Whole flax seeds?

[earthisours]

So! Following the passing of my two older bunnies, there is new life in the house. A 8-month old sister pair of dutch crosses!

Anyways, to the question!

I feed my horse whole flax seeds and it makes an amazing difference to his coat (plus various other benefits). I want to do the same for the bunnies. My previous bunnies I used to give them flax oil, but since these guys have heathy teeth and young, why not start whole??

But I have no idea what the ration would be. The horse is 1000lbs and he gets a cup. But for bunnies???

So does anyone feed whole flax seeds and how much do you give??

[bunnnnnnie!]

Zeus tore into the bag of flax seeds I had for the horses once and stole a few giant mouthfuls before I could shoo him away… he ran off waggling his tail at me in defiance. LOL.

Not sure what an actual appropriate amount would be.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I feed my horse flax seeds as well, but ground, since I read that most of the whole seeds just go through their system since their digestive tract can’t digest the shell. Not sure of that’s true or not but I buy the big bag of ground flax.

Seeds of any kind are not recommended for bunnies. There was a precious discussion here:

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/122143/Default.aspx

[Bam]

Whole flax seeds function much like psyllium-seeds in the gut of a person or a horse: With the addition of liquid, the seeds make a gel which aids digestion, lowers (or stabilizes, rather) blood-sugar and makes loose stools firmer, hard stools softer. The nutrition in the flax seeds are not absorbed by the body. So if you want your horse to benefit from the oil etc in the seeds, you’re better off giving him/her ground flax-seeds. They should be as freshly ground as possible though, since the unsaturated fatty acids in them spoil easily in contact with air.

I guess bunnies would chew the seeds though. Be aware that they contain a small amount of compounds that can form cyanide in contact with water. It’s not an issue for people (or horses I guess) but rabbits are so small. Seeds are not recommended for rabbits but they tend to love seeds, so you can’t really trust their judgement. Seeds are generally full of fat and protein, and rabbit-feed should be low in both.

[earthisours]

I guess you better get down here and tell the horse that he’s not supposed to be successfully digesting those seeds!! 

As weird as a bunny mom I am, I am a horse mom. I go through his poop on occasion and barely any seeds go through uncracked (he had more uncracked seeds in his poop when he was first started on it, but now the majority have been chewed). Perhaps because he is an easy keeper he only gets a handful of a dry vit/min pellet supplement and the flax seeds, so maybe he thoroughly chews it to make the most of it. But whatever the reason, I USED to give him ground flax for ages before changing him to whole flax, and in a short time, the difference was ASTOUNDING. Plus he gets the lubricating qualities for his gut with the seeds that don’t.

Remember, the fresher the better… so even if some are not digested, those that are cracked (and let’s not kid ourselves, healthy horses are very good at grinding their food) are far more potent than flax that has been ground and already exposed to oxygen, light and heat.

There are lots of case studies of horses and whole flax seeds. But like everything, you have to look at the individual. I don’t doubt that some horses simply swallow them, since they’re so small, especially if you feed it with a moist grain of some sort. 

But I think I’ll stick with feeding the oil only for the bunnies… even if just to make sure that both bunnies get their fair share. There would be no way of making sure one bunny doesn’t eat them all. =/

[Bam]

I totally agree whole seeds are better than ready-ground seeds if you/the horse chew them properly. But I know some people who give their dogs flax-seeds and grind them just before serving them (mixed with meat f ex). They can be ground in a mixer/grinder. Dogs are of course vastly different from herbivores like horses and rabbits. They tend to swallow stuff whole.

I checked the pellets I’m currently feeding my buns, flax seeds are a component in them.

[LittlePuffyTail]

My horse eats like a vacuum cleaner. I know she wouldn’t chew them.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Funny how many bunny owners are also horse owners! My horse eats like a vacuum too LPT, LOL.

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