Low Calcium Veggies list?

[FunnyBunny Mama]

Hello Bunny loving friends!

First I’d like to say how grateful I am for binkybunny.com and everyone’s helpful experience!  A huge Thank you to the creators and moderators of this site! 🤗

Wilbert’s recently been diagnosed with E. Cuniculi after having a severely sludgy bladder.  Im looking for a list of vegetables, fruits and flowers that are low in calcium, healthy and safe.  If they can be feed daily or not is also helpful.  Has anyone got such a list, or can direct me to one online?

I have found a few different lists out there but I’m not confident the sources are trustworthy, and I’m afraid of over feeding him a low calcium veggie (Swiss Chard) and later finding out it should be limited as it’s high in something else (oxalic acid)!

Any direction is welcomed and much appreciated 😇

T

[LBJ10]

You could try collard greens, romaine, bok choy, kale, and cilantro. These are all low in calcium and oxalic acid, but some may be high in vitamin A.

Alfalfa should also be avoided on a low calcium diet. Grass hay, in general, does not contain a lot of calcium.

[DanaNM]

Sorry to contradict LBJ10 but collards and kale are relatively high in calcium. Bok choy is a bit lower though.

Here’s an older article that lists calcium content in various veggies (kale and collards are listed as “good” sources of calcium in this case, as the focus was on providing calcium):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cO2b1ht51a6zie8kbSqafNevnv88xdZB/view?usp=sharing

You can also look up various greens nutrition facts if you aren’t sure. One of my buns is prone to get a bit sludge with certain greens. With him I stick to mostly lettuce, endive or escarole, cilantro, and then a small amount of a higher calcium veg such as bok choy or kale, but I don’t feed kale daily or in large amounts. Cilantro, endive, and romaine are great daily feeders (and are my go-to’s) as they are low in both oxalate and calcium.

Also, here’s an interesting perspective by Dr. Frances Harcourt Brown: https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits/calcium-and-rabbit-food

Because veggies have a lot of water, they can be really important in flushing excess calcium out, and rabbits get a lot of calcium from hay and their pellet feed. That’s not to say that veggies don’t make a difference though, because I def notice a difference in my bun’s pee when he gets a lot of calcium-rich veggies!

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

Collards and kale are higher in calcium than bok choy, but I wouldn’t consider them high calcium. I guess we need to define what “low calcium” means. LOL  In terms of people, I think they consider anything (vegetable-wise) with less than 100mg per cup to be “low calcium”. Where should we draw the line for rabbits?

I found this article too. It lists kale as a “good” source of calcium, along with spring greens and parsley. But then it also says there is less calcium in spring greens than in grass hay (by weight): https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/further-reading/calcium-reading-case-study/

[Azerane]

I tend to look up the nutritional information for each green that I’m feeding, rather than rely on existing lists. I like to check and double check things 🙂

In addition to others mentioned, I also feed raddichio, sometimes fennel. They are both low calcium.

[DanaNM]

This thread is a perfect example of why there’s contradictory info online LOL 😀

Considering what constitutes “high” or “low” for a rabbit, I think the article I linked from Dr Harcourt Brown makes a good case for considering the percent of the bun’s daily recommended amount, and how much of that food would need to be eaten to reach that amount. It helps put things in perspective for me, especially since things vary so much by weight.

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Author]

Messages