Vitamin D concern

Joe,

Rabbits get a substance (ergesterol, I believe) from plants that is
chemically similar to cholesterol. They need UV light to make vitamin D --
just like we need UV light to make vitamin D. We get around the problem by
drinking milk fortified with vitamin D. It would be nice if we could give
the kids a big chug of milk, but...

Vitamin D is needed to use calcium correctly. Rabbits that don't get enough
won't be able to keep their bones strong or their cells working optimally.

What I didn't think of doing is to check the bags of feed to see if the
pellets are fortified. Right back...Oxbow BBT has a vitamin D3 supplement
<happy dance!>. So does APD Timmy pellets. Now this is good information.
No worries;-)

Anita and Jessie
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern 

Joe, the D3 is what they need, so no problems. The feed is fortified. I
was glad to see it. The backyard pen may still be appreciated -- kind of a
vacation house when the weather is nice. What out for those botflies,
though. They are bad this year.

Anita and Jessie

<joe.TakeThisOut@invalid.address> wrote in message
news:m3adb99dk3.fsf@invalid.address...
....
> I just checked the pellets I give mine (Purina Complete Plus), and it
> says that it has vitamin D3 supplement. Is that the same thing?...
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern 

>was glad to see it. The backyard pen may still be appreciated -- kind of a
>vacation house when the weather is nice. What out for those botflies,
>though. They are bad this year.

And we have entered Prime Bot Fly Season!

(My rabbit get sunlight by basking in the rays atop my bed.)
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern 

I had been feeding my two oxbow basics which I have to get by mail order. Last time I ordered, it
took 28 days for the order to get to me. In the meantime, my bunnies ran out of food. I HAD to get
something so I purchased "Small World complete feed for Rabbits". My bunnies both LOVE it ... they
pick it out and leave the oxbow for last. (They also don't eat APD nearly as well as the Small
World) My question is ... does anyone use it and is it a decent pellet? I can send a full analysis
if needed, but the basics are "protein 16% (a little high?) fat 2.5% (high also?) fiber 15% ...
Supplements are: vitamin A, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, biotin,
Vitamin B/12. It is made from alfalfa meal but has NO molasses. Also it costs about 1/3 the price of
oxbow ... What are your opinions?
--
Dori ... BB and Cissy
--------------------------------
"Anita" <alc DeleteThis @outdoorrabbit.com> wrote in message news:bfesim$r2i$1@slb0.atl.mindspring.net...
> Joe, the D3 is what they need, so no problems. The feed is fortified. I
> was glad to see it. The backyard pen may still be appreciated -- kind of a
> vacation house when the weather is nice. What out for those botflies,
> though. They are bad this year.
>
> Anita and Jessie
>
> <joe DeleteThis @invalid.address> wrote in message
> news:m3adb99dk3.fsf@invalid.address...
> ...
> > I just checked the pellets I give mine (Purina Complete Plus), and it
> > says that it has vitamin D3 supplement. Is that the same thing?...
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern 

Hmm, I didn't know about this. Buster lives in the sunniest room, the
kitchen so I'm wondering if that's ok. He doesn't get outside too often
because we live in an apartment and the only grass is out front where there
is lots of traffic and people throw their cigarette butts everywhere. He
does eat Oxbow BB though.

Marissa
"Anita" <alc RemoveThis @outdoorrabbit.com> wrote in message
news:bfekh9$sge$1@slb4.atl.mindspring.net...
> Jessie is housebound right now. I worry because it is too hot to open a
> window for her and she won't be able to make vitamin D. How do the people
> with 24/7 house rabbits make sure they get their vitamin D? If you use a
> vitamin supplement, what dose is good for rabbits?
>
> Jessie has good, strong bones right now. I don't want them to get weak.
>
> Anita
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern 

Thanks Arlette ... I guess I need to do more checking around. BB and Cissy just do not eat the APD
pellets and the cost for ordering oxbow is really prohibitive including shipping. The pellets are
not the bulk of their diet ... they have unlimited Timothy Hay and a little alfalfa hay plus lots of
green veggies each day. The consensus on here seems to be that Purina makes a pretty good pellet ...
I haven't found it here yet, but surely someone has it ... I will keep looking.
--
Dori ... BB and Cissy
--------------------------------
> Hi Dori,
> I would say the fibre is pretty low in the Small World. It shouldn't be less
> than 18%, but if you give lots of hay and veggies and pellets aren't the
> largest part of their diets, then it may be ok. But yes, it has more protein
> and fat that is generally agreed to be optimal for bunnies. In the long run
> those things can catch up with them. More protein can cause heavier
> shedding, and more fat over time can contribute to heart diseases.
>
> --
> God Bless,
> Arlette, Cocoa & Brownie in spirit
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern 

dori, are you in the US? if you are, oxbow has a link to retailers that
carry their products. i was paying top dollar to have the bbt shipped as
well. i located a store which is a 40 minute drive for me but i only pay
$13.95 for a 10 lb. bag of the bbt. i buy two at a time and it lasts
approx. 6 months.

good luck.

mickey
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern 

Another source of BBT is www.ferretstore.com. As long as you order $25
worth of merchandise, shipping is free. The 10 lb bag costs about the same
as Mickey mentioned below. I get my BBT from the Ferret Store. The cost of
shipping is included in the price of the product. All in all, it costs less
than ordering directly from Oxbow.

