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cutting out pellets. need a low calicum diet

nessar said:
Sorry to complicate things further, but can I ask what and the quantities you feed now? I am just wondering whether the problem may be that she has a high calcium diet, especially as you said her favourites are spring greens and broccoli. If that was the issue, then the problem may be able to be solved with a diet that has just normal or slightly low levels of calcium in it, rather than doing such a drastic change? After all, rabbits do need a certain amount of calcium for their teeth and bones, hence the levels found in pellets.

If this was the case, a small amount of low calcium pellets and some low-calcium veg may be better for her than completely changing everything and ending up with a diet maybe a bit low in calcium.
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hi just spotted this.

she usually has a handful of pellets and 1 leaf of spring greens (i suppose they are quite big) and a couple of florets of broccoli and the occasional bit of carrot/apple as a treat. i thiunk you're right she's been having too much really. i do like the idea of the low calcium pellets and i will disscuss this with my vet :thumb:

what should i do about my other buns? should i re-think their diet as well?

not sure age is a factor but i'd like to point out that coco is 8 and my other 3 buns are 4/3.
 
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Steph_fuzzy239 said:
Hi guys

thank you all for your input. i think what i will do for now is cut out the pellets as my vet has advised. Will also stop giving her spring greens and broccoli but i will introduce some celery into her diet, give her forage foods... the woodlands also so a plantain/clover mix and a blackcurrent leaf and apple tree twigs? how does that sound? one handful of redigrass and i will make sure she has plenty of hay etc. i'll continue to give her carrot which she gets as a very occasional treat (i usually get some from my mum when she does a sunday dinner when i've been invited round!) and i'll juts see how she goes really.
Click to expand...

That all sounds really sensible. The only thing I'd say is to introduce anything new slowly and one at a time so you know what causes any problems.

Best of luck. It's a hard problem and can be dispiriting. We are all here to try to help. :)


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SJH said:
That all sounds really sensible. The only thing I'd say is to introduce anything new slowly and one at a time so you know what causes any problems.

Best of luck. It's a hard problem and can be dispiriting. We are all here to try to help. :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Thank you. yeah i feel a bit stumped really, its difficult because you feel you are giving them nice healthy foods and then it all goes a bit wrong! just want to do the best for her :) yes i will do, ill give her a tiny bit of celery and see how she goes. everything else she has had before.
 
Clover is higher than dandelion in calcium.

It really isn't easy. I wish you the best of luck x

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Hugo's There said:
I was cheating, I had a book listing it in front of me ;)

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:lol:

I didn't know that though. I've never fed it I suppose. :)

I am fairly sure the rest of the forage mentioned is fine though (I have fed all of it). :)


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Try increasing water intake to see if you can improve urine output before a mass diet change. Orange, apple or pineapple added to water :)
 
Steph_fuzzy239 said:
hi just spotted this.

she usually has a handful of pellets and 1 leaf of spring greens (i suppose they are quite big) and a couple of florets of broccoli and the occasional bit of carrot/apple as a treat. i thiunk you're right she's been having too much really. i do like the idea of the low calcium pellets and i will disscuss this with my vet :thumb:

what should i do about my other buns? should i re-think their diet as well?

not sure age is a factor but i'd like to point out that coco is 8 and my other 3 buns are 4/3.
Click to expand...

Is that every day? What brand and type of pellets?

If it is every day, then just changing the veg could be enough. I used to feed my rabbit Barney a quarter of a broccoli every day when I first got him, before I knew better, and his wee was white with calcium. Just taking the broccoli out of the equation was enough to solve that problem.

The pellets that I linked are sticks, very light, mainly made of hay, so less of an impact on her diet than normal more nutritionally dense pellets. Even if you fed just one or two sticks, from a vitamins point of view that would be beneficial for her, especially as being indoors now she does not have access to vitamin d except in pellets.

edit: I'd start to reduce the pellets (you don't want to remove them suddenly as she'll likely lose weight) and the high-calcium veg and slowly move her onto other veg. Once you notice the wee return to normal, get the vet to re-assess. It may be that you don't need to remove these things completely from her diet.
 
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nessar said:
Is that every day? What brand and type of pellets?

If it is every day, then just changing the veg could be enough. I used to feed my rabbit Barney a quarter of a broccoli every day when I first got him, before I knew better, and his wee was white with calcium. Just taking the broccoli out of the equation was enough to solve that problem.

The pellets that I linked are sticks, very light, mainly made of hay, so less of an impact on her diet than normal more nutritionally dense pellets. Even if you fed just one or two sticks, from a vitamins point of view that would be beneficial for her, especially as being indoors now she does not have access to vitamin d except in pellets.

edit: I'd start to reduce the pellets (you don't want to remove them suddenly as she'll likely lose weight) and the high-calcium veg and slowly move her onto other veg. Once you notice the wee return to normal, get the vet to re-assess. It may be that you don't need to remove these things completely from her diet.
Click to expand...

yeah that is pretty much every day. all my buns have the excel pellets, they contain mint and i found this on the internet............

