A Few Questions About Feeding

[bunnydude]

Hi all,

I have a few questions about feeding Devon and Amber. Currently eachbunny gets a 1/4 cup of Oxbow T Pellets in the morning and about 1 1/2to 2 cups of veggies at night. Devon and Amber have separate cagesbecause Amber is technically my sister's bunny. However, they spendmost of the day together in Devon's cage because Devon's cage has anattached pen that they can use all day. They currently are left in thecage with lots of hay and water. My mom brings them their pellets everyso often, so that we can ensure that one is not hogging all thepellets. But sometimes I feel bad because their is no real schedule totheir pellet feedings. So that brings me to my questions...

-Instead of only allowing them to eat pellets while someone is there,could I leave a 1/4 cup (1/8 + 1/8) of pellets in the cage all day forthem both to eat, and then give each of them theirremaining 1/8 cup of pellets once they are back in their owncages at night?

-And, am I better to serve veggies twice a day (morning and night)?

(Sorry if that all sounds confusing. What I just wrote made sense in myhead, but who knows if it makes sense now that it is typed:shock

Thanks in advance,
Bunnydude

 

[Lissa]

What sort of veggies do you give them?I don't give mine more than 1/2 cup per day every other day.Too much calcium can be a bad thing so be careful.

As far as pellets, I have always let my bunnies have unlimited pellets and hay all day long.

 

[bunnydude]

I give them all green vegetables. I usually pick4 types per day from the following: Collard, romaine, cilantro, basil,mint, parsley, arugula, and green peppers. They get a carrot maybe oncea week. I chose my amount based on a handout the vet gave usreccomending 1 cup+ of veggies. What would some signs of too muchcalcium be?

 

[Lissa]

Dark pee can signal toomuch calcium which can lead to tract infections. I think.

 

[CorkysMom]

I believe milky urine is the symptom of too much calcium.

I give mine their pellets at nite....they then have access to hay allday long...they generally scarf the pellets pretty fast (my young onesare still on free feed) and about rip my arm off for them..funny howmuch more appreciated they pellets are when we're not on free feed!!!

You can divide up giving the pellets anyway you want....or once a daywhen they aren't together if youw ant to ensure they each get theiramount...I would make sure they always have access to hay and plenty offresh water!

 

[m.e.]

Lissa wrote:

Darkpee can signal toomuch calcium which can lead to tractinfections. I think.

Actually, too much calcium leads to urine sludge, stones, andblockages. Still not a good thing, of course. Here's a good article onthat:

Bladder Stones and "Sludge"

Also, this is from an article on the House Rabbit Society's website:

no direct scientific link between dietary calcium and an excessamount of calcium excreted in the urine has been proven, manyveterinarians are advising clients whose rabbits have urinary/bladderproblems to decrease the amount of calcium in their rabbit's diet.

(Lowering Blood Calcium, by Kathleen Wilsbach, PhD)

My rabbits get over cup of greens every day (Romaine Lettuce, SpringMix, parsely, and the occasional spinach and carrot/carrot greens).After reading about dietary calcium, and talking it over with myrabbit-savvy vet, I'm not overly worried about too much dietarycalcium. Vegetables are a great source of water and fiber, notto mention important vitamins and minerals. And the rabbits love them!

~Emily and the Fuzzbutts~

 

[Lissa]

m.e. wrote:

Lissa wrote:

Dark pee cansignal toomuch calcium which can lead to tractinfections. I think.

Actually, too much calcium leads to urine sludge, stones, andblockages. Still not a good thing, of course. Here's a good article onthat:

Thank you m.e. Off hand, do you know what causes tract infections?

 

[m.e.]

Honestly, I'm notso sure about that. One of our cats has had two within this past year,which is what led me to research on bladder stones, dietary calcium,etc. But we never did figure out what caused her UTI's.

Not to be too graphic or anything, but one of the reasons females aremore prone to UTI's than males is that it's easier for unclean "stuff"to get into the urinary tract, due to the fact that the tract isshorter and the 'opening' is much more exposed. That's why baby girlsneed to be wiped from front to back

But that's drawing from my knowledge of UTI's in humans, not animals, so I don't know if rabbits are different.

~Emily and the Fuzzbutts~

 

[bunnydude]

Thank you all for your help. They both have orange color pee, but I haven't noticed any milky urine.

 

[Lissa]

I found the link.

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=2887&forum_id=1&highlight=urinary+tract+infection