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Have you changed your stasis-prone bun onto muesli food...

scatter

Alpha Buck
I know this is a bit of a contraversial area.

However, after speaking to one person oh here and I know of two others, I was just wondering if anybody has a very stasis-prone bun that has been moved off pellets onto muesli mix (only a small amount each day - same as pellets and plenty of hay) and has done better on it?

I really am starting to wonder if the way the pellets are processed, or concentrated is just too much for stasis-prone buns at certain times (moults,etc.) and just would like to know of any successes.

Desperate times call for desperate measures:?:wave:
 
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I don't have stasis prone buns but if you are looking at a muesli rabbit royale is pretty good - lots of flowers and natural stuff.
Fibafirst isn't a muesli might be worth looking at as well as it's very high fibre and largely hay.
 
I don't have stasis prone buns but if you are looking at a muesli rabbit royale is pretty good - lots of flowers and natural stuff.
Fibafirst isn't a muesli might be worth looking at as well as it's very high fibre and largely hay.

Thanks:)
 
Yes, I have and for the Rabbit's concerned it has been very successful so far

I would not advocate feeding a muesli type food as the norm though. However, sometimes the rules have to be broken to accommodate the specific needs of an individual Rabbit.
 
I sometimes wonder if it's the binders used for the pellets.

This is what I've been wondering - it's really strange, but I keep hearing about success stories from people going back to muesli - it just goes against everything we're told doesn't it, but sometimes perhaps it's the best option!
 
Yes, I have and for the Rabbit's concerned it has been very successful so far

I would not advocate feeding a muesli type food as the norm though. However, sometimes the rules have to be broken to accommodate the specific needs of an individual Rabbit.

That's the truth! I've tried the obvious, good quality ones and there is no apparent reason - I'm so strict about everything. My vet and I are just trying to think of everything!
 
I'm actually planning on discussing this with the vet tomoro, Rupert keeps getting gas, and I've read a lot about switching to muesli.... he's only had one episode (touch wood) since October tho (longest he's gone) since I put him on 10g (down from 25g) pellets per day and cut out all herbs.
 
Yes, I have and for the Rabbit's concerned it has been very successful so far

I would not advocate feeding a muesli type food as the norm though. However, sometimes the rules have to be broken to accommodate the specific needs of an individual Rabbit.

I'm actually planning on discussing this with the vet tomoro, Rupert keeps getting gas, and I've read a lot about switching to muesli.... he's only had one episode (touch wood) since October tho (longest he's gone) since I put him on 10g (down from 25g) pellets per day and cut out all herbs.

Oh thanks - yes this is Poppy's problem. She keeps having gassy episodes, but had a really bad stasis one last week, so I'm really wanting to try something different now... Please let me know how you get on at vets tomorrow. I'm seeing my vet on Monday again...
 
I have too and generally feed a muesli to buns normally fed on pellets who are recovering from stasis or other illness.

TBH decades ago muesli mixes were the norm and pellets have only become so much more popular in recent years following the launch of Burgess Excel and its high profile marketing and I remain unconvinced by the current hype. Looking back 20-30-40+ years ago, Excel and the like didn't exist but I can't say that my rabbits ever suffered more stasis and in all these years, not a single rabbit has required any dental treatment yet apart from a Netherland Dwarf I bought from a pet shop without spotting his early signs of malocclusion - my mistake.

There are arguments against pellets too - too concentrated, don't encourage foraging and (quality) mixes based on natural ingredients can be just as good for buns who don't selectively feed. I believe there is research to support this too, including some undertaken by Supreme Petfoods 1-2 years ago, but this is always overshadowed by Burgess.

I agree with Battlekat above - D&H Rabbit Royale is one of the better mixes with high fibre. It went through a spell of being quite sticky about 6 years ago but this might have been a one-off batch.

I do feed a pellet, BTW, along with grass and a lot of fresh long meadow hay which I believe is the most important part of an adult rabbit's diet.
 
I have too and generally feed a muesli to buns normally fed on pellets who are recovering from stasis or other illness.

