Course Mixes – Pros / Cons | Preventing Selective Feeding | Mono Component Diets – Pros / Cons | Winter Care for Rabbits

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Course Mixes Vs Mono Component Diets

Overview
The small animal market currently offers consumers a variety of choices when it comes to the feeding of their pets. Many small animal food brands currently available contain a mixture of ingredients of varying taste, texture, shape, size and palatability. These foods are known as coarse mixes.

An alternative to this type of diet is one that is made up of identical pellets or extrusions (biscuits). This type of diet is referred to as a mono-component diet.

Mono-component diets and coarse mixes both have their advantages and disadvantages, however when deciding which type of diet to feed an animal, the lifestyle and behavioural characteristics of the animal are the main factors to consider.

Course Mixes - Pros / Cons
Rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas are known as foragers and grazers therefore feeding a coarse mix, with it's variety of ingredients, would greatly enhance their ability to perform natural behavioural patterns, by allowing the animal to decide what it eats and when.

However, when feeding product such as Russel Rabbit, Gerty Guinea Pig or Charlie Chinchilla, it is essential that all the ingredients are consumed for the animal to receive a balanced diet. If the animal is provided too much food, it may be able to satisfy its hunger by only consuming its favourable ingredients. This may lead to the animal's nutritional intake suffering.

Preventing Selective Feeding
If feeding a coarse mix and the animal is selectively feeding, there are several ways in which this can be controlled. The animal's diet can be reduced gradually to encourage them to consume more of the ingredients. If the animal is set in their ways and continues to selectively feed then feeding the animal half the required amount twice a day will prolong the overall feeding time, therefore encouraging the animal to consume more of the diet.

Alternatively, advantage can be taken of other products within the Supreme range such as Science Selective.

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Mono Component Diets - Pros / Cons

Science Selective is a mono component diet, specifically designed to prevent an animal from selectively feeding. Science Selective is a complete diet created from premium ingredients and manufactured into highly palatable extrusions. Due to all the extrusions being of identical nutritional composition and similar shape and size the ability for the animal to selectively feed is eliminated.

It could be argued that providing a naturally foraging animal with a mono component diet is reducing its ability to perform natural behaviour. However, if the animal persistently selectively feeds, in order to ensure good nutrition and to promote efficient gut function and dental wear, taking away the animals opportunity of being fed a course mix is the best option for animal and owner.

To Summarise:
Some animals are naturally very fussy eaters, and if all efforts to encourage them to consume a coarse mix fail, then providing a mono component diet is the best option.
It is always easier to encourage an animal to eat a good diet from birth. Therefore, if the animal is introduced to different ingredients correctly at a young age, then the likelihood of it selectively feeding later in life is reduced.

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Special Feature - Winter Care for Rabbits

Q. Can you provide me with any advice on how to look after my rabbits during the winter months?

A. There is often the temptation to 'mollycoddle' rabbits during winter, but this is not entirely necessary - rabbits are hardy creatures and are well adapted for extremes of cold. They have a coat with high insulation properties, and have fur pads on the bottom of their feet to protect them from the cold. This helps the rabbit to minimise heat loss in winter and also to reduce overheating in summer. Like many other mammals, rabbits will also reduce blood supply to the surface of the skin (and thereby heat loss) in colder weather, especially at the extremities e.g. ears and nose where they are poorly insulated with fur.

Weather changes and moulting
Compared to over 18 hours of daylight in the height of the summer, in winter there can be as little as 8 to 9 hours. In addition there is a reduction in the light intensity, and a drop in temperature. The weather deteriorates too - the winds become stronger, and more chilling and the amount of rain and snow increases. As the season changes, rabbits tend to spend more of their time sheltered, avoiding the wind and rain and start to moult. The rabbit sheds its fine summer coat, and grows a new thicker coat in readiness for the winter. There may be one long continuous moult throughout the year, or two quick moults at either end of the year - in this case autumn shedding is often more noticeable and more sudden. Regular brushing can help the process.

Nutrition
On the run up to winter the benefits of slightly enhanced levels of nutrition are two-fold:
It promotes new fur growth, which should keep the animal warmer. It allows the animal to gain a little extra weight, which can provide a little more insulation against the cold.

When in the run rabbits will eat grass, herbs & wild plants to supplement their diet during the summer. Most of these die off over the winter and are hence no longer available. Whilst grass does not die off, its growth is retarded.

Where the rabbit would consume a lot of grass, they will rely on a rabbit mix, hay, and dried grass and hence it will rely more heavily on its water bottle. It is therefore vital to ensure water bottles are changed and filled regularly, and defrosted in winter, otherwise dehydration can cause health problems.

Housing and location
As a rule rabbits do not require specially heated housing. Pet rabbits are usually fine kept in a dry well-ventilated, sheltered corner of the garden or yard. There must be protection from draughts, wind and rain. Repositioning the cage can make the most of the winter sunlight, and plastic sheets (or thick clear plastic slotted into the front of the wire mesh doors) over the front of the cage can prevent rain from driving in. Cages should be checked before winter to ensure that they are water and draught proof, and extra bedding can be provided if there is any doubt about the insulation.

Although not always necessary there is often the tendency to bring the hutch indoors and place in a garage, porch or shed. This is acceptable as long as there are no car fumes, and that the windows provide sufficient ventilation and light. In sheds with windows remember that temperatures can still soar on sunny days - potentially causing heat exhaustion, so leave the door or window open.

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Disease and Hygiene
In the wild, outbreaks of diseases such as myxomatosis occur later on in the year between September and November, so remember to vaccinate. Beware of flies although they may not physically be able to fly, they may still be around; flystrike has been reported as late as November.

It is important to keep the rabbit hutch clean at all times, and certainly shouldn't be neglected in the winter months. Whilst the tendency is often to leave the cage longer between cleanings the rabbits may be spending more time in their hutches than they would in summer. In this case the toilet corner will build up quicker, and unless the cage is well ventilated, ammonia can build up - this can irritate the rabbit's eyes causing them to weep, and may cause respiratory problems. Rabbits are prone to respiratory disorders - they naturally harbour pasteurella, but only tend to develop the disease, snuffles, when stressed (ammonia levels, draughts, high temperatures and damp bedding). Damp, soiled bedding can also cause sore hocks, and harbours germs in ideal conditions for multiplication. The rabbit can easily pick these up and may lead to other problems e.g. diarrhoea. Hutch cleaning should be as frequent as in the summer regardless of the weather.

Exercise and companionship
In summer, when the weather is good and owners spend more time outside, rabbits housed outside are more likely to be played with or let out (loose in the garden or put into pens). In the winter, as day length shortens, opportunities for exercise lessen, as does an owner's inclination for play. As is often the case, the rabbit is only visited at feeding times, and only handled when the hutch is cleaned out. As a result the rabbit may become bored or frustrated resulting in aggression towards the owner. Animals rely on their brief time with the owner or companion to fulfil their social needs (chasing, mutual grooming, just sitting in close proximity). Exercise can become limited in winter too. Exercise is important to maintain a level of fitness and well-being.

Whilst it is easy to fulfil housing and nutritional needs, a concerted effort should be made to fulfil the rabbit's physical and social requirements as well. This can be a bit more demanding, but none-the-less, equally important. Try to set aside an hour a day when returning form school or work. As long as it is not raining heavily, let them out in the garden or bring them inside. They benefit from the exercise, and companionship. If the weather is a little windy or cold then they will put themselves back in their hutches.

Autumn and winter can become a lonely time for your pets if you do not think about them and provide all the love and care that they need throughout this period.

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