minerals! post what you use!

[ohiogoatgirl]

I am plotting again. Be afraid! Verrryyy afraid! :twisted:

What mineral(s) do you guys get? Do your rabbits go for loose or block mineral? Good loose mineral feeders?

this is in mind of feeding 100% without pellets so would need to cover the bases.

thanks!

 

[akane]

Himalayan salt https://www.atthemeadow.com/resources-a ... lysis.html
Prior to that I used loose horse or goat minerals. Prior to that I used SOFT horse mineral blocks. The ones that actually have more minerals than salt and not just trace minerals unlike the hard red trace blocks.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

do you order from that site? looks kinda expensive.. though I guess the buns don't like eat-eat it to go through an awful lot?

 

[Dood]

Loose livestock mineral and salt

A pinch over the caged rabbits grains every couple days and a plastic no spill pet bowl in the grow out colony

 

[Susie570]

You can get a very nice bucket of Himalayan rock chunks from Tractor Supply for $11. You can't really beat the price. You can just place a chunk in each cage and rinse off as necessary. If you choose, you can put the chunk in a small crock. It lasts a long time.

 

[Zass]

I use Himalayan pink salt blocks too.
They just look pretty to me and hold up well in the humidity.

Now, if I didn't feed any pellets at all, I feel I'd have to pay more attention to actual mineral contents...

 

[akane]

Mine are actually 2 lb chunks drilled and put on a rope for horse salt licks at around $5 each. They will no doubt outlast the lifespan of the rabbits. Others have found sources for smaller pieces to give to livestock and you can get them shaped to fit in a horse stall salt block holder. They don't go down fast at all. I've licked them. You get a lot of metallic taste and they don't just dissolve away in saliva. I've even had blocks knocked from where they were tied in to guinea pig pee or water containers for a day or 2. Rinsed them off in water and barely lost anything off the chunk. They hold up very well while the animals still get plenty off them from what I can tell. It's a little hard to see what a 2lb animal has done to an irregularly shaped salt block their own weight but when I first put them in with one I will see licking most days while I'm caring for the small animals and as the weeks go on I see it less and less until I only catch them once a week or so. I would assume they are getting what they need and finding a maintenance dose.

The loose horse or goat minerals would be more specifically balanced though to what is deficient in the US and possibly even your local conditions. So there is reason to consider it over himalayan salt or to do a little of both. I also add apple flavored horse electrolytes to my mix of ground flax and BOSS. They get a few tablespoons of this mixture a few times a week. Much like the salt they eat it if they need it. If I offer it to a doe getting skinny raising kits she will usually dive right in and I frequently wet it so the ground flax makes a paste that is easier to eat quickly. Same with pregnant or nursing guinea pigs. Bucks lick it a little and then often take a few days to eat it if they don't spill it or pee in the crock before then.

 

[Susie570]

when I first put them in with one I will see licking most days while I'm caring for the small animals and as the weeks go on I see it less and less until I only catch them once a week or so. I would assume they are getting what they need and finding a maintenance dose

I've noticed the same thing.

 

[Preitler]

Hm, I learn something new every day. In the local (ARA :? )forum, they will tell you that you must not give rabbits salt, ruins their kidneys and they will die when they swallow too much, like biting off a chunk. Although only "I heard something from someone who had a friend who talked to a vet..."

As much as I know himalayen salt is overrated, just has good marketing, any stone salt is practicly the same.

I learned to trust my rabbits, they know best what they need or not, so I guess there's no risk to try that. But do they actually need it? (I only feed pellets pregnant or nursing does)

 

[Susie570]

I don't know that Himalayan salt chunks are that much superior, nutritionally, than other salt blocks. What I DO know, is that it's handy, it lasts a long time and it's relatively cheap (or at least cost effective, due to lasting a long time). I know that the rabbits seem to appreciate having it, but they don't lick it all the time. I know that rabbits will find another source of salt and minerals, such as licking urine, if they do not have access to a mineral lick.

I don't see the harm. I think it could be beneficial. I believe that rabbits MOSTLY have good sense about what they need and will simply use it if they want to.

 

[Caldhara]

I personally use a mineral supplement product called FortiSalt http://www.fortisalt.com/fortisalt.html on my human food. I feed a pellet free diet to my rabbits and have been cautiously trying to incorporate this as an option for their mineral supplement. I like that there isn't any calcium in the formula, mine get enough from their Alfalfa and other foods.