Anybody heard of problems with pellets?

[BsDad]

My neighbor's have switched to big red fromPurina Show Formula. I have heard of two major breeders thathave done the same, My neighbor lost one healthy bunny andthe breeders lost ~200. Does anyone have any solidinformation?



I am worried.

 

[naturestee]

Oh dear lord! So many bunnies at the Rainbow Bridge!:sad:

Were the problems with Big Red or Purina? I'm not familiarwith Big Red, but I have heard rumors of some bad lots with Purina lastyear.

It's extremely important to have pellets that are suspected to be badtested for mycotoxins. These are toxic mold chemicals thatcan occur with multiple freeze/thaws of pellets or storing in wetconditions. There's more info in the Rabbit Health ReferencesthreadMycotoxinPoisoning

This link in particular explains a lot about mycotoxins, how to treat affected rabbits, and info on getting pellets tested.
http://www.morfz.com/myco.html

Please ask them to get the pellets tested and to notify themanufacturer! With most of the breeder cases I have heardabout, no testing is done and the company is not notified.The breeder simply switches to a different brand. But thismeans that no changes are made in the processing and storage of thepellets by the manufacturer and the same problem can happen again!

 

[BsDad]

Purina Show Formula. Our neighbor tossed the remaining pellets out without having them tested.


The rumor is that the breeders contacted Purina. Purinareportedly said that the Show Formula had been contaminated by pig foodfrom an earlier batch. (This is all rumor.) According to avet, Purina "made good" on the lost rabbits. However, thebreeders still switched brands of feed.


I found nothing on the web about it, so I posted here. We are switching brands now.


We had one bunny who is off her feed and waterand the vetvisit revealed the information about the other breeders. Ourneighbor just came over to tell us about her rabbit.


I hope that manufacturers will start warning and recalling bad batchesof feed. (Or, better quality control would be preferred.)


The costs to breeders are small compared to the heartache caused to petowners. The fact that there is no mention on theInternet may just be due to the lack of interest in technology on thepart of rabbit owners.

I suspect that it is really a matter of economics:
1. Rabbit feed is a low profit item.
2. Adding quality control would raise the price.
3. Warning pet owners and breederswould cost too much in sales.
Therefore, manufacturers let bad feed be used and pay restitution to the breeders that complain to keep them quiet.


Sad, very sad.

 

[naturestee]

One of your rabbits is ill too? How isshe being treated and is the vet familiar with treating mycotoxinpoisoning? There's info on treatment in the links I gave you.

I really wish rabbits were more high-profile pets like cats anddogs. Between non-rabbit savvy vets and the difficulty infinding good, trustworthy food, not to mention other supplies likedecent toys, I get the feeling we're being :censored2:

Mycotoxin contamination in dog food resulted in a recall and a spot on the national news last year.

I think that if these people raised a big fuss that things mightchange. Farmers raise huge fusses when they suspect a cow isill due to feed, why not for 200 rabbits? My dad, an agsalesman, used to get calls in the middle of the night with iratefarmers asking for food to be tested.
Vibes for your bunny. I hope she gets well soon. ray:

 

[BsDad]

Perhaps ignored.

They will notice when we stop buying their products. We willstop buying their products when we have a scientific basis for ourdecision. We will have a basis when we pay for double blindtesting. Sadly some bunnies will die in the process unlesssome new form of testing is developed. Until then we can onlytry to get the word out to all rabbit owners.

Thanks for your kind thoughts and prayers.

 

[ani-lover]

I used to use purina rabbit chow but my bunstarted to get diarrhea so i decided to change the formula to blue sealbunny 16. My bun was getting a nasty bottom so i wanted to see ifchanging the food would work. Good luck on your findings.

happy searching

 

[Pipp]

Bad pet food really is an issue.

I'm glad to see that you'rereacting to it. Some serious lobbying needs to be done.

I've been feeding my guys three kinds of pellets at the sametime,I've also cut right down on pellets, I'mgivingthem five or six different kinds ofveggies as well.And I'm making sure they have two choices with their hay as well.

