Pellet problem!

[BunnyMom2]

Hi, I want to know the best pellet that has the best quality and the best healthy diet for all ages For our 7 bunnies. And of course there different ages the other six bunnies are the same ages there 1months old And the mother is 10months old so I need help with the pellets that are for all ages.

 

[JBun]

Are they still with her, is she still nursing them? What pellets are you currently feeding the mom?

 

[BunnyMom2]

Yes, the mother is still with her and also some of the baby bunnies are sucking to get milk and this is what I feed the babies and the mother together

“Oxbow Garden Select Young Rabbit Food, 4 lbs.”​

 

[JBun]

That's a good pellet for now. Both mom and babies need the higher protein and calcium in young rabbit pellets. If the mom is still nursing all those babies, she needs a lot of food. She should pretty much have pellets and grass hay free fed. The babies should be gradually starting to eat more of mom's food as well, as they get older.

Baby rabbit diet

At 8-10 weeks old, when her babies are weaned off of her, then mom can be gradually transitioned over a couple of weeks time, to a grass based adult pellet like the garden select adult rabbit food, or another good quality grass based pellet. The babies should be kept on the young rabbit pellets and free fed grass hay still, after they've been weaned and separated from mom. If these aren't a large breed rabbit, the babies when 5-6 months old, can also be transitioned onto the adult rabbit food.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/feeding.html
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/pellet-food.html

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We use Timothy Complete from Amazon--it has no Alfalfa by products and since going to it we have had no problems with loose movements that we had with other pellets--we also only give 2 tablespoons to each bunny and the get veggies and unlimited hay (orchard grass as we are allergic to Timothy hay). Also, with kits, veggies aren't given till they are past 12 weeks old and then slowly introduced.

 

[BunnyMom2]

Thank you so much for the info JBun, and one more thing instead of them eating the pellet I’m feeding them right now can I like switch it to

MAZURI® TIMOTHY-BASED RABBIT DIETS because I searched and it says that this pellets are for all life stages and I’m also just wondering if this is also good for 1months old bunnies and for the mother that’s a 10months old? Because this doesn’t say at all in the description it just says it’s for all life stages?​

 

[Nancy McClelland]

With babies, we used Alfalfa til 6months and transitioned to regular hay. Alfalfa is higher in protein and calcium needed for growth, but not needed by older buns--the exception is for Large breed rabbits as they need it up to one year as their growth cycle is longer than the smaller breeds. Any Timothy only pellet would be fine for both.

 

[BunnyMom2]

So…. I can feed them Mazuri timothy - based rabbit diet for the baby bunnies and the mother Right? to just make sure before I buy those pellets.

MAZURI® TIMOTHY-BASED RABBIT DIETS​

 

[JBun]

I would stick with the alfalfa based pellet while mom's still nursing the babies. Or another alfalfa based pellet with at least 15% protein and the higher calcium. She needs that extra nutrition while nursing. If you need a less costly pellet, the oxbow essentials young rabbit, is still a good pellet that's alfalfa based, and getting the 25lb bag will be cheaper per lb., depending where you buy it.

You can do a timothy based pellet like the Mazuri, but you will need to also feed some alfalfa hay every day, to both mom and babies to boost protein and calcium levels, to support mom's milk production and the babies growth.

Just remember that if you do switch pellets, it's best done gradually over a couple of weeks to give them and their gut microflora, time to adapt to the new food.

 

[BunnyMom2]

Thank you for the reply, and one more thing when can I stop feeding the babies and the mother alfalfa based pellets and exchange it to timothy based pellets?

“The six babies are all the same age 1months old and the mother is 10months old.“

 

[BunnyMom2]

And by any chance is Purina® A good pellet for bunnies? And which Purina® pellets are the best because I’m not really sure? But I do know that Purina® pellets do contain alfalfa.

“please let me know.”

 

[JBun]

It's not as good quality as pet rabbit brands like oxbow, science select, sherwood, small pet select, and others that specialize in small animal herbivore food. They also tend to have better quality control in my opinion.

Purina is going to be lower in fiber and higher in carbs generally, which neither is good for rabbits. I consider it a bulk feed, which tends not to always have as good quality of ingredients or quality control. I've had those lesser quality brands lead to digestive issues, so I wouldn't recommend it. But that's just my opinion. Some people use those bulk feeds without issues.

For when to transition from alfalfa to a grass based pellet like timothy pellets, please reread my post up above, where I went over that process, as well as included links that go over when to transition a rabbit from a young rabbit diet to an adult diet. Which is essentially when the mother is no longer nursing, and when the babies are about 5-6 months old.

 

[BunnyMom2]

Okay, thank you so much so if Purina isn’t the best choice is Nutrena brand a good choice?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We use Kaytee Timothy Complete--we had problems with loose stool with the alfalfa pellets, but, no problems after we switched. I would give all of them the same pellets and give real Alfalfa to the kits til they reach 6 months and then switch to regular hay--may take 2 or 3 days as they don't like regular as much as it is not as sweet as alfalfa, but at 6 months they are done growing unless they are a large breed so they don't need the extra protein and calcium anymore and it could lead to sludge and other problems. Once they are weaned (6 weeks) mom does not need the extras from Alfalfa and should go back to Timothy based and regular hay.Any more questions, P M us and we can chat on the 702 directly.

 

[BunnyMom2]

We use Kaytee Timothy Complete--we had problems with loose stool with the alfalfa pellets, but, no problems after we switched. I would give all of them the same pellets and give real Alfalfa to the kits til they reach 6 months and then switch to regular hay--may take 2 or 3 days as they don't like regular as much as it is not as sweet as alfalfa, but at 6 months they are done growing unless they are a large breed so they don't need the extra protein and calcium anymore and it could lead to sludge and other problems. Once they are weaned (6 weeks) mom does not need the extras from Alfalfa and should go back to Timothy based and regular hay.Any more questions, P M us and we can chat on the 702 directly.

Thank you for replying, but I actually can’t give the mother Timothy based pellets because the mother and the babies stay all together, and it would be kinda difficult for me to only give the mother Timothy based pellets and the baby Alfalfa based pellets Because they’ll eat both. But if the pellets include Alfalfa hay and timothy hay together.. is that pellet okay?

 

[Blue eyes]

@BunnyMom2 Please take the time to carefully read over Jenny's post. Be sure to click on each link she provided as well. The questions you keep asking imply that you may have missed some critical info she provided.

I've quoted her post here for convenience.

That's a good pellet for now. Both mom and babies need the higher protein and calcium in young rabbit pellets. If the mom is still nursing all those babies, she needs a lot of food. She should pretty much have pellets and grass hay free fed. The babies should be gradually starting to eat more of mom's food as well, as they get older.

Baby rabbit diet

At 8-10 weeks old, when her babies are weaned off of her, then mom can be gradually transitioned over a couple of weeks time, to a grass based adult pellet like the garden select adult rabbit food, or another good quality grass based pellet. The babies should be kept on the young rabbit pellets and free fed grass hay still, after they've been weaned and separated from mom. If these aren't a large breed rabbit, the babies when 5-6 months old, can also be transitioned onto the adult rabbit food.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/feeding.html
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/pellet-food.html

 

[Remy_Bunny]

I have a holland lop I’ve tried many pellets he loves the oxbow pellets he’s a little sensitive but these are great we use the same brand hay he loves them make sure you read everything on proportions and weight him

 

[BunnyMom2]

Okay, I totally got it thank you so much.