TBH decades ago muesli mixes were the norm and pellets have only become so much more popular in recent years following the launch of Burgess Excel and its high profile marketing and I remain unconvinced by the current hype. Looking back 20-30-40+ years ago, Excel and the like didn't exist but I can't say that my rabbits ever suffered more stasis and in all these years, not a single rabbit has required any dental treatment yet apart from a Netherland Dwarf I bought from a pet shop without spotting his early signs of malocclusion - my mistake.

There are arguments against pellets too - too concentrated, don't encourage foraging and (quality) mixes based on natural ingredients can be just as good for buns who don't selectively feed. I believe there is research to support this too, including some undertaken by Supreme Petfoods 1-2 years ago, but this is always overshadowed by Burgess.

I agree with Battlekat above - D&H Rabbit Royale is one of the better mixes with high fibre. It went through a spell of being quite sticky about 6 years ago but this might have been a one-off batch.

I do feed a pellet, BTW, along with grass and a lot of fresh long meadow hay which I believe is the most important part of an adult rabbit's diet.



Thank you - those are very good points. I always fed my old buns on Russell Rabbit and although one had genetic tooth problems, she lived to ten and my other was 9 and they never had stasis. I'm really suspicious about pellets now - and whilst I know there are many good reasons for them and I do feed both mine on them at the moment, I'm seriously considering, changing Poppy onto muesli because of her ongoing problems.
 
This is a really interesting topic :thumb:. It reminds me very much of the current dog food debate. Years ago, dogs were fed bones and scraps. Then the dog food manufacturers and vets decided that a kibbled and complete food was the ONLY way to feed, so everyone did that. But now, people are breaking away again and going back to feeding bones and scraps and raw food.

I feed my buns SS pellets. Aside from selective feeding and artificial colours and sugars, what ELSE is wrong with museli foods? Just curious really as mine all do OK on pellets so I don't plan on swapping.
 
This is a really interesting topic :thumb:. It reminds me very much of the current dog food debate. Years ago, dogs were fed bones and scraps. Then the dog food manufacturers and vets decided that a kibbled and complete food was the ONLY way to feed, so everyone did that. But now, people are breaking away again and going back to feeding bones and scraps and raw food.

I feed my buns SS pellets. Aside from selective feeding and artificial colours and sugars, what ELSE is wrong with museli foods? Just curious really as mine all do OK on pellets so I don't plan on swapping.

I think it is the selective feeding that is the main issue. Rabbits then end up on a high starch low fibre diet as they leave the most nutritious but less palatable bits. This then contributes to gut problems and Dental problems.

I feed all mine a mix of Rabbit Royale and A+P Breeder Pellets. None selectively feed and all those with previous very frequent episodes of gut stasis have either had no further episodes at all or if they have they have been far less frequent. Having nearly lost 3 Rabbits to choking on SS, as have several other people, I personally would never feed it again.
 
I feed my buns SS pellets. Aside from selective feeding and artificial colours and sugars, what ELSE is wrong with museli foods? Just curious really as mine all do OK on pellets so I don't plan on swapping.

I *think* that muesli is also low in fibre and often has peas or wheat as the main ingredients rather than grass that good quality pellets do, so is less natural. This http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp is a comparison chart of lots of different food brands and the ones that say muesli or mix seem to fair worse.

Obviously the selective feeding you mentioned is a big problem and im yet to meet a bunny that doesnt leave at least one part of muesli. I also really dont agree with added sugars and colours, they are so unnecessary and can only be a bad thing.

Also to those saying 20-30yrs ago dental problems were rare despite museli being fed, i believe dental problems are more likely now due to poor breeding practices anyway and there is more knowlegde of them now too, so i think more people get treatment for their pet now and dont leave it to effectively starve to death or get it pts. Rabbits lifespan was also shorter 5-8 yrs instead of the 8-12yrs expected now. There also does seem to be a lot of strong evidence that museli worsens teeth and i cant see pets at hime changing what they sell unless the evidence was incredibly strong (lets face it they dont bother with alot of things).

Obviously with poorly buns you have to try anything though so, if it works for one particular bun, then do it for that bun.
 
