Dirk’s diet, did it contribute to his death?

[SeventhCyclist]

I’ve already lamented the passing of my little buddy Harlequin, Dirk. Now I’m reflecting on whether his diet let to him suddenly falling so ill. I’d appreciate any insight from the very experienced user base here.

Dirk started on alfalfa hay and Timothy hay mixed together, and simple Timothy hay pellets. I was always bringing home veggies for him to try as well. He didn’t like carrots or celery, he was meh about broccoli but he absolutely loved kale and apples. When he got a bit bigger I got him some adult rabbit food that had all sorts of little treats in it, dried fruit, oats and so on. He started picking out the tastier bits and neglecting the pellets. He actually used to dump his bowl after all the good bits were gone. I gave him kale pretty often, every other day I’d say and apple slices a few times a week.

I never thought too much of him preferring the “junk food” because I always kept hay and pellets available for him. But if he was filling up on low fiber stuff and not eating his hay or pellets, could that have been a cause of his GI stasis? I researched and really tried to supply him with everything he needed for a healthy life. But I can’t help but feel at fault for not noticing and correcting his bad diet habits. Lack of experience is no excuse.

Thank you in advance.

[LBJ10]

Oh sweetie, don’t beat yourself up. You obviously loved Dirk very much. I’m sure you took care of him the best you could. The sad truth is that there are things out there marketed for specific pets and a lot of it isn’t good for them. Yes, seeds, oats, and other goodies are like feeding your bunny candy. But these things make them fat more than anything else. There are bunnies who have the “perfect” diet and still have GI issues, while there are other bunnies who are fed all the wrong things and live to be 12 or 13. Some of it has to do with diet and it certainly isn’t good if they ignore their hay…….. BUT a lot of it is genetics too. The same goes with teeth and other common bunny ailments.

[skysblue]

kale… kale is bad…

[LBJ10]

Kale isn’t bad. Why would you think kale is bad?

[skysblue]

I know Kale is in list of suggested veggie by HRS, and i used to feed it to my old rabbit. I’d say Kale played part of her death and it still haunts me, so i am never to feed any kale again – “a burnt child dreads the fire”.

[Bam]

skysblue, I’m sorry that you lost your bunny. It’s so sad. In what way do you think kale contributed to her death? Many of us here feed our buns kale, and when I do an Internet search I find conflicting information, but nothing really on what it is that makes kale bad. It used to be thought that it’s high in oxalates, but the HRS says it actually isn’t.

SeventhCyclist, I agree with LBJ, food is important and all, but genetics play a big role. Bunnies have not traditionally been bred for longevity, since they’ve mostly been intended for fur and meat production. The house bunnies we keep never get any offspring since they almost always are de-sexed, and anyway, bunnies are bred young, you never wait to see if a bun gets to be really old before its bred.
The seed and dried fruit pellet-mixes that are sold in pet stores aren’t good for bunnies, it makes them fat and causes sticky poop. I gave such a mix to my first bunny Bam for a year before I knew any better, he absolutely loved it and it got him sticky poop, but it certainly didn’t kill him. So please don’t accuse yourself. You loved your bunny, you tried to help him. That’s the most important thing. So many bunnies never get to know love.

[BinkyBunny]

SeventhCyclist: There are so many things that can happen even with the best diets and the healthiest rabbits. Like the others have said, diet can play a role in a healthy long life, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it was the cause of a shorter one. It’s like people who can smoke, drink, eat fat foods all their and can live to be 100 – now that’s genetics! Every time a bunny of mine has passed, I have learned something. On my first loss, with my very first bunny, I learned that I should have moved a bit quicker — that it was more serious. If I had known more or researched more, and understood how serious it was, MAYBE, I could have saved him. That can haunt me as well — but I just used that experience to understand what I needed to do with my next rabbit. Plus, it’s natural to blame ourselves even when we do everything right. It’s just our nature when we are responsible for another living thing. So it’s best to just learn what you can and focus on how happy he was, how loved he was. Bam is so right — there are so many bunnies out there that never get to know love. Your bunny did!

Skyblue – Kale is not bad on its own. It’s not something you would want to give as the main food source. ((as long as it is in the mix of other greens – it needs to be at least one of 3 recommended other greens). Also, some bunnies, like my late bunny Jack, have a Calcium intolerance. It’s a condition that does not allow their bodies to process calcium properly – and they can form sludge and/or stones. This isn’t because of veggies like Kale though. Sort of like having a peanut allergy and then blaming peanuts. I could not give Jack Kale, spinach etc – he had to be on a special diet. But Kale is perfectly fine for other bunnies who do not have this condition.

[LBJ10]

That’s true BB, there are a few special cases where you might want to avoid feeding kale and spinach. For the vast majority of bunnies though, kale and spinach are perfectly safe to feed. Mine will get some baby spinach leaves in their spring mix and we’ve never had any problems.

[skysblue]

I said that because it kinda came to me when i read SeventhCyclist’s “I gave him kale pretty often”. I started to feed my rabbit kale without knowing about the calcium (maybe 2-3 times) just a week before she started feeling sick. I’ve had her for at least 8 years; we grew up together, everything’s been fine and suddenly this happened. The only change i remembered was the addition of Kale. One of her symptoms indicated bladder/UT issue.

There are a lot of maybes going around like BB said, “maybe if i hadn’t done this or that”. Is kale good or bad; was it really kale, i’m not sure but i definitely cannot pass that myself anymore. You can say is pyschological. Since then i really don’t want to take anymore risk with Kale or any vegetables with high calcium in it. I really understand where SeventhCyclist is coming from about the diet, you gave your best to your rabbit, but things still happen. It just really takes time, for me is been almost 3 years and still working on it. You really learn from your experience.

[cinnybun2015]

SeventhCyclist- like LBJO said, don’t beat yourself up over this. You obviously loved Dirk very much. I beat myself up a lot over Cinnamon’s passing, and it just made me more conflicted about her death.

I think, personally, that dirk’s diet seemed fine. I fed kale to my bunny, and though some sites say it’s high in calcium, it never seemed to hurt her, she loved it. Really, I think that it wasn’t his diet.

[Bam]

Skyesblue, thank for explaining. I’m so sorry about your bun. You must have loved her so much. Given the experience you’ve had with kale, I fully understand that you wouldn’t feed kale to a bun ever again. It would never feel safe.

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