The calcium mg content per 100g of food is shown alongside in brackets:

Good Calcium Providers:
• • Kale (130)
• • Spinach (170)
• • Parsley (200)
• • Watercress (170)
• • Mint (210)
• • Spring Greens (210)

Moderate Calcium Providers:
• Cabbage (49)
• Broccoli (56)
• Celery (41)
• Lettuce: round/flat (53)
• Parsnip (41)
• Swede (53)
• Turnip (48 )
• Oranges (47)
Poor Calcium Providers:
• Brussel Sprouts (26)
• Carrots (25)
• Cauliflower (21)
• Cucumber (18 )
• Peppers: Red/Green (8 )
• Tomatoes (7)
• Apple (4)
• Apricot (15)
• Banana (6)
• Kiwi Fruit (25)
• Nectarines (7)
• Peaches (7)
• Pears (11)
• Pineapple (18 )
• Strawberries (16)

which would suggest that the mint wouldn't have helped either :roll: i'm tempted to try her with the 'mature rabbit' aged 5+ (coco is around 8 years) excel nuggets that contain cranberries instead of mint, then they won't be too different to what she has now, and maybe just reduce the amount. she loved the celery, so has had another small bit today and i bought some apple twigs and blackcurrent leaves which she has also had a good munch on (she's had these a before already) i'll just cut out spring greens and broccoli, i think she's happy to try almost anything really, not a fussy eater at all and she eats plenty of hay.
 
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Steph_fuzzy239 said:
yeah that is pretty much every day. all my buns have the excel pellets, they contain mint and i found this on the internet............

The calcium mg content per 100g of food is shown alongside in brackets:

Good Calcium Providers:
• • Kale (130)
• • Spinach (170)
• • Parsley (200)
• • Watercress (170)
• • Mint (210)
• • Spring Greens (210)

Moderate Calcium Providers:
• Cabbage (49)
• Broccoli (56)
• Celery (41)
• Lettuce: round/flat (53)
• Parsnip (41)
• Swede (53)
• Turnip (48 )
• Oranges (47)
Poor Calcium Providers:
• Brussel Sprouts (26)
• Carrots (25)
• Cauliflower (21)
• Cucumber (18 )
• Peppers: Red/Green (8 )
• Tomatoes (7)
• Apple (4)
• Apricot (15)
• Banana (6)
• Kiwi Fruit (25)
• Nectarines (7)
• Peaches (7)
• Pears (11)
• Pineapple (18 )
• Strawberries (16)

which would suggest that the mint wouldn't have helped either :roll: i'm tempted to try her with the 'mature rabbit' aged 5+ (coco is around 8 years) excel nuggets that contain cranberries instead of mint, then they won't be too different to what she has now, and maybe just reduce the amount. she loved the celery, so has had another small bit today and i bought some apple twigs and blackcurrent leaves which she has also had a good munch on (she's had these a before already) i'll just cut out spring greens and broccoli, i think she's happy to try almost anything really, not a fussy eater at all and she eats plenty of hay.
Click to expand...

I don't think the excel calcium content will be too much to do with the mint, there will only be a small amount of mint in there. They add calcium carbonate to the food to provide the calcium. The level of calcium in excel adult is 0.9%, and the mature is the same, so changing to that food wouldn't make any difference calcium-wise.

However, the food that I linked before has a minimum of 0.3% calcium and maximum 0.6%, so that would make a difference. It is also formulated specifically for the urinary system and has added ingredients known to help with urinary disorders. At about 30% crude fibre it also beats the entire excel range in terms of being gentle on the tummy (excel is 19%), so win-win. They are also much lighter, and calcium content is done by weight, a handful of these will weigh less than half the same volume of excel pellets, so you won't feel as mean for cutting down on pellets.
eta -You can get it direct from your vets, or online from vetuk or TheHayExperts and a few other places.
 
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nessar said:
I don't think the excel calcium content will be too much to do with the mint, there will only be a small amount of mint in there. They add calcium carbonate to the food to provide the calcium. The level of calcium in excel adult is 0.9%, and the mature is the same, so changing to that food wouldn't make any difference calcium-wise.

However, the food that I linked before has a minimum of 0.3% calcium and maximum 0.6%, so that would make a difference. It is also formulated specifically for the urinary system and has added ingredients known to help with urinary disorders. At about 30% crude fibre it also beats the entire excel range in terms of being gentle on the tummy (excel is 19%), so win-win. They are also much lighter, and calcium content is done by weight, a handful of these will weigh less than half the same volume of excel pellets, so you won't feel as mean for cutting down on pellets.
eta -You can get it direct from your vets, or online from vetuk or TheHayExperts and a few other places.
Click to expand...

ok thank you :) you've been really helpful!
 
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