• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Low Calcium diet

MichG

Mama Doe
Does anyone know which pellets are best for a low calcium diet?
I use Allen and Page nautural pellets at the moment which I know are alfalfa based but I cannot find the calcium content of them. I have read that SS pellets are also Alfalfa based but only have 0.6% calcium.

I am quite confused as I need to have my buns on a low calcium diet (due to Minky's kidney problems) but trying to work out which pellets are the best has my head spinning!!
 
I think that Allen & Page are one of the lowest calcium content pellets - I remember looking in to it a while back for my buns, it was hard to find but I did get it.

Supreme have also launched a Urinary Tract problems special pellet (Vet Care Plus Urinary Formula or something similar) and it is supposed to have the lowest calcium content but I think its around the same as A&P :? Its very expensive though, but has been formulated for buns with these kinds of problems. I feed some of these pellets in with A&P to a couple of my buns.

ETA: I will try and find the links for you but it may not be til later on as I have just popped on quickly in the middle of other jobs.

Some calcium contents on this page, but not A&P or the one I have just mentioned: http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/rabbitfood.asp

According to my box the Supreme Vet Care Urinary Formula has 0.5% calcium.

This link says that Allen & Page has a calcium content of 0.59% http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...lcium-in-Pellets&highlight=calcium+allen+page
 
Last edited:
Oxbow Bunny Basics T ought to be similar to the new Supreme urinary problems diet pellet. I never understand why they add calcium carbonate to these low calcium pellets though. :?
 
Oxbow Bunny Basics T ought to be similar to the new Supreme urinary problems diet pellet. I never understand why they add calcium carbonate to these low calcium pellets though. :?

Because buns need a certain amount of calcium for bones, teeth etc. I think the Bunny Basics are meant to be min3.5 and max8%, its timothy basd rather than alfalfa.
 
She is on the Supreme pellets, but she lives with 4 other buns. I give her the Supreme ones separately, but worried the Allen and Page were really high as they are Alfalfa based.
Thanks for the figures, at least I know they are on a decent diet, I can get a 15kg sack for £8.50 so it's all good.

When I run out of the Supreme Urinary ones I might put her back on the A&P if they aren't much higher!

Thanks for your help :)
 
She is on the Supreme pellets, but she lives with 4 other buns. I give her the Supreme ones separately, but worried the Allen and Page were really high as they are Alfalfa based.
Thanks for the figures, at least I know they are on a decent diet, I can get a 15kg sack for £8.50 so it's all good.

When I run out of the Supreme Urinary ones I might put her back on the A&P if they aren't much higher!

Thanks for your help :)

I dont know if this helps or not but I had some advice via my vet from Richard Saunders that the urinary tract ones are meant to be good for the buns with these kinds of issues because the formulation contains things that are beneficial for them...so I guess it may not just be the calcium content that is important, but then again I dont know what your buns exact problem is so thats only something you can judge. At least the urinary ones are slightly less than A&P. I dont know really. They are expensive, so we just give Muesli about a quarter less of the A&P and make the rest up with the Urinary Tract ones. That said, a factsheet we were given says that "alfalfa can contain too much calcium for adult rabbits (that are not pregnat or lactating) and should be avoided in cases of 'sludge'. Timothy hay and timothy based pellets are preferred to alfalfa in these cases".

Dont know if this is helpful or not :oops: Probably just confusing things more.
 
I dont know if this helps or not but I had some advice via my vet from Richard Saunders that the urinary tract ones are meant to be good for the buns with these kinds of issues because the formulation contains things that are beneficial for them...so I guess it may not just be the calcium content that is important, but then again I dont know what your buns exact problem is so thats only something you can judge. At least the urinary ones are slightly less than A&P. I dont know really. They are expensive, so we just give Muesli about a quarter less of the A&P and make the rest up with the Urinary Tract ones. That said, a factsheet we were given says that "alfalfa can contain too much calcium for adult rabbits (that are not pregnat or lactating) and should be avoided in cases of 'sludge'. Timothy hay and timothy based pellets are preferred to alfalfa in these cases".

Dont know if this is helpful or not :oops: Probably just confusing things more.

