Simply oats help relieve gastrointestinal stress.

I just finished making a bunny smoothie and thought it might be interesting to share.

In theory, this could be an occasional treat for any rabbit, but for us I had a rabbit who had diarrhea. Yuck! The first step was to take him off of his regular pellets and give him some hay. Next step, oatmeal smoothie!

I had recently made some yogurt for the family, so I got about 1/2 cup of the plain, unflavored yogurt and mixed it with regular oats until the oats were coated. We’re on day three of the oatmeal smoothie for his food, along with hay, and the diarrhea… cleared up!

The active cultures from the yogurt give the natural, good bugs in the rabbit tummy a boost, while the oats add roughage into the diet, making stools more firm.

The oats are simple (I used Quaker) but here is the recipe for the home made Crock Pot yogurt. (Adapted from Money Saving Mom)

Homemade Yogurt in the Crock Pot Recipe

• 1/2 gallon milk (Whole milk will make the yogurt thicker, but any milk will work.)
• 1/2 cup plain unflavored yogurt (Any kind with live active cultures will work but I use Greek. Be sure to save a half cup of this batch of homemade yogurt to use as a starter next time!)
  

1. Pour the half gallon of milk into your Crock Pot and turn it on low. Cook it for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
2. After 2 hours and 45 minutes, turn the Crock Pot off and let it sit for 3 hours.
3. Spoon a small amount of the milk into a small bowl and add the half cup of yogurt to it. Mix together thoroughly.
4. Dump this mixture back into the milk in the Crock Pot and mix it around well.
5. Put the lid back on your Crock Pot and wrap pot with a large beach towel or blanket (make sure it is unplugged and turned off!). This step helps keep the heat in the Crock Pot and allows it to cool more slowly.
6. Let the beach-towel-wrapped Crock Pot sit for 8-12 hours (or overnight). After 8-12 hours, it should be thickened.

You can stop at this step, but I like my yogurt thicker, so I go a little farther!

1. Get a piece of cheesecloth and create a “bowl” by tying the corners around a sink or bathtub spout. (I use a large baby cloth given to me as a shower gift made of muslin. It comes in packages of three at Target).
2. Pour the yogurt into the cloth bowl and let it sit anywhere from 1 to 6 hours, depending on thickness desired. The cloth allows the whey to drain – a long hang will end up turning into cream cheese! (The whey can also be collected and used for other healthful purposes, if desired.)
3. When yogurt is desired consistency, spoon it into jars or plastic containers and refrigerate a few hours before eating. (It’s normal for the yogurt directly touching the cloth to be thicker.)

This will keep for one to two weeks in the refrigerator. Be sure to save a half cup to use as a starter for your next batch of homemade yogurt.

When we eat it we add a spoonful of sugar and about 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract to eat bowl. Yummy – and cheap!

Here is another list of Medicinal Herbs for Rabbits compiled by Rise and Shine Rabbitry. If your bunny is sick but you don’t have to use medicine, don’t!

Tagged: crockpot yogurt recipe, diarrhea, organic remedy, rabbit, tummy ache