Animals won't eatanything that's bad for them if they havea choice. With the Diamond dog food problemlast year that killed a 'confirmed' 100 dogs (the toll was probably WAYhigher given the vast majority of peopledon't ever find outwhy their pet got sick and died), mostwere encouraged to eatthat foodand did so unwillingly. (Andforthe record,I just found out the Kirklandbranddistributed by Wal-Mart was also a Diamond brand and wasaffected, something I don't recall hearing anything about at the time).

Companies like Purina have alot of money can canoutspendmost pet owners. And yes, at least twomembers here had major problems with Purina last year, one inparticular was accused of bad care because of all the ailments anddeaths, and nobody would believe a company like Purinacouldbe at fault -- but after a lot of research, yes, they were!

Andespecially with rabbits, peoplejustdon't find out what caused them to get sick -- especiallywithMycotoxin poisoning, which have so many variedsymptoms.

We really have to be dilligent -- and noisy! This shouldn't be allowed to happen.

sas

 

[JimD]

Before any of us start throwing away our Purina, read on.....

"If you get an e-mail message saying "10 dogs died this weekend fromtainted Purina dog food, please be careful if you feed Purina", DO NOTpost this/forward this to the list unless you can accurately back upthe statement with proof such as a press release from a trustedmainstream news source or a page on the company's site where itdiscusses the issue. 99.9% of messages like this are hoaxes, and manypeople seem to be easily taken in by this, since the news seems real.That is exactly WHAT an urban legend is. Something that seems perfectlylogical, started by someone who gets their kicks from creating thesefalse "worries" accross the internet."

This just recently came from a Boston Terrier forum. There was a similar one on a Pomeranian Club forum, too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is about the 5th time this year that I've heard the "rumors" aboutPurina Chows being tainted or having dangerous by-products. The last 3times I contacted Purina Mills,I found the accusations to befalse.

There is also Ralston Purina that makes pet foods...they are notaffiliated to Purina Mills. Ralston Purina was in the news 5-6 yearsago for manufacturing tainted feeds.

I also keep in mind that ANY food can become tainted with mycotoxinsfrom handling and storage practices. Our best defense is to check datecodes and to buy a reputable brand from a reputable dealer.

 

[Pipp]

JimD wrote:

...The last 3 times I contacted Purina Mills,I foundthe accusations to be false.

While net hoaxes certainly do exist and Purina probably has their shareof them, I also imagine the company hasnot (and will not)admitted responsibility, instead choosing to spend their money onspin-doctoring (as in their denials to these queries) and reassigningblame. They are,as noted, simply outspending theirdetractors.

It costs money to test suspect pet food, they symptoms are so varied,the poisoning is usually misdiagnosed because it'sso hardtopin an exact cause onailments likethese.It's similar tolinks betweenvarious chemicals and cancerswhen years ago the corporationswould say somebody died from cancer,from poisoning when infact it was the chemical that caused the cancer --asevidenced by stories likeErinBrockovich. It will take a lot of time and a lot ofmoney to PROVE the danger in a court of law.

Severalof our own forum members havereporteda problem and did sufficient research to convince me thatPurina did haveproblems with batches of pellets used bybreeders, resultingin sickness,miscarriages anddeaths,thus I forone have no interest in standingupfor them, even ifthey are victims of hoaxes.

This isn't to say that Purina pellets will cause problems for people'srabbits, but I have no doubts that Purina pellets have in the pastcaused problems for people's rabbits. The big companies arenot excempt.

If multiple rabbits are sick, even if they're showing differentsymptons, the first thing I'd do is toss out the food and go to adifferent brand, no matter who the manufacturer is.

The bottom line is that it's a crap shoot, and the industry as a whole needs much stronger controls.
:rant:

 

[BsDad]

The whole problem with net rumors is that they are unverifiable.



The information that I posted is based on a conversation with myneighbor, my vet who is involved in 4H and treats Many rabbits,and my own experence. I used the term rumor to show that Idid not have any tests done since I cannot afford to spend that kind ofmoney or time on other people's rabbits. Nor haveI spokenwith the breeders. Otherwise, I trust the sources.

