Yogies?

[PickledOlives]

So I'm discovering that most things made for rabbits should not be given to rabbits!! It's very confusing lol and the people at the pet store here really have no idea what they are doing! Other than telling me my male is a female, and to use cat littler in their litter box, they also told me that yogies are great for my baby bunny! The more I read about them the more I realize they were wrong about that too. So should I totally cut these out of my rabbits diet? They LOVED them until this morning.. My one bunny didnt want to eat it, and I thought that was really strange. Well when I got home from work she clearly had an upset stomach. She wasn't eating, drinking or going to the bathroom. I rubbed her belly for a while and got her to drink and eat some hay. She finally started pooping but it's kind of slimy on the outside, not super soft though. She seems to be feeling back to normal now. Could it have been these stupid yogurt treats?! Other than carrots what are safe treats out there that I can get for my 12 week old bunnies? It's been a long time since I've had rabbits and I've had so many problems and changes I've had to make with these poor babies because of the idiots at the pet store who are supposed to have the best advice. Good thing for this site!

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Rabbits can't digest dairy, so yoghurt is out. Even the ones that don't have actual yoghurt, they tend to be filled with sugar. Best to just avoid them completely. It is important to read the ingredients for any treats you feed to make sure it is suitable for a rabbit.
At 12 weeks, they are still young and sensitive. Treats should be very limited to avoid problems.
Fresh veggies or small bits of dried fruit can make good treats.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Pet stores are there to make money off you by pushing as many products on you as they can. Yogurt treats are definitely not for bunnies, they will like them for the sugary taste, but sugar and especially milk proteins are bad, bad, bad! The best treats for bunnies are fresh, dark leafy greens. Herbs like cilantro, basil, parsley and mint. Veggies like kale, broccoli, fennel, silverbeet and watercress. Not every bun will like every type of veg, but buy a few varieties and you'll figure out which are your bun's favourites.

With young buns you have to be extra slow and careful in introducing new veggies though. You have to let their gut flora adjust to the new food, feed a teaspoon-sized piece a day and gradually increase quantities if their poops indicate they're digesting it well. It's also advised to introduce one new veggie at a time, so if their poops do get soft/mushy you'll know exactly which veg they're finding tough to handle.

 

[bunbunmommy]

12 weeks seems really young, i was told by a good rabbit vet to even avoid veggies until bun was 6months old.

 

[whiskylollipop]

12 weeks seems really young, i was told by a good rabbit vet to even avoid veggies until bun was 6months old.

That's cause introducing veggies to a bun who's never had veggies before is tricky business, pet owners tend to be tempted to offer too much too quickly and risk upsetting their gut flora. So to be completely safe vets just advise to avoid it altogether.

But it's like introducing solids to a baby, if you're sensible and cautious about it and always monitor poops, it can and should be done. Rabbits in the wild don't set their calendars to 6 months before they allow themselves to sample the greenery.

 

[PickledOlives]

Thank you! That's why I haven't given them veggies yet because I didn't want to have any stomach/poop problems. Before I got my second bunny I gave my one a baby carrot almost once a day and she seemed to do fine with those but my other bunny is a little younger and already had soft poop because the pet store was feeding them a ton of hay that they must have not been eating before. Could taking away her daily carrot upset her stomach at all? It has been a good week since she's had one so I doubt that's the problem now. I knew when she started refusing the yogurt drops she must have known something I didn't lol. I got those because they seemed like they had the least stuff added to them out of all the treats. First the guy tried to get me to buy cinnamon bun treats for her covered in fake frosting and I couldn't believe anyone would recommend/buy that for their rabbit!!

 

[woahlookitsme]

I rarely give my rabbits the yogies that I own made by ecotrition. If you look at the ingredients the first ingredient on the bag is sugar. And the fifth ingredient is dextrose (more sugar). I am currently giving them to one of my older buns because it is one of the very few things he will eat. He isn't eating as many pellets so this is enticing him to dig in more than he normally would. I wouldn't give them to my other rabbits but maybe once in a blue moon.

 

[Blue eyes]

@pickledolives, since you've mentioned it twice, I thought I should comment. When your rabbit refused the yogurt drop (her favorite treat) it was because she was beginning GI stasis. Refusing a favored treat is a sure sign. It wasn't because she knew they were causing a problem. Domestic rabbits will happily eat toxic plants & all the sugary sruff they are offered. They just don't know any better.
As far as greens, think more in terms of greens than veggies. Carrots are so high in sugar that they should be viewed as a treat only. Taking carrots away will absolutely do no harm or upset. If anything it can help to tske away that daily dose of sugar. Treats are "extra" but not necessary.

 

[Blue eyes]

I recommend that all treats be avoided until bunny has been slowly introduced to a variety of greens and is used to a daily diet that includes that variety of greens (along with pellets & unlimited hay). Hanfd feeding pellets can make the pellets seem like a treat.