marchi1990
Mama Doe
Lately I have seen more and more mentions of rabbits choking on SS pellets - now, how frequent do you think this is and is there any way to minimise it?
Thank you.
Thank you.
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Lately I have seen more and more mentions of rabbits choking on SS pellets - now, how frequent do you think this is and is there any way to minimise it?.
obviously Smudge is susceptible.
As one whose bunny choked on SS I'm unsure whether it is SS or pellets in general but obviously Smudge is susceptible. I switched to Fibafirst as it is far less dense so breaks up. Also as they have to take a 'stick' and chew it up as it's far too big to eat in one go, they have to take it a little slower.
I don't find it more expensive either, one £10 box lasts my three bunnies about three months, one 1.5kg £3 bag would last them one month. So it works out pretty much the same. The only annoying thing is I can only get it online.
It does make me wonder if there's anything common to most of the bunnies who are choking - some kind of dental issue maybe? Even if the rabbits are not 'official' dental buns as it were, but perhaps have something not quite right with the normal occlusion. Something like that might impact on the way that the rabbit picks up and chews the pellet, and hence the type of pellet (large, small, even, uneven etc) may have a different effect depending on the exact issue that the bun has.
I think Fibafirst is by far the best 'hard feed' for Rabbits. I cant afford to feed all mine on it though. When my numbers reduce ( ) I hope to be able to do so.
It does seem to last but you're right it is expensive when you add in carriage costs
It does make me wonder if there's anything common to most of the bunnies who are choking - some kind of dental issue maybe? Even if the rabbits are not 'official' dental buns as it were, but perhaps have something not quite right with the normal occlusion. Something like that might impact on the way that the rabbit picks up and chews the pellet, and hence the type of pellet (large, small, even, uneven etc) may have a different effect depending on the exact issue that the bun has.
We've put their pellet intake right down now and we have 2 full 5kg bags left! The fibafirst has gone down really well though and they take ages eating it. I bought it to see if we could get more fibre in Poppy but its too hard for her :lol: the others are enjoying it though
Might go to the hay experts next time then :thumb:
Ludo is on SS as he's a stasis bun and I'm not changing a food routine that works!
However, I won't let him eat it until I've broken each piece up into 2-3 smaller pieces and he's watched as he eats it.
It is a concern, I must say.
I no longer feed SS as I have witnessed and heard about too many choking incidents. They might all be just a coincidence, but having nearly lost a Rabbit to choking I am not prepared to take the risk.