JimD wrote:
Ninchen wrote:
because the pellets went into the lung...
Sounds more like aspiration as opposed to choking.
I agree, though choking could cause aspiration.
That would be an indication of an underlaying issue....probably not directly related to feeding them pellets.
That sounds very possible but I dont know a lot about rabbit illnesses to really comment.
Ninchen wrote
I read a warning about not feeding pellets at all to rabbits, because they could choke on them.
about 8 bunnies died in a forum (over the years) because of that.
I'd be curious about the rabbits - breed, size, age, overall health, over/underweight, teeth, background healthy, lifestyle and prevous types of feeding.
I feed only pellets for horses, they have the same ingredients, are cheaper and are too big to choke on.
I've always wondered about some of the horse treats I see in feed stores but never have taken the time to write down types/names to ask on the forum.
One thing to keep in mind I guess is - even if horse pellets are bigger, wouldn't the rabbit have to chew/break them down enough to swallow - perhaps in sizes the current rabbit pellets are formed in?
I dont know how well commercial rabbit pellets are sized for feeding, or how appropriate the shape is, I've never given it a lot of thought.
pamnock wrote
The risk is about the same as a person choking to death on food - very low, but possible.
I worte a post in the let your hare down section about almost choking to death on a peanut butter sandwich - I couldn't really blame the peanut butter or the bread, or the way I was eating. Sometimes (unfortunantly) things happen. Could I have died? Probably. Have others died from eating a PB sandwich? Probably.
I didnt have any underlying anything - I simply choked. I wasn't starvig, acting crazy while eating... it just simply happened.
Ninchen wrote
their source: the eight threads which members in panic wrote, watching their rabbits die...some died on the way to the vet, others days later, because the pellets went into the lung...
I say this with the utmost respect: Sometimes "epidemics" happen on forums - losses, illnesses, problems etc(for lack of a better word).
Sometimes I wonder if unknown causes get blamed on others' misfortunes due to what appears to be similar circumstances - Sometimes I wonder if people mimic others' experiences to gain attention - Sometimes I wonder if deaths of one cause are covered up, blamed on a certian misfortune that will be more well and widely received on a forum rather than actual circumstances in real life.
No, I'm not pointing fingers, accusing, or placing blame but I have seen it happen on past forum I've been on (NOT rabbit forums) and those instances always seem to make me pause when I see overall panics happen online.
I would have to ask though, with 8 happenings on the forum - along with the statistics I asked above about the rabbits - what are the forum member overall statistics, how long have they had rabbits, been members of the forum - how responsible do they *seem* on the forum, how far apart did the deaths occure from each other once posted online? Simple questions like that, I mean.
because the pellets went into the lung...
Is this true in all cases, not just said that illnesses occured that lead to death because a bit went into the lung, but were actual necropsy's done to prove that a pellet actually entered the lung? Without actual proof, one could only suppose, which may or may not be accurate.