I forgot to mention that the vet has also stopped using Purina rabbit feed.

Thanks for your comments.

 

[pamnock]

Had any of the rabbits been sent to the state vet for necropsy? Were there any tests run for viral pathogens?



Pam

 

[TinysMom]

I know of other breeders who have lost rabbitswhile using this food - a bunch of us in different areas of the countrylost rabbits last year at about the same time even. Yet in other areasof the country - I know of breeders who swear by that brand and neverhave problems.

I know that in the Washington state area - samples of the food weresent in to be tested but I don't think anyone though of necropsy....Iknow I didn't think of it.

Anyway - I no longer use Purina and my rabbits are thriving - so I'mpleased. I use something that is made here in Texas and it seems towork well - where I live it is hard to find a variety of pellets.

Peg


pamnock wrote:

Had any of the rabbits beensent to the state vet for necropsy? Were there any tests runfor viral pathogens?



Pam

 

[pamnock]

Viral illnesses are common at this time of year,which could also be a reason that the incidents happened at thesameseason in different years. Certainly somethingthat should be investigated before using the feed company as ascapegoat.

I'm not saying that it isn't the feed - I'm just saying that other possible causes have not been investigated.

Pam

 

[BsDad]

Update:



Our sick bunny has passed.

Our bunny-vet has told us that the State regulators are aware of the problem.



How should virus illness be investigated?

 

[pamnock]

BsDad wrote:

Update:



Our sick bunny has passed.

Our bunny-vet has told us that the State regulators are aware of the problem.



How should virus illness be investigated?

The rabbits need to be sent to the state vet for viral testing. (Talkto your vet about the procedures for having the rabbits sent).

One breeder's state vet eventually uncovered corona virus present inher sick animals and the most likely cause of their demise.There are also many other viruses going around at this time of year.

Pam

 

[pamnock]

The commercial column in this issue of DomesticRabbits discusses reasons for possible losses, and mentions possiblemortality rates of25%-50% are not unheard of although goodmanagement can bring losses down to less than 10%.

I believe one of the most important, but most overlooked factors inmanagement is providing proper ventilation. The rabbitryshould have 10 complete air exchanges "per hour". As theweather gets cooler, I doubt that many rabbitries are meeting theseminimum requirments and are in fact, providing breeding grounds forviral illnesses.

I've also found that many breeders go through cycles of losses,especially after a couple years of breeding. Good managementcan help to decrease mortality rates.

Pam

 

[Pipp]

BsDad wrote:

Our sick bunny has passed.

Our bunny-vet has told us that the State regulators are aware of the problem.

How should virus illness be investigated?

So sorry for your loss. :sad:

If we could duplicate threads, I'd copy this to the Rabbitry as well, given Pam's excellent advice.

I will add that my pet food rant was a little harsh, especially since Ilater realized I was responding to a post by JimD who always doesdilligent research. I apologize for that.

It was also directed at 'pet food', not specifically rabbit food,having just come from reading about some of the common, unregulatedpractices in the industry and the efforts the big companies have inpublic relations instead ofindustry reform andresearch.

It's too late for your bunny, but I sincerely hope for the sake ofother bunnies you can get to the bottom of the problem.

sas

 

[naturestee]

I'm so sorry you lost your bun. Binky free, little one.

urplepansy:

 

[JimD]

BsDad wrote:

Update:



Our sick bunny has passed.

Our bunny-vet has told us that the State regulators are aware of the problem.



How should virus illness be investigated?

So sorry to hear about your bunnie .

ray::rainbow::jumpingbunny:

`jim

PS: If you suspect the feed, PLEASE save samples and contact the FDA and Purina.
The responsible thing to do is to make sure no other owner/breeders endup buying feed that could be tainted. Your vet should have taken thesesteps...or at least known how to go about it.
IMO...the worst thing that could be done is to simply throw away suspected feed and switch to another brand.

 

[JimD]

Pipp wrote:

Iwill add that my pet food rant was a little harsh, especially since Ilater realized I was responding to a post by JimD who always doesdilligent research. I apologize for that.


sas

:hug:....no worries .

`jim