Bunny Berries

[Miss M]

Okay... this might seem like a noob question, but...

Just how bad is it to have bunny berries in a bunny's food bowl?

I'm asking because Thumper has always managed to get berries into his bowl. He's got this wooden house that he loves to push around and perch on top of, and he'll shove it to the front of his cage (where his bowl is), and so his little poo berries drop into his bowl occasionally.

He's never been sick, and he's a very clean bunny otherwise.

While I'd rather he didn't drop berries into his food, I've never really worried about it much. They dry out very quickly, and he never eats them. The litter I recently put down was actively eating their own waste. Thumper does not.

Am I supposed to empty his dish of food, wash, and refill it every time I discover a bunny berry in it? Am I being too unconcerned about berries in his food?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I think your other bunnies got so ill because there was urine and feces on it- bacteria thrives in the damp. Since his food is dry I personally don't think it would be a problem. If it was in his water, I would worry though.

 

[Jana15]

Occasionally I find a berry in the bowl, I flick it out and continue on the my day. I don't think it would make him sick unless he consumed it, or if it where to get on his feed. I wouldn't worry about it to much. I do wash the bunny bowls about every two weeks, I like clean bowls :lilbunny:

 

[akane]

If it's dry I wouldn't worry about it. I've got a litter right now who like to sit in their food dish but rarely do they pee in. Only one of them has done it and it was empty at the time. They are doing just fine and the rest of their cage is not a mess. I suppose I could trade the large bin feeder from my checkered giant doe with the oval dish the 5 young ones have but I don't want to take the time to get the bin feeder off and they don't need that much food. I just dump the dried droppings out every day before I refill the dish.

Now if they pee in them more than just a little bit of dried stuff in the corner I remove the feeder and dump it in bleach water for the night. Then return it to them the next day. Even if it's just a little urine I eventually clean it but so long as it's dry and there isn't gooey peed on food or soft droppings and diarrhea it can wait.

 

[Bramble Hedge]

I am with Jana I just pick out the berries, there is at least a couple in there each day and I just pick them out and refill the water bowl. I must admit I don't wash their water bowls very often either, just empty out any stale water and refill with fresh. When they start looking a little greenish I give them a good rub with a bit of dry hay to get the green out and rinse and fill.

 

[Miss M]

Okay, I appreciate it. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't under-reacting.