Is there alternative to trace mineral salt blocks?

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J

Julz

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ireland
Hi, could I substitute a salt block with sea salt or something else? preferably i want to make my own ingredients, we live by the sea and was wondering would kelp seaweed be an option?...I'm still learning :)
 
Theres a high risk of toxics and unhealthy waste in seas. Make sure to check that :)
Salt blocks are also for minerals. Just remember that.
 
Somewhere along the line, I got it in my head that kelp/seaweed is not safe for rabbits. Not sure now where that came from. There is a supplement made for horses called Source which includes kelp/seaweed in the ingredients. I give some to my chickens but not my rabbits because of that notion I got in my head.

Anyone know if it is safe to feed kelp or other seaweeds to rabbits?
 
I don't know Frecs, I thought it was supposed to be good for all animals. It will be interesting to dig into that. I used to use it for my goats but its so hard to get it here. They love it, the only reason I didn't share it with the rabbits was b/c its so hard to get.
Hope someone else has input on this, now I'm curious. :)
 
Zab":3ojanhrn said:
Theres a high risk of toxics and unhealthy waste in seas. Make sure to check that :)
Salt blocks are also for minerals. Just remember that.
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thanx zab, I will check it out :)<br /><br />__________ Mon Feb 04, 2013 7:14 pm __________<br /><br />
rawfeeder":3ojanhrn said:
Here is a link with a step by step tutorial on how to make your own salt mineral block:

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Salt-Lick-for-Horses

You defiantly need the minerals and not just salt. Me thinks its just easier to buy it.. get the large ones for horses/cattle/goats and chip it into smaller blocks. It will last a long time if you don't have a ton of rabbits?
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Hi i had started giving mine a horse salt lick then changed to a pet shop salt mineral trace block especially for my nursing doe as the horse one didnt contain calcium :) thanx very much for the link rawfeeder much appreciated!
 
If you feed alfalfa I think you'll get enough calcium :) It's pretty high on that.
 
Zab":1nnk5gr5 said:
If you feed alfalfa I think you'll get enough calcium :) It's pretty high on that.
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I will be giving alfalfa to the meat rabbits when weaned as am using up the clover hay what i have left now for my doe, thanx for the info on calcium within alfalfa :) what do you give your rabbits for salt and minerals zab if you dont mind me asking :bunnyhop:<br /><br />__________ Mon Feb 04, 2013 7:51 pm __________<br /><br />
amybart4570":1nnk5gr5 said:
I don't know Frecs, I thought it was supposed to be good for all animals. It will be interesting to dig into that. I used to use it for my goats but its so hard to get it here. They love it, the only reason I didn't share it with the rabbits was b/c its so hard to get.
Hope someone else has input on this, now I'm curious. :)
Click to expand...
Hi amybart, if we get really clear on the kelp and its safe environmentally and for the rabbits i could collect, dry, powder and send you some...if you wanted :) as it s common here in Ireland
 
Don't take my word for it, I'm pretty new to this myself :) But I think you can find info on Ca in alfalfa if you search, I've been warned for the high content of Ca in it.

I'm currently trying to get 3 of my longears into a mix of alfalfa, barley and BOSS + free choice good quality grass hay. The two not getting turned over on it are expecting to kindle in 4-8 days so I figure I shouldn't mess with their diet right now.

I've just broken a 10kg horse salt/mineral block to fairly large pieces and put in the cages. But I happen to have an analysed hay (same as for my horses) so I know that it's pretty good in minerals. Selenium is low but the salt has that added, as well as vit. E.
 
Zab":1ff5dhdi said:
Don't take my word for it, I'm pretty new to this myself :) But I think you can find info on Ca in alfalfa if you search, I've been warned for the high content of Ca in it.

I'm currently trying to get 3 of my longears into a mix of alfalfa, barley and BOSS + free choice good quality grass hay. The two not getting turned over on it are expecting to kindle in 4-8 days so I figure I shouldn't mess with their diet right now.

I've just broken a 10kg horse salt/mineral block to fairly large pieces and put in the cages. But I happen to have an analysed hay (same as for my horses) so I know that it's pretty good in minerals. Selenium is low but the salt has that added, as well as vit. E.
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so have i this right... your alfalfa hay which you feed the rabbits is the same as horse alfalfa hay ? its quite a challenge getting this right for the rabbits i appreciate your advice thanx very much indeed
 
Yes, I feed them lucerne. Which has 10% molasses in it - I'm not happy with that but the only alfalfa I can find without molasses are pellets that's way far away from here. (and I rather not give alfalfa pellets since they swell so fast and can choke the bun unless they're soaked)
So what I find will have to do :)

I would rather have just alfalfa hay without any odd stuff added.

I also has a grass hay (or actually a hay-silage, but it's dry enough to be hay. We rip the bales up and let them dry to hay since our horses won't eat them fast enough. They don't smell fermented). The breeder of my newest does fed wet silage.. I'm not sure that's the best thing though.
 
Silage is usually only fed to cattle because other animals are too sensitive to the possibility of mold.
 
Zab":2l3gpqx1 said:
Yes, I feed them lucerne. Which has 10% molasses in it - I'm not happy with that but the only alfalfa I can find without molasses are pellets that's way far away from here. (and I rather not give alfalfa pellets since they swell so fast and can choke the bun unless they're soaked)
So what I find will have to do :)

I would rather have just alfalfa hay without any odd stuff added.