Anita and Jessie (appointment at 10:00 this morning)

"mixter" <mbeaucha.TakeThisOut@omega-advisors.com> wrote in message
news:bfgntf$duscg$1@ID-76804.news.uni-berlin.de...
> dori, are you in the US? if you are, oxbow has a link to retailers that
> carry their products. i was paying top dollar to have the bbt shipped as
> well. i located a store which is a 40 minute drive for me but i only pay
> $13.95 for a 10 lb. bag of the bbt. ...
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern 

this depends on the type of glass, if it is an old house the glass may block little UV light..

On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 16:48:20 GMT, "Sue French" <xfrench RemoveThis @nycap.rr.com> wrote:

>If your windows are glass, they pass very little UV light. Lay in a patch
>of window light and try to get a tan.

|]}27 Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed.
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern 

>From: Richard I Landon rilandon.DeleteThis@ame-mail.com

>this depends on the type of glass, if it is an old house the glass may block
>little UV light

Where UV light has to pass through a "window" quartz glass has to be used, for
example in pond UV filters.
The formula for glass is the same as it always was, only the methods of
production have changed from hand spun or blown to rolling and finaly to
floating.
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern 

Thanks Mickey ... I checked the oxbowhay site and found that a Pet Shop in Augusta, GA carries oxbow
products. It is less than an hour to Augusta and we go there occasionally for other things so it
won't be a problem. Even not figuring the extra for shipping, I ended up in a mess this last order
because it took almost a month to get the shipment and my babies ran out of food ... I really needed
a more local source.
--
Dori ... BB and Cissy
--------------------------------
"mixter" <mbeaucha DeleteThis @omega-advisors.com> wrote in message
news:bfgntf$duscg$1@ID-76804.news.uni-berlin.de...
> dori, are you in the US? if you are, oxbow has a link to retailers that
> carry their products. i was paying top dollar to have the bbt shipped as
> well. i located a store which is a 40 minute drive for me but i only pay
> $13.95 for a 10 lb. bag of the bbt. i buy two at a time and it lasts
> approx. 6 months.
>
> good luck.
>
> mickey
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern 

Thanks Anita ... I had forgotten about the ferretstore (I ordered something from them at one time)
.... I will definitely check that out.

You may already have posted, (haven't read them all yet) but I've been thinking about Jessie today
.... How did her surgery go this morning? Hoping that everything is good and she is home and doing
well.
--
Dori ... BB and Cissy
--------------------------------

"Anita" <alc.DeleteThis@outdoorrabbit.com> wrote in message news:bfgp4l$s3m$1@slb1.atl.mindspring.net...
> Another source of BBT is www.ferretstore.com. As long as you order $25
> worth of merchandise, shipping is free. The 10 lb bag costs about the same
> as Mickey mentioned below. I get my BBT from the Ferret Store. The cost of
> shipping is included in the price of the product. All in all, it costs less
> than ordering directly from Oxbow.
>
> Anita and Jessie (appointment at 10:00 this morning)
>
> "mixter" <mbeaucha.DeleteThis@omega-advisors.com> wrote in message
> news:bfgntf$duscg$1@ID-76804.news.uni-berlin.de...
> > dori, are you in the US? if you are, oxbow has a link to retailers that
> > carry their products. i was paying top dollar to have the bbt shipped as
> > well. i located a store which is a 40 minute drive for me but i only pay
> > $13.95 for a 10 lb. bag of the bbt. ...
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern 

Ronie, some people on etherbun have had more input on vitamin D. You may
want to check out the thread there. I wonder if some vitamin D can be made
in the gut -- I was not convinced, but I don't know. I like to see things
in refereed materials before I accept them.

Which book were you talking about? It got snipped off.

Anita and Jessie
Wish you could just fold rabbits up and mail them to us. There are a lot of
homes waiting, but they are so far away. Maybe Kathryn's idea is a good one
for so many bunnies.


"Ronie" <roniebunny DeleteThis @aol.comREMOVE> wrote in message
news:20030725095338.09785.00000371@mb-m11.aol.com...
> This was a really good topic! Gosh I'm so behind - how did this happen?
We
> are way to chatty!
....
 >> Stay informed about: Vitamin D concern