# Feeding Canned Pumpkin...



## Jenk (Jul 23, 2008)

My one bun, Emma, is shedding. Despite brushing her twice daily, some of her poop is decreasing in size;I've decided to try feeding her canned pumpkin (again). 

I've a few general questions about feeding canned pumpkin:

*1) *For rabbits that don't eat pumpkin regularly, how slowly do you re-introduce it(e.g., feed 1/2 t. for the first day, 1 T. the next day, etc.)?

*2) *What is the maximum amount of pumpkin recommended to feed to a small (3-lb.) bun?

*3) *How much time usually elapses before pumpkin moves (enlarges) poop again--e.g., 24 hrs., 48 hrs., etc.? (I don't know how long is _too_ long to wait; Iwouldn't want to miss the right time to start stronger meds., if necessary.)

*4) *What are some tricksto encourage a reluctant bun to eat pumpkin? (Emma didn't want to try it previously, which made it nearly impossible to get any of it into her.)

Thank you,

Jenk


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## Luvmyzoocrew (Jul 23, 2008)

for tricks to feeding pumpkin to buns try taking something that is her favorite veggie and putting some pumpkin onto it to get her to "try" it then she might figure out that she actualy likes it. I did this with my one rabbit and she now eats it on her own, my moms rabbit never touched it before and it only took a few time with her nibbling it for her to finally eat it without hesitation


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## Haley (Jul 23, 2008)

Id say start with a small amount like a teaspoon and see how she does. I have given up to maybe 1/3 cup a day for a 4 lb bun. 

However, the main reason a lot of us use pumpkin as a source of supplemental fiber forour buns is because they like it and will take it willingly. If she wont take it willingly, youre better off going with watered down timothy pellets- which will have a lot more fiber and a lot less carbs. You can soak some pellets in water (and even add some pumpkin and/or pedialyte) for about 30 mins and then syringe it to her. But the best thing is lots of water and/or pedialyte and lots of different hays for her to munch on. 

Remember though, if shes really not having too much of a problem, worrying about it and stressing her out by forcefeeding her could make things a lot worse for her. 

Hope shes well soon!


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## Jenk (Jul 23, 2008)

*Haley wrote: *


> Remember though, if shes really not having too much of a problem, worrying about it and stressing her out by forcefeeding her could make things a lot worse for her.


Quite true. Since I've cleaned Emma's litter box this morning, she's had mostly normal-sized, healthy-lookingpoops. :bunnydance:

I'm still going to buy some more canned pumpkin to have on hand. I'll likely put some on her greens tonight just to see if I can convince her to eat some of it on her own. She's not at the point of requiring force-feeding, and I wouldn't want to put her through that again, unless absolutely necessary.


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## Haley (Jul 23, 2008)

Thats great news!

Try putting a blob of the pumpkin on a piece of romaine lettuce or something (maybe even put a raisin on top) and hopefully she'll try it. All of my buns go nuts for pumpkin, which makes it easier to feed to them when theyre not feeling well. And if the dry poops are something she struggles with often, you could even start giving her a teaspoon full every day with her pellets or greens


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## Jenk (Jul 23, 2008)

*Haley wrote: *


> Try putting a blob of the pumpkin on a piece of romaine lettuce or something (maybe even put a raisin on top) and hopefully she'll try it.


Convienently enough, I have fresh Romaine lettuce in the house.  I will attempt to sneak some pumpkin onto it for tonight's feeding.


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## Jenk (Jul 24, 2008)

I couldn't get Emma to eat the teaspoonful of pumpkin that I added to her greens tonight. I offered her a little of it on my finger; nogo. So I pretended to eat (and enjoy) it before re-offering it to her on my finger;still no go. Dang it.At least she all the "un-tainted" greens in her dish.

So far, she's still producing poop (most of it normal-sized), but I admit that I'm feeling semi-scared;Emma wound up hospitalized the last time she had stasis. My husband and Ican't afford to go through that experience the four-or-so timesthat she sheds yearly. And I highly doubt that she wants to repeat it.


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## AngelnSnuffy (Jul 24, 2008)

Did you just put it on top of the romaine? When my bun had heart failure and wouldn't take his meds, I would hide it inside the greens, it worked for a time or two, til he caught on, but it's worth a shot. Try wrapping it up like a burrito. Best of luck!


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## Jenk (Jul 24, 2008)

*AngelnSnuffy wrote: *


> Did you just put it on top of the romaine? When my bun had heart failure and wouldn't take his meds, I would hide it inside the greens, it worked for a time or two, til he caught on, but it's worth a shot. Try wrapping it up like a burrito. Best of luck!


The first time, I smeared a small amount atop the Romaine. But I took your advice and put a little less than a teaspoonful inside a large lettuce leaf, which I then rolled tightly. 

Now, it could just be coincidence--or the heaviness of the added pumpkin--but I swear that Emma did this on purpose: She maneuvered the lettuce leaf so that it unraveled, causing the pumpkin to roll out and flop to the ground before she got to the end of the leaf; then,of course, she ignored the pumpkin where it lay. :?

I'll try again tomorrow with slightly softer pumpkin. (The stuff I used tonight was semi-chilled, having been in the freezer for about an hour.)


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