Losing Weight

[bs_arnold]

My son is raising californians and he has 2 that seems to be losing weight. He has uped their grain and gave alfalfa cubes but still losing weight, does anyone know what is going on? THanks

[GoatTalker]

Are you feeding rabbit pellets?

[bs_arnold]

yes we feed mana pro rabbit pellets

[GoatTech]

I would run a fecal for cocci/worms.
Also, how are their teeth? Any malocclusion?
Do they have any new stresses? Like dogs or raccoons in the barn? Goats in the area?
I would pass on the alfalfa and give them just grass hay.
How long have you been feeding the manna pro?

[GoatTalker]

My son is raising californians and he has 2 that seems to be losing weight. He has uped their grain and gave alfalfa cubes but still losing weight, does anyone know what is going on? THanks

 I would not feed alfalfa cubes if they are the horse variety.

[GoatTech]

Yes, alfalfa is not good at all for rabbits.
Hay with rabbits acts as a digestive/motility stimulant(fiber). They do not pull nutrients such as proteins/carbs from the hay and with calcium, they will pull that in excess which is not good.
A good grass hay is good for gut motility, that is what we want to achieve from the fiber.
You want to treat for cocci/worms, increase the pellets slowly, give grass hay and top dress with calf manna to get the weight on generally speaking.
Check the teeth, because a malocclusion will decrease feed intake. Also check to see how much water they are consuming. Water intake correlates specifically with feed intake.
Stresses, such as weather change, a bird in the barn, a raccoon, a dog barking, a new rabbit placed in a cage next door or a goat rubbing under the cage can cause them to decrease feed intake.

[bs_arnold]

what do you worm rabbits with?

[GoatTech]

When we give worm medicine, we worm with Ivomec cattle injectable given orally at 1/10 cc per pound. So for a 4 lb rabbit we give 0.4 cc with a TB syringe.
It is very important to run a fecal before worming. Most rabbits do not have worms. With rabbits, we tend to look for worms and cocci first to rule that out.

[bs_arnold]

I just wanted to let everyone know that we started giving a bit of calfmana andt hey have gained their weight back. They don't get much but it's helping

[GoatTalker]

 

[GoatTech]