We still don't know exactely what is wrong with her, we suspect EC has affected the kidneys, he Calcium and phosphorus levels were quite high, thats all we know at the moment, she does drink a fair bit but I haven't noticed a change in amount at all recently.

It does all make sense, I am just trying to get my head round everything so I can do my best for her to live a long and healthy life really (she is only 8 months old)
 
We still don't know exactely what is wrong with her, we suspect EC has affected the kidneys, he Calcium and phosphorus levels were quite high, thats all we know at the moment, she does drink a fair bit but I haven't noticed a change in amount at all recently.

It does all make sense, I am just trying to get my head round everything so I can do my best for her to live a long and healthy life really (she is only 8 months old)

Yeah I know what you mean, we are trying to work out whats for the best for our two buns Muesli and Kenco - Kenco has EC related incontinence and that has affected his kidneys and calcium levels. His are slightly worse than Muesli's but with Muesli we can't get to the bottom of whats caused it.

Has your bun been tested for EC? I dont know if you have watched it but we watched the Supreme Webinar on urinary issues, it was really informative, its about 45 mins long but well worth it. Then you know what kinds of things to ask your vet as well. Apologies if you've already seen it.
 
Yeah I know what you mean, we are trying to work out whats for the best for our two buns Muesli and Kenco - Kenco has EC related incontinence and that has affected his kidneys and calcium levels. His are slightly worse than Muesli's but with Muesli we can't get to the bottom of whats caused it.

Has your bun been tested for EC? I dont know if you have watched it but we watched the Supreme Webinar on urinary issues, it was really informative, its about 45 mins long but well worth it. Then you know what kinds of things to ask your vet as well. Apologies if you've already seen it.

She had the EC blood test done today. Vet couldn't get enough blood from her last week to test for that and kidneys as she was too naughty!!
I will definitely watch the Supreme Webinar!! I have it book marked on my favourites but never got round to watching it :oops:
 
She had the EC blood test done today. Vet couldn't get enough blood from her last week to test for that and kidneys as she was too naughty!!
I will definitely watch the Supreme Webinar!! I have it book marked on my favourites but never got round to watching it :oops:

Aw bless her! It is worth watching, we poured ourselves a drink and watched it together and made some notes on things we wanted to ask the vet about. Hope her test results help with the answers.
 
I dont know if this helps or not but I had some advice via my vet from Richard Saunders that the urinary tract ones are meant to be good for the buns with these kinds of issues because the formulation contains things that are beneficial for them...so I guess it may not just be the calcium content that is important, but then again I dont know what your buns exact problem is so thats only something you can judge. At least the urinary ones are slightly less than A&P. I dont know really. They are expensive, so we just give Muesli about a quarter less of the A&P and make the rest up with the Urinary Tract ones. That said, a factsheet we were given says that "alfalfa can contain too much calcium for adult rabbits (that are not pregnat or lactating) and should be avoided in cases of 'sludge'. Timothy hay and timothy based pellets are preferred to alfalfa in these cases".

Dont know if this is helpful or not :oops: Probably just confusing things more.


:wave: do you mind if i ask where you got the factsheet?
 
Just listened to the webinar, she said that actually some Alfalfa is good for a bun with UT/kidney probs as it is a diuretic so to have a small amount is actually fine :)
 
Because buns need a certain amount of calcium for bones, teeth etc. I think the Bunny Basics are meant to be min3.5 and max8%, its timothy basd rather than alfalfa.

Right, but what I'm thinking is that surely it's better to have natural calcium in the form of alfalfa or similar than added calcium carbonate. I've not had experience of a bun with bladder issues, but it has been a huge problem to me with piggies, and Oxbow Cavy Cuisine really wasn't a lot of help, with the calcium carbonate (most guinea pig stones are compromised of calcium carbonate).
 
the bigger worry for me is that alfalfa is actually a legume and has double the amount of protein to fibre which is not a good ratio for any herbivore and although it also has calcium properties, the other minerals are massive in comparison to the calcium.
Alfalfa will not do any harm as long as it's mixed with high fibre grasses/wildflowers but it's not something i would recommend to feed daily.
timothy all the way!! :lol:
 
Back
Top