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I feed all mine a mix of Rabbit Royale and A+P Breeder Pellets. None selectively feed and all those with previous very frequent episodes of gut stasis have either had no further episodes at all or if they have they have been far less frequent. Having nearly lost 3 Rabbits to choking on SS, as have several other people, I personally would never feed it again.

I think that's a good combination combining the best of both with quite a high level of protein. I've also used the A&P Breeder Grower pellets (yellow bag) with excellent results and visibly glossy coats while the Rabbit Royale is one of my buns' favourites, especially the dandelion/marigold heads.

I agree some muesli mixes are highly-coloured junk with far too little fibre but have used Rabbit Royale, Russel Rabbit and Mr Johnson's Supreme mix with success and nothing left in the licked-clean bowl!
 
This is a really interesting topic :thumb:. It reminds me very much of the current dog food debate. Years ago, dogs were fed bones and scraps. Then the dog food manufacturers and vets decided that a kibbled and complete food was the ONLY way to feed, so everyone did that. But now, people are breaking away again and going back to feeding bones and scraps and raw food.

I feed my buns SS pellets. Aside from selective feeding and artificial colours and sugars, what ELSE is wrong with museli foods? Just curious really as mine all do OK on pellets so I don't plan on swapping.


Yes - the dog food thing is another thing I'm interested in!!

Well, researching a few of the muesli foods - not sure about the colours, but a lot of them seem to be sugar free - my investigations are ongoing:?
 
I think it is the selective feeding that is the main issue. Rabbits then end up on a high starch low fibre diet as they leave the most nutritious but less palatable bits. This then contributes to gut problems and Dental problems.

I feed all mine a mix of Rabbit Royale and A+P Breeder Pellets. None selectively feed and all those with previous very frequent episodes of gut stasis have either had no further episodes at all or if they have they have been far less frequent. Having nearly lost 3 Rabbits to choking on SS, as have several other people, I personally would never feed it again.

That's another good point Jack's Jane - are pellets just the same as muesli all packed together? As long as they are eating everything, surely it's not that bad! Interesting that yours have had reduced episodes too...
 
I *think* that muesli is also low in fibre and often has peas or wheat as the main ingredients rather than grass that good quality pellets do, so is less natural. This http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp is a comparison chart of lots of different food brands and the ones that say muesli or mix seem to fair worse.

Obviously the selective feeding you mentioned is a big problem and im yet to meet a bunny that doesnt leave at least one part of muesli. I also really dont agree with added sugars and colours, they are so unnecessary and can only be a bad thing.

Also to those saying 20-30yrs ago dental problems were rare despite museli being fed, i believe dental problems are more likely now due to poor breeding practices anyway and there is more knowlegde of them now too, so i think more people get treatment for their pet now and dont leave it to effectively starve to death or get it pts. Rabbits lifespan was also shorter 5-8 yrs instead of the 8-12yrs expected now. There also does seem to be a lot of strong evidence that museli worsens teeth and i cant see pets at hime changing what they sell unless the evidence was incredibly strong (lets face it they dont bother with alot of things).

Obviously with poorly buns you have to try anything though so, if it works for one particular bun, then do it for that bun.

Yes, this is the thing. I have exhausted every possibility and there is no obvious explanation for Poppy's issues with stasis. I am just interested if it's worth a try with the muesli as it does apparently seem to be working for some buns. I accept that it is a small minority, but if works, then I'm willing to try.
 
I think that's a good combination combining the best of both with quite a high level of protein. I've also used the A&P Breeder Grower pellets (yellow bag) with excellent results and visibly glossy coats while the Rabbit Royale is one of my buns' favourites, especially the dandelion/marigold heads.

I agree some muesli mixes are highly-coloured junk with far too little fibre but have used Rabbit Royale, Russel Rabbit and Mr Johnson's Supreme mix with success and nothing left in the licked-clean bowl!


Yes, perhaps a mix of pellets and muesli is perhaps the first way to go.
 
this is really interesting. i have been feeding my buns SS and Smudge has had about 6 episodes of stasis in a year... I had been considering changing over the pellets to some other make...
 
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