red urine

Question
QUESTION: i have a dutch bunny and when it goes potty the urine is very red. i understand from what i have been told that its caused by too much protein in the urine. my question is how long before this problem goes away and they start having normal color urine? i feed my bunny ox-bow 15/23 which ive been told thats a very good food to feed them. please help me with this urine problem. thank you very much.

ANSWER: Hi Millie

The food you are feeding your rabbit is excellent.  It is not so much the protein but how some rabbits kidney's metabolize the feed.

Red or orange tinged urine is not a bad thing unless you see frank red blood.  Some rabbits always have red tinged urine.  Some always have white milky tinged urine they are all different, and it is the overall health of the rabbit that matters.

The most important thing to do is make sure you give your rabbit a well balanced diet, including the ox-bow feed and as much timothy or grass hay as the little bunny wants.  If your rabbit can handle veggies and doesn't get gas pain or loose mushy poo from it then it should have about 1 cup of fresh rabbit safe veggies per day.  

This is a site from the HRS that tells you the proportions of feed you should be giving per age and size of rabbit:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html

Personally I don't follow the HRS recommendations but most of my rabbits are not house rabbits.  My house rabbits do get plenty of fresh rabbit safe veggies.  I use them more as treat food because they like them so much that they usually won't eat their pellets.  The ox-bow pellets contain all the nutrients your rabbit needs but it is nice to give them a good treat once in a while.

I will tell you what I feed my 5 pound (average) rabbits.  In the cold seasons they get a mix of calf manna (about 1 tsp), old fashioned rolled oats (about 1/8 of a cup) and I mix it together with about 1/2 inch worth of petro-malt.  In the summer time they get 1/4 cup of feed in the AM and 1/4 cup of feed in the PM.  They always have fresh hay and water at all times.  The absolute only reason I give them the calf manna mix in the colder months is because it is fattening and it helps them put on a bit of extra flesh for the winter months.  The majority of my herd is in an un-heated barn and  super skinny rabbits don't usually do so well in the extreme cold.

Sorry to ramble.  Basically unless you see frank red blood then you don't need to worry about it.  It can change from time to time but 15 protein is certainly not to much.

Good luck and thank you for caring enough about your bunny to ask.

Sincerely,

Pam



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: my new bunny is only 4 weeks old, can she have fesh veggies? i was told they couldnt have them until they were 4 months old. the red urine is staining her white paws. what can i use to get the stains out of the fur? it looks awful on her white paws.


Answer
If your new bunny is 4 weeks old it needs to be seen by a vet.  4 weeks is way to young to be on its own.  It should not have been taken away from its mother until it was 8 weeks old.

If your rabbit is truly 4 weeks old and is peeing red I would take it to a vet immediately.

You are also correct, rabbits should not be given fresh vegetables until they are about 4 months old.

White rabbits will get stains.  I use unscented baby wipes daily and wash their feet.  They seem to stay a little cleaner that way.  Also consider what kind of cage she is in.  I absolutely never keep a white rabbit in a plastic bottomed cage.  They all go on wire cages but I put what is called a foot rest mat in there so they have a soft place to rest their feet to prevent sore hocks.  These feet rests have slots in them so that the urine will fall right down into the pan.

Good luck with your baby

Pam