Help my cute Bunny woos please!!!!!

Question
I am posting this to as many people as possible in hopes my babies will be saved. M.F.

Please help me I am desperate! 1000 dollars at my vet and still my bunnies are sick and I am no closer to finding out what the heck it is that is causing it. Jasmine just got fixed at age 2 and got her bladder flushed due to white milky sludge in her urine.(calcium crystals) Jasper Dee has the same problem. It is their diet my vet says, she told me to switch them to Timothy Hay instead of alfalfa (I did 3 months ago)and to pick all the pellets out of their food. I have been doing this with no change at all. I found out food can have many things wrong with it and your bunnies will tell you by scrabbling their dish. They were doing this for a while but I thought they were being sassy and cute.I am scared to even feed them pet rabbit food due to so many things that can be wrong with it. The MILLS Fault! I switched them 3 days ago to Kaytee and get it at a pet store and still pick out the pellets just in case. I also give them bottled water, change it twice a day,they each get half a peeled carrot,A peace of green roman lettace,Half a peeled apple,Leafy salery,Broclie washed well. I am trying to give cucumbers,sprouts,rassberries,sweet patatoe and melon,mustard leaf, so I dont have to give too much rabbit food. They get 1/4 a day each of dry rabbit food. they turn their noses up at the new goodies(fruit and vedgies) so far but I will keep trying.Is their fruits and vedjies that could cause sludge in urine? i do take away what they dont eat in 30 minutes.They have been in so much pain going pee! She grunts and cries every time. The vet had her on an antie flamitory for almost a month and I know long term use can cause Kidney failer. I keep hearing if I can find the right diet it will stop and they will be ok. The big problem is my vet who I have paid alot of money to wont research and come up with a diet for them. it is so damn frustrating! I want nothing more than to have my bunny woo's healthy and happy again.When they pee you can see the crystals in it. Although it has lessened since I switched their diets but still happening. If I find the right diet, how long before it clears up?
Thankyou for any advice you can give me on this. I have been so upset and depressed about this. My animals are my best friends and when they hurt so does momma :( They are indoor rabbits, we made a 8 foot cage with bunkbeds for them, we use baby comforters and sheets and they get washed every night when they come out to play for 5 to 6 hours. We block off the whole living room and the cords and harmful things are all out of reach.
So Besides that food I was giving them that I am convinced was bad, what am I doing wrong? Do you think they will die? God Bless and thankyou again, Michelle Filmer  PS I store food in the freezer and only get one bag at a time now. PSS they picked up ear mites from vet office and we dont have 70 dollars right now to get rid of them, i heard cat ear mite medicane from a pet store? any ideas? Sorry, lol

Answer
I'm sorry your bunnies are experiencing bladder sludge. Here is an article by a vet about this condition and possible causes: http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/health/vet-talk/sludge.html

As for diet, here is another good article on which veggies and what kind of hay to feed for a lower calcium diet:
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-5/calcium.html

Our vet, when encountering this not uncommon problem, also recommends the use of a timothy-based feed pellet rather than an alfalfa-based pellet. The only source we have used is Oxbow Hay and Feed Company. We have no financial affilation with them. You can read about their timothy pellet at http://oxbowhay.com/showProduct.sp?PRODUCT_NO=44&cat=46
I have also heard that www.americanpetdiner.com also offers a timothy-based pellet but I have not heard anything else about it.

If ordering this feed is not an option for you, you can feed lots of grass hay and a variety of vegetables and cut the alfalfa-based pellets down to perhaps a tablespoon a day for the additional vitamins. For more on this, see http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/faq/ (scroll down to the relevant Q&A).

As for ear mites, the best remedy I know of is two shots two weeks apart of ivermectin. If this is what the vet is charging $70 for and you don't have that right now, better to use a bit of mineral oil in each ear every few days to smother the ear mites than to use the cat product--rabbits can be very sensitive to chemicals and you can't be sure it will be safe for them.

Good luck!

Gina