Anyone Know of a Study...

into GI stasis in wild rabbits? It's so prevalent in domestic buns I wonder how many wild succumb to it.

I have not heard of one - I wonder how people would know. I would think the wild bun in GI stasis would hide away where they wouldn;t be noticed. But apart from poisoning I can't think of a reason a wild bun would go into stasis. They have better constructed head shapes so do not suffer the teeth issues of domestic buns. They have a proper bun diet so their teeth wear correctly. And they do not get rich inappropriate food.

I wondered if there are, or have been, studies carried out along the lines of those by R. M. Lockley.

I know the breeding problems contribute along with dietary issues but with all the recent changes to bunny diet and the return to wild type feeding surely a fall in GI cases should show up.

Perhaps the lower average LE of wild rabbits is a factor to.

I asked Anne about this some time ago. She said that wild buns do not get dietary derived gut stasis. They can get it with extremes of temperature and fright, just like our pets do. They also don't get GI obstruction.

It wasn't a study as such, but she spent 3 years observing buns all over the world, for her PhD, which turned into two books

Thanks Jay. Good job the Lollster loves his hay. After his tummy upset last month he's been eating so much more hay... I've thought of changing his name to Stack!

woodwench wrote:I know the breeding problems contribute along with dietary issues but with all the recent changes to bunny diet and the return to wild type feeding surely a fall in GI cases should show up.

But this positive change is affecting such a small amount of rabbits, that there isn't likely to be a recognisable change overall. Owners who've taken the time to research will probably provide a more naturally based diet, but they (us) are in the minority

The PDSA PAW report on rabbits...
Key findings
Diet disaster for UK bunnies.
● Rabbits fare the worst on diet when compared to the other species surveyed.
● 42% of rabbits eat less than their body size in hay or grass each day, with a further 3% not eating any hay at all. Given the essential role that
hay and grass play in ensuring the health and wellbeing of rabbits, it is of particular concern that 9% of rabbit owners did not know how much of these foods their rabbits are eating. In summary, around 750,000 rabbits are not eating the recommended daily amount of hay or grass.
● Owners most commonly use ‘commonsense’ (22%) or ‘past experience’ with rabbits (18%) when deciding how to feed their pets, and this contributes to bad feeding practices and associated health problems.
● 10% of owners are giving their rabbits leftovers. Human foods that owners report feeding include cheese, cake, toast, crisps, chocolate and biscuits meant for humans.
● 88% of owners give their rabbits carrots, but these should only be fed occasionally as they are high in sugar. The leafy tops however are high in calcium, which is beneficial.
● Rabbit muesli is another serious concern with 49% of owners reporting it is one of the main typesof food that their rabbit gets.
● 65% of owners giving a treat do so daily and 28% weekly.
● Furthermore, rabbit owners report the most satisfaction compared to dog and cat owners, when giving a treat to their pet, with 56% saying it makes them feel happy and 45% saying it makes them feel caring.

So much more needs to be done, but primarily, the perception of the rabbit as a companion pet needs altering.

As far as I know wild rabbits don't get it due to what they eat.

I do apologise I see Jay has mentioned this, I have a bad habit of not reading all the thread, from now on I will.

Norty Maysie