Do My Bunnies Get Enough?

[mocha200]

A while ago Lulu was dribbling urine and also got stasis and had a wet bum. We took her to the vet and got x-rays to see if she had bladder stones. She didn’t but my vet suggested we take them off of pellets so she wouldn’t have extra calcium. She believes pellets are not necessary anyways as they were created for meat rabbits. The thing is, their were no tests or anything we did to see if she really was getting to much calcium and she said that it would be fine if Mocha went off of pellets too. She said since I get such good fresh hay from a local farm (unlike the stuff sitting in bags for weeks until someone buys them) that they have a much better and healthier diet then most people can give their rabbits. I asked if I should increase the amount of veggies given as I had heard to give around 15 different kinds but she said the 4 different kinds of veggies I give a day was fine. I find myself questioning this. We just moved and will be visiting two exotic vets today to see which one is better and the next time I bring my bunnies in I am going to ask what they think about it. What do you guys think? How do I know if they are getting all of the nutrients and vitamins they need a day?

[Yuki Kathleen]

Although pellets aren’t supposed to be 100% of a rabbits diet, I would feel a bit uncomfortable taking my rabbits of pellets…My bunnies get unlimited orchard grass we get from our friend who is a farmer, Veggies daily, but I also give them each about 1/8 cup of pellets.
I think its a good idea to ask around, because not every vet has the same opinion. My vet told me that my rabbits were both healthy and I should keep doing what im doing. On the other hand, my friends vet told her that rabbits should only have 1 cup of chopped veggies a week. (I found this questionable because I have been told by almost every source that veggies should be given daily.)
Maybe if LuLu is sick, you could try buying her some of those vitamin tablets or something to get jer more vitamins??
I hope I helped!(:

[Sarita]

None of my rabbits get pellets and they are perfectly fine and my vet is fine with this as well. As for veggies, there is no way on earth you could give 15 different veggies a day nor could they eat that much. 3 or 4 different ones a day is perfectly fine – you could mix it up the next week.

With the hay and the veggies they should be getting all the vitamins and nutrition they need.

You should absolutely ask these vets – they will need to know the background on why your current vet suggested this too.

[mocha200]

Sarita: Thanks! I switch their veggies up every week anyway! Although they always get Romain lettuce.

[Sarita]

That’s totally fine about the romaine.

[mocha200]

Thanks!

[LittlePuffyTail]

My vet is also anti-pellets. She thinks they cause a lot of problems in rabbits. She recommends rabbits get no more than a sprinkle of pellets (like croutons on a salad). Reducing pellets in my buns diet has reduced the GI problems my boys were getting quite frequently.

She also recommends feeding 3-5 different types of veggies daily and switching those veggies every once in a while.

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