you have to switch the gut from digesting dog food to digesting normal rabbit food. Dont give too much fresh veggies at first

As far as moving them inside the most it should affect them would be blowing their coats or molting

 

[Sweetie]

I would not give them yogurt. Give a probiotic from the feed store like probios. Yogurt has a lot of sugar in it and is not good for rabbits.

I would also switch them slowly from the dog food, because yes their guts have to get used to the change.

If they have been on veggies their whole life, you can give a lot of the veggies that they have been eating and give small amounts of the ones they haven't had their whole life.

I don't think that bringing them in from the cold into a warmer environment would hurt them very much if at all. It is just when you take them outside in the cold from a warm environment that it could hurt them more.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat: Really feel for anyone whose parents are tired of their animals. Nancy came home from school and found that her parents had given her dog away--just not right. Glad to hear the bunnies are being given proper care now too.

 

[tamsin]

If they are already used to eating hay then I would immediately cut out the dog food and just increase their other elements of their diet to compensate. So just up the hay. Give them 10-14 days on that and then gradually work them on to your standard diet regime.

I don't think there is much point in a careful switch when starting with dog food as either it's passing straight through as they can't digest it or the bacteria will be totally wrong for digesting plant based food anyway.

Dry dog food does often have a lot of cereals added which might be what was managing to sustain them. In which case the same bacteria will work on the same cereals in bunny food.

Taking something out of the diet gradually isn't as important as adding things in gradually.

 

[Flash Gordon]

i agree with Tamsin..cut out the dog food totally and push the hay...for now then slowly add in the other stuff...
ive heard of buns being on really strange bad diets before and they put them on strictly hay diet temporarily.....as harsh as it seems its what works...im glad u have these bunnies now ..the dogfood is nothing but fillers i couldnt imagine what their poops looked like feeding them that.

 

[Kipcha]

First, thank you so much for all the advice!

We actually ended up throwing out the bag of dog food, it was a huge bag that was over halfway down so I doubt there was really anything in it that hadn't gone stale/bad yet anyways and I also heard from a friend of ours that is a breeder that she knew someone who had given dog food to their rabbits as a treat (Well, they weren't actually feeding it to them, they ate it out of the dog bowl) and they ended up dying. According to a vet there is something in there that's toxic to them, but I didn't hear what it was.

I've introduced them to pellets a little and they don't seem to be too impressed, but they are eating them a bit. They eat a ton of hay and I'm constantly having to give them more because it seems like it is gone so quick. I've been giving them veggies, just not nearly as much as they were getting before (The previous owner would throw out bunchs of banana, full things of brocolli and whole apples) and they seem to be doing pretty well. They seem to really enjoy the parsley and cilantro!

The mom, Thumper, has what is obviously an old injury and we talked to a vet about it, it isn't something that can have anything done with it. I'm convinced that something must have gotten into the yard where they were and attacked them, doing something to Thumper's back end. She hops very odd, she sort of drags her rear end and walks more often then she hops. It has been suggested a few times we just put her down BUT she is an EXTREMELY happy and sweet bunny and when we put her out, she motors around the room and is just excited to get attention. She obviously isn't in pain, whatever injury she had is over a year old since that was when it was noticed she was having some difficulty, and it has healed now, just improperly. But she looks so happy to be out, there is no way I could justify putting her to sleep. She's extremely social and I think we found her a loving home with a very nice couple and their recently spayed doe, so hopefully that will work out. They are aware of her issues and know she's had a tough 4 years in her life, they just want to give her a good life with what she has left in her.

We're thinking of keeping Miss Buttercup, my Dad and sister have gotten rather attached. She's a little more standoffish at first but when you just relax and have her out for a while she gets better. The previous owner did Rabbit Hopping with her, something I think she really enjoys, and since they were with us for the weekend of hopping we took her out on the course and gave her a go. She loved it, she had tons of energy and actually seemed excited to be on the course again. We just let Thumper roam around during our breaks and she was actually trying to jump stuff on her own. Kind of sad because Thumper used to love hopping but she can't really do it anymore.

Anyways, I think they are adjusting extremely well and seem to be rather happy with their current arrangements! Here's hoping everything works out alright!

The Pair (Thumper on the left, Buttercup on the right)

Buttercup with her amazing leaps. You literally don't even have to coax her, she loves to jump and go around the course. She actually seemed a little down when she was sitting in her tent watching the other bunnies run around but perked right up when she was out. She obviously doesn't lack energy.

Thumper just getting to run around. As you can see, her rear end just doesn't look quite right. But she is still extremely active and eats well.

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Go Buttercup!

 

[Flash Gordon]

awesome pics!! they made me smile..what sweet buns..

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Aw, that is so sad about Thumper. I wouldn't be surprised if she was dropped by someone and now has partial paralysis in her spine. Poor little bun-bun.

Love to see Buttercup doing the jumps! She looks like she REALLY loves it!

Rue

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Another picture of Buttercup!

 

[Kipcha]

Awesome pic Stan! She's such a talented hopper! Although I look a little too excited in the background