Dry Pellets

[TK Bunnies]

I was just at the vets yesterday with my adult rabbit Teacup, we found out that she has bladder stones caused by excess calcium in here diet. The culprit? Our dry rabbit pellets. So we've switched to Oxbow. So I have both a question and a warning for other rabbit owners.

Warning:If you are using Purina Mills Rabbit Chow it has given my rabbit over 11 bladder stones, you may want to consider switching. I really had no idea that her pellets could do that!!

Question:The vet said I should cut down on the amount of pellets given to my rabbits. So I mixed 1/3 cup Oxbow with 2/3 cups Purina (We're slowly switching the pellets over) and put 1/2 cup of the mixture into Teacup's bowl and 1/2 cup into Vinagan's bowl (We are keeping Teacup caged until she goes back to the vet). They haven't eaten it all yet, so I was wondering what is the correct amount to give them if they are on a fewer pellets more vegetables and hay diet?

-TK :brownbunny

 

[tamsin]

How big are your rabbits? I feed about 15g of dry food per 1kg of rabbit. It does vary depending on other things too like the amount of exercise but you can tweek it by monitoring their weight.

 

[TK Bunnies]

Teacup is 4 1/2 pounds and Vinagan's probably around 5 pounds, they both get a lot of exercise generally.

 

[slavetoabunny]

I think a 1/4 cup each per day is plenty. I feed my buns 1/8 cup in the morning and 1/8 cup in the evening. They also get a morning salad of romaine, cilantro, a few baby spinich leaves, and one baby carrot. They are all huge hay eaters too.

 

[missyscove]

My buns are each around 4.5 lbs. They each get 1/4 cup of oxbow bunny basics/T every morning, free choice timothy hay and about 2 cups of veggies, half in the morning, half at night.

 

[kirbyultra]

How old are your rabbits?

I feed my 3.5 year old bun very little pellets. Maybe just 1/8 a day. He puts on weight very easily even though I give him exercise time every day. My younger 11 month old bun gets less than 1/4 cup a day. They get a huge plate of salad twice a day and lots of orchard grass and timothy hay daily.

I feel like I've read some other threads where members have adamantly supported feeding Purina rabbit chow without issue, though. Not sure if it's the same as Purina "mills".

 

[TK Bunnies]

Ok I think I'll try 1/4 cup for each.

There is a bit of a gap between Teacup and Vinagan in age. Teacup will be 9 this month and Vinagan will be 4 in April.

I've always supported Purina, they bunnies liked it and they seemed healthy, but mabey it was just that we never really limited them. I really don't know, but the vet said that we should switch to a different brand. I'm not really sure

 

[Jessyka]

I'm switching Bayou off Purina. Ever since he's started eating it, he's been moulting non stop for almost 6 months! I'm on to Oxbow Basics/T now. Hopefully that'll help him lose a little weight too.

 

[elrohwen]

I've been told that some rabbits are prone to bladder stones while others aren't. Yes, diet can cause the stones, but only in bunnies who are already predisposed to have them, if that makes sense. I know a bun who is on a strict no-pellets diet because of his severe bladder stones. He was getting Oxbow before, which is obviously high quality, so it wasn't that the food was bad, just that it was bad for him, personally. Some bunnies just metabolize calcium wrong and it ends up as bladder stones/sludge.

I also agree with the others that 1/4c per day should be more than enough pellets. Just make sure you reduce the amount gradually - don't take them down to that level all at once.

 

[Snowballbun]

My bunny, Snowball has been to the vet 3 times now in the last month or so. She has so many allergies! But, she has a lot of calcium in her urine, (I guess sludge) and so the vet told me to cut back on the pellets, and feed only 1/8 cup a day. She is a hotot dwarf and a little over 2 1/2 pounds. I've always read that rabbits are supposed to have unlimited pellets when they are a baby because she is only 4 months old? I am switching to Timothy Hay instead of alfalfa because of the calcium. Do you think feeding unlimited Timothy pellets would be okay since that would have less calcium? I have been buying bulk so I am not sure how much alfalfa/timothy the pellets have. The pet store owner said that is what the breeder feeds his rabbits. The vet also said to start feeding more veggies. This is also my first bun so I am trying to figure out what to feed her except for Romaine lettuce. I have read rabbit menus, but I'm not sure of how much or what.

