Good Morning

Sydney Spot

Sydney is fine, but she is up for "Most Likely to Be Taken To The Vet" award. I had heard somebun cough the day before, that coupled with a morning episode of phlegmy hacking and more coughing later was enough to send me to the phone. Though it seemed probable that the morning episode was the result of a pellet being snarfled before chewing properly. By the time the afternoon rolled around she seemed fine, eating, grooming, checking out the playroom (DS bedroom). Tyler unvoluntarily accompanied her, just for fun, on my part not his. Everything was fine, teeth, lungs,  ears, eyes, tummy. We agreed that it was just a pellet incident. There is a tremendous amount of excitement around pellets. Sydney was weighed at the vet and she weighed exactly the same as she did about a year ago. It has been about nine months since we transitioned to Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit Food M/S. In some circles it is controversial that they put some alfalfa in their adult rabbit formula, it is thought that will make rabbits fat as it is too rich. Sydney says otherwise, she maintains that it is a balanced formula and even has improved the quality of her fur.

A Better Pellet

WARNING: there are lots of links in this post.

Daikon examines the Jade Plant for possible GMOs

I am very much against consuming GMO food products for myself and my loved ones, and naturally that includes the rabbits. If you have not thought about this issue or think that consuming GMO is ok I urge you to read this ARTICLE.  I have fed Oxbox pellets for over a decade, assuming that my vet and local rabbit rescue knew what was right and good, imagine my shock when I took the trouble to read the Oxbow Adult Rabbit label. These are the first 8 ingredients: Timothy Grass Meal, Soybean Hulls, Wheat Middlings, Soybean Meal, Cane Molasses, Sodium Bentonite, Soybean Oil. Soy hulls and wheat middlings sound like the floor sweepings from a processing plant. Oxbox claims that Soy protein is good for rabbits, but soy, unless it is organic is most likely genetically modified, now more than ever before. In the top eight ingredients almost half are GMOS. Many studies have shown a link to organ disruption, infertility, and offspring mortality for animals fed GMO products. Here's a nifty link to a Danish Pig farmer and his experience with GMO soy and non-GMO soy THE LINK You may be thinking that since you don't breed your rabbits, there being plenty of bunnies needing homes without making more, that it doesn't matter if your bun has some GMO soy; but it does. It matters for the general health of the rabbit and it matters for the health of the planet. GMOs effect pollinators, for example GE corn is treated with a pesticide that contains neonicotinoids, which is also in Roundup, and which may be responsible for Bee Colony Collapse.  I need not tell you how important bees are in respect to the growing of food. GMOs are currently killing the Monarch Butterfly through Roundup Ready GE Corn. Let us return briefly to the label. Cane molasses is byproduct of the sugar industry, though not as sweet as sugar, I'm not sure I want to feed it to my rabbit. Eighth in line is soybean oil, GMO and probably rancid. What to do? Google of course, investigation and  plenty of label reading lead me to Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit Food. The label that I have that came with the product has alfalfa as the second ingredient, the label on the web has it as the first, that brings us the whole adult rabbits shouldn't get alfalfa hay unless they are wool producers rule. The party line around here has been that alfalfa is too rich and high in calcium for adult rabbits. These bunny urban myths are addressed by Sherwood HERE. The Sherwood pellets smell very fresh and look tasty. My rabbits are all quite enthusiastic about them, ok Amelia has jumped over the pen a couple times when she thought I was slow in serving. You can buy Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit Food HERE.

The Spots grow their own blueberries to ensure purity