Kaytee Timothy Pellets.... good or bad?

[canela_2004]

I saw some Kaytee pellets at Petsmart that are made with timothy instead of alfalfa. Do they sound good for an 8 month old doe or should I just get regular alfalfa pellets and give timothy hay? here is the info for the pellet i am asking about:



Kaytee Timothy Complete Rabbit

Ingredients
Sun-cured Timothy Grass Hay, Oat Hulls, Wheat Middlings, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Ground Wheat, Ground Oats, Dried Cane Molasses, Salt, Dicalcium Phosphate, DL-Methionine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin A Supplement, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Carbonate, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Ethoxyquin (a preservative), Niacin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of vitamin K activity), Cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3), Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Iodate, Biotin, Folic Acid, Dried A. oryzae Fermentation Extract (source of protease), Dried Bacillus coagulans Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product, Cobalt Carbonate, Sodium Selenite.

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein (min.)...............13.0%
Crude Fat (min.)......................1.5%
Crude Fiber (min.)..................18.0%
Crude Fiber (max.).................23.0%
Moisture (max.).....................12.0%
Calcium (min.).........................0.3%
Calcium (max.)........................0.8%
Phosphorus (min.)...................0.3%
Salt (min.).............................0.25%
Salt (max.)............................0.75%
Vitamin A (min.)................5000IU/lb

 

[manda]

thats what i feed Ryo.

make sure you do the change very gradually. i honestly dont think this is the best food for them tho. kaytee is widely known as crap. but i dont know

 

[MyBoyHarper]

I had Harper on L/M basic pellets. I found out it was complete waste, and changed him over to the Timothy Complete. I noticed DRAMATIC improvement in him within weeks. He was overweight and bulky. When I switched him to TimothyComplete, he slimmed down and looks so lean and muscular, he's so handsome! And his coat is just gorgeous. It was real ragged looking, and rough. Now, it is shiny and smoothe.

Kaytee, however, is known for not being the best name brand at all. And if you look closely, the Timothy Complete does contain dehydrated alfala, however, it is not the first ingredient. It also contains a good bit of timothy hay, and is considerably higher in fiber and lower in calciumthan other leading alfalfa based rabbit pellets.

Obviously, a premium pellet like Oxbow is much better, buton my income, this is more in my price range. However, I will be switching Harper to the Oxbow pellets within a few months.

 

[MyBoyHarper]

Oops, mis-print. The rabbit pellet DOES NOT contain any alfalfa in it. The Timothy Complete Guinea Pig food does. I have my guinea pigs on the Timothy Complete as well, and was looking at the wrong bag. Oops. :shock:

Anyways, for the convenience of it (yet not the price, that stuff is pricey!) I like the Timothy Complete for the bunny.

 

[JimD]

Hi canela!:wave:

I use Kaytee Timothy Complete for some of my bunnies. The others get Purina Complete Blend (alfalfa-based). Some get a mixture of both.
It's lower in protien and has a good fiber content.

As some buns mature their systems change and they can't tolerate the higher protien pellets, and it can cause excess cecals and/or soft-runny poops, poopie-butt, urine scald, etc. I have a few buns that have had these problems andafter switching over they are much improved.

Alfalfa pellets and hay are good for buns up to 6-8 months (depending on the breed). Some buns never have problem with the alfalfa pellets as they grow older, as long as the amount given is correct for their normal weight. Too many alfalfa pellets will surely make for a chubbie bunnie.

At 8 months you should be giving your bunnie about a 1/2 to 1 ounce per pound of normal weight (ie; 4lb bun = 1/4 to 1/2 cup). On the package it says to give 1/3 - 1/2 cup for small breeds.Buns are all different and you'll need to adjust for their individual needs.

You can start introducing him to some veggies now too, if you haven't done so already. Try starting out with a very small amount of romaine once or twice a week, and then build up from there, adding some variety from the Safe Veggies List in Bunny 101

MineALL get unlimited Kaytee Timothy Hay.
The Kaytee Timothy Cubes are good, too. I use them for bun-treats twice a week.

~Jim

 

[JimD]

MyBoyHarper wrote:

And if you look closely, the Timothy Complete does contain dehydrated alfala, however, it is not the first ingredient.

:?hmmmmmm....looking at the bag I bought yesterday, and I don't see alfalfa listed.:dunno

Just me? or maybe my eyes rivateeyes?
I'll get the Mrs to look at it.:nod

 

[JimD]

MyBoyHarper wrote:

I had Harper on L/M basic pellets. I found out it was complete waste, and changed him over to the Timothy Complete. I noticed DRAMATIC improvement in him within weeks. He was overweight and bulky. When I switched him to TimothyComplete, he slimmed down and looks so lean and muscular, he's so handsome! And his coat is just gorgeous. It was real ragged looking, and rough. Now, it is shiny and smoothe.


Obviously, a premium pellet like Oxbow is much better, buton my income, this is more in my price range. However, I will be switching Harper to the Oxbow pellets within a few months.

You'll find that buns that are overweight tend to shed and molt more, too. I learned this the hard way...I still got bunnie-fur up mah nose.

Oxbow Pellets would also be my choice except for the same reasons as you....price and availability. I like to get fresh pellets every two weeks at the most. Shipping costs would be too much if I were to order on line. Price of gas keeps me from traveling too far that often. Kaytee is in just about every pet supply around here. I need about 15lbs of pellets for two weeks supply.

On the other hand, Oxbow Timothy Hay is actually cheaper for me to buy on line than buying Kaytee in the store (like I do). I works out to about half of the price. I'm buying some soon....50lbs for $60 including shipping. I pay $12 for a 6lb bag of Kaytee.

~Jim

 

[MyBoyHarper]

JimD wrote:

:?hmmmmmm....looking at the bag I bought yesterday, and I don't see alfalfa listed.:dunno

Just me? or maybe my eyes rivateeyes?
I'll get the Mrs to look at it.:nod

Sorry Jim, it's the Timothy Complete Guinea Pig food that contains both timothy hay and alfalfa,not the rabbit food. My bad! :shock:


I'm like you, I buy the Kaytee Timothy Hay and the cubes, but it is pricey. I have heard before about Oxbow being cheaper in the long run, I may start getting my hay from them.

 

[JimD]

No worries, MBH

:dancing:

 

[Bunman]

I never found a brand of tim pellets that Daisy would eat. She is content with 2 oz. of Big Red a day & looks great. (I store these in ziplock bags). She also gets unlimited KT tim cubes (i break them up a bit as she has trouble with them otherwise).

I save money getting the cubes online even with the shipping, compared to the supermarket price. It can pay to shop around online. Prices on rabbit eats can vary a lot from site to site.