Also, she has missing fur under her nose and it looks scabby. The Vet prescribed Virbac Hexadene..medicated shampoo for her lip.Her female parts look red and the same as her lip. Do you think this is some type of allergy from her diet or something more serious?

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Just wanted to put in a note that Purina is a very, very good pellet choice. I've been using it for several months now with no problems.

Do you usually feed only pellets? Are there any greens or hay included in the diet? If so, what kind?

A quality pellet, fed in moderation, shouldn't be causing such issues by itself since pellets are specifically designed to be a balanced diet. And most do a good job of that. So it would seem to me that excess calcium may be adding up within the entire diet, not just the pellets.

 

[Snowballbun]

I feed a lot of pellets. I also have been feeding romaine or leaf lettuce once a day, and alfalfa hay twice a day. Perhaps it is this? I had taken her to the vet for a recheck (from an allergy to pine that caused irritation to her eye)..because she is still sneezing a ton! I don't know if that might also be because of the hay. The doctor seems to think it is not snuffles. She eats a lot, acts normal, etc. She doesn't really have discharge either.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Snowballbun wrote:

I feed a lot of pellets. I also have been feeding romaine or leaf lettuce once a day, and alfalfa hay twice a day. Perhaps it is this? I had taken her to the vet for a recheck (from an allergy to pine that caused irritation to her eye)..because she is still sneezing a ton! I don't know if that might also be because of the hay. The doctor seems to think it is not snuffles. She eats a lot, acts normal, etc. She doesn't really have discharge either.

I just read your post above mine as well. I don't mean to hijack TK Bunnies' original post, but it sounds like I may be able to help a little with your bunnies' diet as well.

First of all, it sounds like everything your feeding has a lot of calcium in it, which can cause that sludge in the urine which will calcify and stick to the inside of the litter box.

Secondly, although buying in bulk can be cheaper, I highly recommend buying pre-packaged bags of pellets. This will give you the exact protein, fat, and fiber content on the back of the bag. This way, you can see exactly what your rabbit is eating. Bulk pellets are packaged by the store owner and contents may vary from time to time. Not only can a sudden change in diet cause illness, you also cannot be sure exactly what's contained in the pellets. This makes it hard to properly balance your diet.

Following up to that, a timothy pellet would be fine or alfalfa would also be fine, depending on what is available to you. But alfalfa is what contains all the calcium you'll see in a regular diet. So as you can probably add up yourself, feeding alfalfa hay on top of alfalfa pellets (which are essentially just pelleted hay) is a double does of calcium. Add in Romaine, and you have a diet full of extra calcium.

To balance the diet a bit better, I would suggest feeding one of the following diets below:

1. Alfalfa pellets and fresh timothy or grass hay, no greens

2. Timothy pellets, fresh timothy or grass hay, calcium-rich greens

In diet #1, you'll see that I eliminated greens and changed the hay to timothy. This is because the alfalfa pellets contain all the calcium your rabbit needs and the timothy hay will provide plenty of fiber. There is really no need for the greens, in fact, it would be overkill.

Or, in diet #2, I switched the whole diet to timothy, but still allowed the Romaine and other greens you've been giving. Which again, is still a balanced diet, but without too much calcium.

I hope this helps!

 

[Snowballbun]

Thank you so much, I have been so worried about my bun. Next time maybe I should post my own, but I just saw that it was under dry pellets and that TK had excess calcium in their bun's diet too. Do you think I should cut back on the amount of pellets at all? OR does it depend on what kind of pellets they are?

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Snowballbun wrote:

Thank you so much, I have been so worried about my bun. Next time maybe I should post my own, but I just saw that it was under dry pellets and that TK had excess calcium in their bun's diet too. Do you think I should cut back on the amount of pellets at all? OR does it depend on what kind of pellets they are?

Personally, I suggest about 1/2 cup of pellets per 5 lbs. body weight, at any age as a general rule. Then I modify the diet as needed. If someone's looking chunky, I'll limit a bit more. Or if someone's a little thin, I'll up the amount. But if you like feeding unlimited, I'd just suggest limiting pellets upon maturity, around the age of 6 months for smaller breeds or 8 months for larger breeds.