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Silica - Interesting talk with The Hays Expert, especially for dental buns.

Barn Yard Bunnies

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I always phone in my order and have a chat about hays etc. Today we talked about dentals and what hays could be better than others for rabbits with dental problems. Lisa was saying that some research in the US has shown that the higher silicia content a hay has, the more it will grind down the teeth. Unfortunately the producers of hay only label contents such as the crude fibre and protein etc, but not the silica content.

However, some research has shown that its most likely the blades, rather than the stems, that contain more silicia. Orchard hay has a higher blade content, so hopefully has more silicia. I am trying out the orchard hay, which is expensive like the Western Timothy Hay in the hope it can delay the length between dentals. Its not conclusive and more research is needed, but any information that can help with less dentals is worth trying.
 
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That's interesting. It was something I was vaguely aware of.

What I can say is that Sky has needed dentals like clockwork, every 3 months, for the last 3 years or so. Since he started on a grass only diet (which is hand cut from the garden, so is blades of grass predominantly) he hasn't had a dental in over six months! And he was imminently due when he started his grass only diet. He hasn't shown any progression and has actually shown improvement in the spurs in his mouth.
 
That's interesting. It was something I was vaguely aware of.

What I can say is that Sky has needed dentals like clockwork, every 3 months, for the last 3 years or so. Since he started on a grass only diet (which is hand cut from the garden, so is blades of grass predominantly) he hasn't had a dental in over six months! And he was imminently due when he started his grass only diet. He hasn't shown any progression and has actually shown improvement in the spurs in his mouth.

That is amazing and very interesting.

I have made some adjustments to Mr B's diet such as few pellets and a lot more vegetables. It helped keep the latest dental away for about an extra three weeks but he has had four dentals this year and some have been less than two months apart. He is still young at 3 and its a worry that his future could be frequent dentals, I want to try anything that will help reduce this.

We share a garden and the poor dog next door hasn't been well, is on steriods and needs to frequently urinate on the grass, plus it was never good quality. However, I do think it will be worth buying seeds and soil and growing my own in trays. I may not be able to produce enough to provide this as his only food every day but I could start cutting down on other foods and make it his main diet. I have considered moving so we can have our own private garden again, it would make a huge difference to my bunnies.
 
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