Is orange urine in rabbits normal or a sign of trouble?

Question from a rabbit owner:

"My bunny is 55 days old. I gave her pellet food for the first time at night, about 1 tablespoon, without any fuss. I also mixed in a little timothy hay with some alfalfa. She ate it all happily with no issues.
But in the morning, I was shocked to see her urine was orange. I thought maybe she wasn't drinking water, so I kept a close eye on her. Turns out, she drinks water normally.

I noticed when she pees, the urine comes out yellow at first, but after a while, it turns orange.
Is this dangerous? It's been two days and it's still the same.

She still eats hay and drinks water well. Her poop is sometimes dry, sometimes like grape clusters. She's still biting on her cage like she wants to come out, just like usual.

Should I take her to see a vet?"


Answer from a veterinarian:

"The orange color in the urine is caused by pigments from certain foods—especially alfalfa, which contains a high amount of beta-carotenoids.
Very few pet owners or even veterinarians realize that alfalfa contains these compounds in significant amounts.

Most people only know that alfalfa can cause red or yellowish pigments (rhodochromatophores). Beta-carotenoids can be converted into vitamin A, lutein, rhodopsin, and even astaxanthin.

In other cases where red-colored urine appears, it might be due to red blood cells in the urine, which can happen if the bunny is injured near the anus, genitals, or uterus, leading to contamination.
However, at this young age, that’s unlikely.

If there's concern, a vet can examine the urine under a microscope to check for red blood cells. If any are found, further tests will be done.

In this case, though, everything sounds normal.
You can try stopping alfalfa for 1–2 days—if the urine becomes clearer, that confirms it's due to food pigments.
As long as there are no signs of discomfort during urination, or visible drops of blood, there’s no need to worry."