Hey! Isn't that my reply to the First New Year's Kits post???

Who dares to plagiarize my post?

He's about 7 months old.

My bad when I wrote that I fed them hay. I put it in for bedding during the cold weather we had here in central NC and they eat it. I do give them Timothy to eat.

I've doubled up on his food and he's eating it. I'll see if he improves soon. How long should it take to start putting on weight? He may be my biggest Buck or close to it. One of my two champagne d argent Bucks are about the same size.

All of the rest are still doing well. I put a piece of apple in all of their bowls. He was the only one that didn't eat it. But he's eating like a pig.

Some rabbits aren't real smart and will eat straw over useful food stuff and that's where the problem comes in. Maybe it's a specific mineral or some type of fiber they are missing but I have seen mine decimate a bale of straw and lose weight with good hay and pellets available. Usually they are good about such things but I'm doling their straw out in slices as they need it for nests this year.

Apple isn't a real great treat. It's got a horrible sugar profile that makes it very hard to digest and one of the most likely things to cause digestive upset not only in animals but in humans who have similar sugar intolerances. I can tell you this first hand. A fresh apple leaves me rolling around telling my husband I'm dying and can't breathe from the inflammation caused by the bacteria digesting the leftover excessive sugars that are mainly fructans. Animals don't produce many enzymes for breaking down fructans and lactose like some people unless they are fruit eaters such as sugar gliders, birds, and other tree dwellers. The rest of us suffer. Some quieter than others... when we give in to tasty treats like that. Less sweet fruits are a better choice but avoid too much citrus. Cranberries work great and one cranberry or 2 is about right for a rabbit depending on size of rabbit. Sometimes mine get berries or kiwi but only if I won't eat it in time or the kiwi peels. Mangos aren't too bad either. Otherwise only vegetables and vegetation is better for fresh treats.

It was a signature spammer, MamaSheepdog... someone looking to sell something with no interest in the forum. The posts by this "member" have been deleted and the poster banned.

I know- I was tracking the responses and was playing a game matching the posts to original authors. I try to have fun anytime the opportunity presents itself! Should I have flagged the posts, though? I noted that the problem had been corrected when I was on earlier.

I laughed at the one where they were talking about bathing the bunny in a completely unrelated thread.

Or how about the one that said the rabbit had "claws like a wolverine" when there was no picture in the thread?

I just found out that he has ear mites. My question is can this cause him to lose the weight?

It might, if he feels miserable enough that it affects his appetite. Fortunately, ear mites are easy to treat with a bit of olive oil or mineral oil squirted into the ear. The oil drowns the mites.

I highly doubt it was the food. Something else was going on. I've always only fed my New Zealand bucks between a level 5 oz. tuna fish can full of pellets up to a heaping 5 oz. can full, depending on the individual rabbit. That's about right for adult New Zealands. Overfeeding will often lower productivity. I've done that for years and my mentors did the same.

So my wild guess would be he's got a bug, teeth problems or has a physical problem. It would be a good idea to give extra feed until he's back to normal and keep an eye on his droppings and give a good check up. Mites can eventually kill a rabbit if not properly cared for. Something isn't right. You don't switch the food brand often, do you?

I would even think about a pea sized dose of Ivermectin in the mouth, then a second dose 10 days later. That would take care of the mites and some other possible problems (I'm not a vet, so take it for what it's worth).

I treated the whole herd with Ivermectin. They seem to be doing well. I'll get a better look on Saturday in the full daylight. There starting to hate me with the ear drops and now Ivermectin. They are all putting on weight. I thank everyone for all of your replies.

Question: Someone posted that apple was no good because, in part, of sugar. Yet another poster posted giving them pineapple. That has sugar too.

I did have a major setback to my heard. I found my champagne d argent doe dead. She was in perfect health. He weight was great and she was a gentle giant. She came from a great line and was my best doe, not just out of all of my different breeds but compared to my other champagne d argents from a different line. I found her on her side in her nest box. My best guess is a coon or cat came up and scared her to death from a heart attack. Has anyone ever had this happen? Do they lay on their side like a dog sleeping. I would have thought she would have curled up.

I have learned already that this is going to be a lot harder than I thought. I've been trying to disassociate them to make it easier to sell their kits and dispatch the rest. I'm going to do it but it's going to be hard.

Apple/pineapple question: Akane mentioned that the sugars in apples can be difficult to digest. Many give apple treats to their rabbits occasionally with no issue, but it's something to think about and watch for problems at first. Pineapples have a healthy dose of enzymes, which would not only help with the sugars, but also help break up ingested fur.

So sorry to hear about your champagne d'argent doe! Yes, plenty of us have had seemingly perfectly healthy rabbits die suddenly like that. Sometimes they are healthy, and die of fright, like you mentioned. Others were actually ill, but, since rabbits are prey animals and hide illness very well, the owners had no idea until they did a necropsy.

I had a doe die of fur impaction a few months ago, and she was lying like that, stretched out on her side.

It is hard. We've found that spoiling the breeders and playing with the little babies helps a lot. But it is still hard.

I've read that a lot of the "pet rabbit" people believe that fruits and veggies are good for rabbits. Most are not a natural part of their diets and contain too much sugar, it's basically all rabbit-candy.
You need weeds and 'real' greens, like grasses and other weed plants you as a human may think is no good for a well 'manicured lawn', its great for rabbits!

My Buck is back and Fat! Diet time.

I put drops in all their ears. One of the does had it too. A week later, I gave the whole herd Ivermectin. There all doing well now.

Glad everyone was successfully treated and back to health