I also has a grass hay (or actually a hay-silage, but it's dry enough to be hay. We rip the bales up and let them dry to hay since our horses won't eat them fast enough. They don't smell fermented). The breeder of my newest does fed wet silage.. I'm not sure that's the best thing though.
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thanx zab,Ive a supplier who can get me horse alfalfa with nothing else added i finding it hard to find gm free/organic alfalfa here but this horse alfalfa seems good possibly the best i could get hold of here its made by 'Dengi' what is boss is that the alfalfa pellet? Lots of people give silage /haylige to horses i dont, how long have you fed the rabbits on the dried out silage? they lucky rabbits for you taking the trouble to dry it out for them are they doing ok ? as for the salt block im going to use the horse blocks and keep adding my own measures of calcium as seems easier than making my own as was kindly pointed out
 
Julz":puhkc4dq said:
thanx zab,Ive a supplier who can get me horse alfalfa with nothing else added i finding it hard to find gm free/organic alfalfa here but this horse alfalfa seems good possibly the best i could get hold of here its made by 'Dengi' what is boss is that the alfalfa pellet? Lots of people give silage /haylige to horses i dont, how long have you fed the rabbits on the dried out silage? they lucky rabbits for you taking the trouble to dry it out for them are they doing ok ? as for the salt block im going to use the horse blocks and keep adding my own measures of calcium as seems easier than making my own as was kindly pointed out
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We dry the haysilage for the horses, so rabbits just get what I have. But it's really very dry to start with, dryer than any other haysilage I've seen. I've fed it since december when I got my longears and they've seemed perfectly fine.
The breeder of my latest doe fed silage (the wet cattle type) to his.. I'm not really sure that was the best though. But if you have hay then use that. Haysilage is often a bit higher in nutrients since it can be harvested earlier due to not needing to dry that much (at least here where weather is a factor).

Be careful with calcium - if the alfalfa you uy does have more than enough already, don't add extra. I know people on this board tells me the rabbits will just pee excess Ca out, but people on swdish boards are way concerned over Ca in the food.. and adding when there's already too much is kinda counterproductive anyway :) But try to find out how much Ca the alfalfa has, it's of course important that they get enough.

You got the answer to BOSS already I noted. :)
 
MamaSheepdog":zy1iuz1l said:
Julz":zy1iuz1l said:
what is boss
Click to expand...

Black Oil Sunflower Seed. It is commonly fed to wild birds.
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hi mamasheepdog thanks for that i was in the health shop and asked if the organic sunflower seeds i give to my rabbits were 'black oil' she said they are not because they are hulled ?so would you know if these are still ok for the rabbits which i give being hulled allredy, the doe goes mad for them, ive also spotted the black sunflower seed for birds but they are not organically grown and dont no if they are genetically modified either due to gmo labelling not legislated yet here in ireland.
 
I have a question on the alfalfa pellets,the breeder we got our bunns from said to give them this dry in their food he said it cuts back on the amount of pellets.mine will only eat them if I put it loose in the pen.
The post about them swelling really scares me,I don't want to choke my bunnies!!
will giving them wet help?or should I see about trading them to a neighbor for alfalfa hay? I had also heard that alfalfa hey has too much starch(sugar) wow looking back at all my posts,I know nothing-noth-thing (SGT.Schultz) oh gadds,I AM OLD!!!!!
 
Seaweed is a great ideea I need to try.
I have grown some record tomatoes with seaweed and I have feed pigeons some.
Will try on the rabbits soon.
 
Julz":30qpz2pq said:
MamaSheepdog":30qpz2pq said:
Julz":30qpz2pq said:
what is boss
Click to expand...

Black Oil Sunflower Seed. It is commonly fed to wild birds.
Click to expand...
hi mamasheepdog thanks for that i was in the health shop and asked if the organic sunflower seeds i give to my rabbits were 'black oil' she said they are not because they are hulled ?so would you know if these are still ok for the rabbits which i give being hulled allredy, the doe goes mad for them, ive also spotted the black sunflower seed for birds but they are not organically grown and dont no if they are genetically modified either due to gmo labelling not legislated yet here in ireland.
Click to expand...

The clerk didn't know what she is talking about but no, the sunflower seeds sold for human consumption is not BOSS. You can feed them to your rabbits, no problem. BOSS is a bit higher in oil than those sold for humans but mostly we use BOSS because it is cheaper.

Sunflower seeds are not GMO (they are only doing that to crops such as corn, soybeans, ****/canola, sugar beets, and cotton -- high $$ crops which BOSS is not). And, while not labeled "organic" I suspect they don't do a lot of chemical spraying or fertilizing of sunflower crops. I doubt any farm is going to go to the trouble to be certified as "organic" to grow birdseed.

(And a note: soybeans and cottonseed oil are common ingredients in rabbit pellets I believe. They are both on the list of GMO crops....)

__________ Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:52 am __________

I just did a google search and came up with an article from the Journal of Applied Animal Research regarding a study conducted to see how seaweed supplementation would affect rabbits. According to the abstract, they tested a 2% supplementation ratio on both bucks and does and found improved semen counts in bucks and improved kindling for does. ... it doesn't say in the abstract what type of seaweed was used. Anyone have access via a college library to read the full text and get the details???

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1 ... 79#preview

__________ Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:56 am __________

Correction, it does say the type of seaweed -- Ulva lactuca, which is a type of sea lettuce.

__________ Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:15 am __________

This site: http://www.kennelkelp.com/Frequently-As ... tions.html ...does not to feed KELP to rabbits.
Ditto for this site: http://www.holisticlivestock.com/organic_kelp.htm

Neither one says why or where they got this info. I think the sodium levels is the concern but again, they don't say...
 

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