Where do you get your Bunny Food?

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

sosewmama

Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2014
Messages
9
Reaction score
2
Location
Rhode Island
When we got our bunny from the farm a few years ago she had given us pellets and hay. I have not been able to find any where that sells the stuff she gave us. I know it was timothy hay, but I am sure it wasn't the bagged variety. Is there a way to find farms and such that sell it? Google isn't helping.
 
Here's a great site on pellet comparisons. Personally, I feed the Sherwood Forest M/S formula (only available online) and LOVE it - I think it's one of the healthiest out there (the concentrated nutrition formula, though, doesn't have the right balance to be good for house rabbits). Mind you, that info is primarily for altered, indoor bunnies - if your bunny lives outside, then you'll probably want to feed a pellet with around 18% protein instead of 12-14%. As a note, if you switch pellet brands, then you need to make a gradual transition (or if you're out of the original pellets, you need to introduce the new kind very slowly). Changing hay, however, does NOT require a transition as long as you're going from one grass hay to another (as opposed to introducing alfalfa to a baby or pregnant/nursing doe).

ANY "horse quality" grass hay is suitable for rabbits (the stuff they feed cows is allowed to have mildew or something in it that would make a horse or rabbit very sick)... though with "cereal" type hays like oat, wheat, rye, etc. you need to pick out the seed heads (oats or w/e) before feeding them as the extra carbs and calories are unhealthy for bunnies. Any livestock supply store or feed store that isn't exclusively for chickens and smaller animals (which is rare, but I encountered one here in Houston) should have bales of hay. Just make sure you get a grass hay and not a legume hay like alfalfa or clover. As long as you keep it clean, dry and insect free, you can store a bale for a year or more - it's by FAR the most cost-effective way to feed a bunny!
 
I buy grass hay from my local Farm and Feed Store. Its a ton cheaper to buy a bale or half bale then buying bagged hay from pet stores. Also from my experience it is fresher and the buns like it more. I just store it loosely wrapped in a tarp in the garage and then bring in a tote full for my everyday feeding.

For pellets I buy Oxbow from petsmart, here is a link. I use to feed pellets that I bought at my local farm and feed store, but I wasnt happy with the nutrient quality. To much protein, not enough fiber. These pellets are great for indoor buns, but I'm not sure if they have enough protein for outdoor buns.

When searching for a feed store. I go to google maps. Bring up a map of your city. Type in the search box "feed store" and then all the local ones should pop up. If none do, you can try zooming out to get a larger search area.
 
Last edited:
The Sherwood Forest brand offers 2lb samples of their food if you are interested in trying it. I have used the baby formula that they have. I should try out there adult kind but right now I get my rabbits Kaytee Timothy complete pellets from Petsmart. As for hay my male bunny is extremely picky and really only wants kaytee hay or American pet diner those I try to find really good deals online.
 
My sister has horses so I pick up and pay for things here and there from the store when I am out and in return she gives me hay. I usually get 2 flakes at a time which last me almost 2 months (spot is not a huge hay eater). I buy the pellets at a local farm store that sells very large bags for like 8.00.
 
Before I started vet school (since now I can get oxbow through my rep at a good discount), I would go to a feed store in our area that sold hay off their bales in big trash bags. We could get a few flakes of hay for ~$5 which was a much better deal than the pet store bags.
 
I get mine at Bomgars :) it's a 40 lbs bag for around 14 dollars. It's called Nutrena Nature Wise Premium rabbit feed. It's 15% pellet an it's a natural vegetarian diet with no artificial flavors or colors. My rabbits love em'! I give mine about a handful a day and I had to cut back on giving my polish pellets as she had too much calcium in her system causing her to have thick creamy urine. Yuck!

Here's what my food looks like:
ImageUploadedByRabbit Forum1388781940.368445.jpg
 
I order my hay and food online from Sweet Meadow Farm. I like the hay better than the pet store stuff. My bunnies are doing well on the pellets too. I've got them on the Rabbit Blend now, but will be switching to the Timothy pellet soon since they are done growing. http://www.sweetmeadowfarm.com/animal-food-and-hay.html

The shipping is kind of expensive, but if you can have it shipped to a business address instead of residential you can save a little.
 
The Walmart where I live use to sell Kaytee products then they quite. I could get my hay and pellets much cheaper then.
 
Right now we get Small World Rabbit pellets but will be switching to Manna Pro when this bag is done. For hay we get Dumor Timothy at the local Tractor Supply company. I could find a farm that sell half bales but with one bun the bag of Dumor last s about 2 mos.
 
I buy from 4 different places, MontrealCritters.com(was shipped to me), Critters(Locally)(Was special ordered and shipped to store), and Early's Farm and Garden all offer Oxbow products and Animal World offers Martin Pellets(before I knew Early's sold oxbow) I'd go there for wood before my next supply was in.
 
So far, I've been ordering Oxbow pellets online. Little pricey, but hey, everything in Australia is. :p I've been getting hay from pet stores or my bun's breeder, but I've had a couple of offers from friends (one's a horse person!) with hay that they can toss my way.
 
I shop mostly at a local pet supply store. They end up being cheaper than pretty much every other store in the city for Oxbow stuff. They also offer a frequent buyer program for pellets and hay that gives the 7th bag free, this is through oxbow, but I don't think available at every store.
For hay I do buy from a local farmer. The hay is quite nice and much cheaper that buying from a pet store. I go through about a bale a month.
Litter I usually get at a hardware store since I use wood pellets. The store can vary depending on if they have it in stock and the price. There are some feed stores I can go to as well, but the hardware stores are much closer.

If there is anything else I need, I just go to a store that will have it. This really depends on the item and how much I am willing to pay for it.
 
When we got our bunny from the farm a few years ago she had given us pellets and hay. I have not been able to find any where that sells the stuff she gave us. I know it was timothy hay, but I am sure it wasn't the bagged variety. Is there a way to find farms and such that sell it? Google isn't helping.

I go to Petco for my bunnies Timothy Hay that they have been using as toilet paper. My new bunnies love it so Petco, Petsmart, Amazon, and sometimes I go to Rabbit toy and food sellers on Ebay..

I hope that helps!

Vanessa
 
I think I found a horse farm very close that has hay bales for $5. Is that good? Everything is snowy and wet right now. SO I am going to give them a call this week to find out what mix they have. It should just be timothy right? That is all I give him now. It is so expensive to buy at the store!

Now, how big is a bale? lol
 
Now, how big is a bale? lol
According to Google Image search...

TypicalBale.gif


I have no idea if it differs depending on your supplier, though!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top