Oxbow Vitamins: a poll / New Bun Mom asks for diet advice

[princessbookworm]

Hello, everyone!  

I’m a very happy new bunny mom (a mini lop named Jake) and I’m interested in seeing everyone’s opinions on Oxbow vitamins. So far, Jake seems very healthy. He gobbles up his food, uses his litterbox (he’s freerange over the apartment too!), loves to explore, and even likes to be held every now and again. But I’m thinking about introducing half an Oxbow multivitamin a day to ensure he gets everything he needs. His weekly diet something like this (plus, of course, water):

Sunday: 

• Timothy Hay (tons! in a homemade treatball and in a hay rack)
• 1/4c pellets (he’s 8lbs) 
• a chopped sweet potato treat in his food
• 1/8 banana (he dug in the garbage for the peel, though! ) 
• 3c greens including: cilantro, kale, and spinach
• a baked carrot timothy hay treat

Monday: 

• Timothy Hay 
• 1/4c pellets
• a tiny chunk of pineapple in his food
• 1/8 banana 
• 3c kale 

Tuesday: 

• Timothy hay
• 1/4c pellets 
• a tiny chunk of fresh carrot
• 3c greens including: spinach and cilantro 
• a small chunk of fresh mango 

Wednesday:

• Timothy Hay 
• 1/4c pellets
• 1/8 banana 
• a baked carrot timothy bite 
• 3c greens including: kale, spinach, and cilantro 

Thursday: 

• Timothy Hay 
• 1/4c pellets 
• 1/4 banana (we’re still bonding together so when he approaches me, I like to treat him!)
• 3c kale 
• a baked carrot timothy bite 

Friday: 

• Timothy Hay 
• 1/4c pellets 
• a small chunk of mango
• a small chunk of pineapple 
• 3c spinach 
• a baked carrot timothy bite 

Saturday: 

• Timothy Hay 
• 1/4c pellets
• Two dried cranberries 
• 3c greens: kale and spinach 
• a small chunk of mango 
• whatever he got off his new chews when I rubbed bananas on them so he would explore and play 

I’m a little worried I’m going too treat-heavy.  But like I said, we’re still bonding. And he still eats a decent amount of hay and drinks plenty of water. The only thing that concerned me is the package of Hay he eats (Oxbow Western Timothy Hay) says it should only last 3 days with his weight…it’s been a week and we’re almost done with it, but not quite. Is he not eating enough Hay? Should I worry? He’s very active (plays in a cat tunnel I got him, stands on his hind legs and sniffs around, plays with his treatball and other chews). Sometimes he licks his salt lick, but not too often. 

Does his diet look okay? Does anyone think Oxbow multivitamins are worth the price (I found some online for $6.99/container)? What are your experiences with giving your buns Oxbow multivitamins? 

Thank you! I’m sorry that was a lot! 

Have a splendiferous day! <3

-Lea

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Wow, you’re really doing your best to care for your bun in the best way. How great to see that you’re such a responsible bunny owner ^_^ You’ll have such a great time with your bun, he’ll reward you many times over!

It looks like his diet is already chock-full of healthy foods and snacks. Rabbits get enough vitamins and minerals from hay and pellets, and the fruit and veg are a nice addition in case anything was missing.
As a rule you don’t want to feed your rabbit too many minerals, because their urine is different from other mammals. Theirs is highly concentrated to dump excess minerals, and rabbits who get too much calcium or oxalates in their food develop painful kidney or bladder problems.

Just like in humans, the idea of multivitamins sounds wonderful, but they may do more harm than good. A normal diet should be more than enough to get your vitamins and minerals, and only in case of deficiencies supplementation is neccessary. More isn’t better, it’s really the other way around. Some vitamins and minerals are actually bad for your health when their daily intake is too high. For some vitamins that dangerous dosage is only 3-4 times the amount of the recommended daily amount. Vitamin A is one of these potentially dangerous ones, and here in NL there are more and more people who have health problems from vitamin B6 supplements.

So for both humans and buns: more isn’t better, it can even be dangerous. Only supplement in agreement with a doctor or a vet, and only when really neccessary, for instance if you have a diet which is lacking, or if you have malabsorption problems.

[Azerane]

You may be going a tiny bit heavy on the treats, mainly the fresh fruit It’s very high in sugar so you just need to be careful with that if his poos start to get smaller or squishy. There’s nothing wrong with the supplements, but I really think they’re not needed, unless it’s like the urinary support ones when your rabbit has known urinary issues etc.

My main concern is probably actually your choice of leafy greens. Kale and spinach are both very high in calcium, and while not always the case, diets too high in calcium can lead to bladder sludge. I’d suggest introducing another few greens such as romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, or silverbeet/swiss chard. All have much lower levels of calcium. The lettuce can be fed daily, but swiss chard has high oxalic acid and like calcium rich greens, it’s suggested that high oxalic greens are fed every other day.

[Hex]

My mini rex, Pudge, had a flaky ear problem.

I took her to the vet to make sure it wasn’t mites. The vet recommended Oxbow’s Skin & Coat. The alternative was to use a spray which would have to be manually cleaned off her ears…I bought both solutions, but began with only the Oxbow tabs. Her ears cleared up within the first few days, and by weeks end, there were no flakes whatsoever! Her coat has been stellar and her ears MUCH less dry since I’ve been giving her these Oxbow tabs. (I call them cookies.) No spray required. Not a single flake since!

I haven’t tried any of the other types offered by Oxbow, but I can attest to the Skin & Coat. It isn’t necessary for most, but for buns with flaky / dry skin, it’s a miracle worker. I’d also suggest it if you want a rabbit with a coat that gleams like a unicorn.

[princessbookworm]

Thank you all so, so, so much for your input! I ended up purchasing a bottle of the multivitamins, but under the recommendation of a vet, I only give him a quarter of a tablet daily. I’ve also started offering Romaine Lettuce and/or Dandelion leaf instead of SO much kale and spinach.

[Author]

Messages