Topic: Feeding
(bottom right are NIGHT FECES, which all rabbits produce a few times a day)
Cleaning the barns yesterday, I was struck by the differences in the appearance of the 2 week dropping piles each rabbit had produced. Each had been fed the same, except for one, and most of them have the same length of coat. Most were in good shape, as evidenced by the top row of the picture above, but there were two who had smaller droppings, as shown by the two on the bottom left. These rabbits need intervention to get their dropping size bigger, which is better for angoras.
Fiber that is sitting in the gut of rabbits contributes to less "motility" and as the digestive system slows down, toxins can accumulate. This will eventually lead to wool block, which can be fatal, So we act aggressively and proactively to keep things moving through.
A handful of tasty hay eaten every day is all that is generally needed to keep any ingested fiber moving along. When one adds extra fiber to a rabbit's pelleted diet, which I do with sweet textured horse feed as explained in an older BareHare post, there is a two-fold safeguard.
But, every now and then, I make a check to see what each rabbit's system is up to. There may be genetic factors involved with some rabbits that cause them to bind up sooner, or groom themselves more, etc, leading to the possibility of an impacted gut. Fur/wool mite infestation can lead to more grooming! So, unknowns abound in this situation.
One of my favorite food additives when I see smaller droppings are dandelion leaves. Any fresh long leafy grass also works great to move things along. So, a diet with less pelleted feed and more fresh food, fed for a week or so, will generally work to clear things up. What if there are no fresh greens to pick? Consider Flax Seed. Added at 1/2 tsp twice a day, this oil-packed food is thoroughly enjoyed by all my bunnies and serves to add a lubricating item to their diet. It is available inexpensively at feed stores that cater to horses.
