Plantain calcium

Is plantain high in calcium? A bit concerned as I've feed free feeding in as part of their daily forage. I thought it was good for digestion and they love it?

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I think most healthy bunnies self regulate calcium. I remember FHB saying dandys were high compared to most. As to how high its calcium levels are a while ago (in the past year) I posted a link with calcium values in case anyone was interested - lot of trawling to find it. In general hay & forage is perfect balance to meet but not exceed calcium needs

If somebun could confirm / negate the self regulation thing?

joey&boo said:

I think most healthy bunnies self regulate calcium. I remember FHB saying dandys were high compared to most. As to how high its calcium levels are a while ago (in the past year) I posted a link with calcium values in case anyone was interested - lot of trawling to find it. In general hay & forage is perfect balance to meet but not exceed calcium needs

If somebun could confirm / negate the self regulation thing?

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See JC says calcium is not a problem unless a particular organ isn't working. I'm just concerned as mine only get 1-2 pellets a day and the rest hay and forage . Plantain is their staple

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loobers25 said:

Is plantain high in calcium? A bit concerned as I've feed free feeding in as part of their daily forage. I thought it was good for digestion and they love it?

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You've possibly read this article before: https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits/calcium-and-rabbit-food

I cannot find any data on the amount of calcium in Plantain, but I would imagine that FHB would have included this in her table if it had been higher than the others she has listed.

I actually do not deliberately limit any forage, but just try to provide a variety if I can.

Omi said:

You've possibly read this article before: https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits/calcium-and-rabbit-food

I cannot find any data on the amount of calcium in Plantain, but I would imagine that FHB would have included this in her table if it had been higher than the others she has listed.

I actually do not deliberately limit any forage, but just try to provide a variety if I can.

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I give plantain and they get a bunch of hay with a different variety of the following:
Black nettle, marigold, strawberry leafs, milk thistle seeds, lemon balm, willow leafs, sun flower, some leaf beginning with e I can't remember to spell, hazel, and I got senior support and tummy tamer mixes from hop 2 forage. Unfortunately all bought

They get unlimited hay cookies and a large dog bowl of ready grass too. Also willow, hazel and apple twigs

Can't wait to forage again

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Unless you have a specific medical need to regulate the calcium intake, there should be no problem with regular fresh forage. Rabbits need a good supply of calcium as their teeth grow continually. Insufficient calcium will cause dental issues. Excess is excreted in the urine, so rabbits are designed to deal with varying dietary calcium levels - it's only when something goes wrong that you need to actively regulate intake. So as long as they are getting plenty of water, hay / grass and mixed forage, move about and have room to do so, there should be no need to worry about regulating calcium intake. Plantain is quite good for the long fibres to aid the rabbit's digestive system and to keep the teeth in trim.

As an incredibly rough guide, all green leafy things are relatively high in calcium to non leafy food stuffs. I don't know how plantain compares to dandelion leaves though. And dried stuff is much higher in concentrated calcium compared to fresh.

Shimmer said:

Unless you have a specific medical need to regulate the calcium intake, there should be no problem with regular fresh forage. Rabbits need a good supply of calcium as their teeth grow continually. Insufficient calcium will cause dental issues. Excess is excreted in the urine, so rabbits are designed to deal with varying dietary calcium levels - it's only when something goes wrong that you need to actively regulate intake. So as long as they are getting plenty of water, hay / grass and mixed forage, move about and have room to do so, there should be no need to worry about regulating calcium intake. Plantain is quite good for the long fibres to aid the rabbit's digestive system and to keep the teeth in trim.

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Exactly this

If you are concerned that one or other of the buns has excess calcium in their urine, you can take a sample to the vet to be centrifuged and they can then make an assessment.