Calcium - RO Autumn 13 RWAF reply

Discussion area for article from Rabbiting on Magazine. Please don't quote directly from the article as that is the property of Rabbiting on. This is an area for further discussion on the topic.

I learnt a lot from this in terms of how rabbits process calcium. And I thought it was good that all aspects of the rabbit diet was looked at.

this was my main area of direction in the magazine, gaving got sox with kidney disease so I have to manage his diet on low calcium foods

Daisy has recently been diagnosed with having low calcium and has to a have a supplement every day for a week or so and then is due back fora check up.

I think we focus a lot on the concerns around to much calcium, as if its a bad thing, when in fact it's important to our buns

Does anyone know if living in a very hard water area matters? My three drink water that has lots of calcium in it. Their water bowls will get furred up with limescale in after 1 day.

I don't remember reading about water hardness. I will ask on the RWAF fb page.

never read anything about the water either

I have had a reply from RWAF

'We've been asked about calcium levels in tap water and if hard or soft water makes a difference: It is not absorbable by the gut in that form. You could filter the water but that won't remove most of it, you need to boil it or use a water softener for that. There was a bottled water with added calcium on the human market, and that that was in absorbable form, but we would not recommend giving that to rabbits.'

ah thank you! that is one less thing to worry about!

I'll just add that the conversation went on and the RWAF made clear they would not recommend water softener as it contains lots of salt.