Are these Healthy Bunny Pellets?

[gelato]

These are the only pellets they sell near me apart from another brand, City Farmers which doesnt have any nutrition or ingredient info on the packaging

http://peterspureanimalfoods.com/products/rabbit/food/lucerne-pellets.php
Theres a link to the pellets

Thanks!

 

[LakeCondo]

I didn't know what lucerne was; so looked it up & it's what we call alfalfa.

It would be good to know what cereals & legumes were used, so it's hard to tell.

Other Australians would be better able than I to advise you of your options, but I'd say you should look online for delivery options. What I buy is Oxbow Adult Rabbit Food, which has a long list of ingredients, starting with Timothy grass meal, soybean hulls, wheat middlings, soybean meal.
The analysis is
protein min 14.00
fat min 2.00
fiber min 25.00
max 29.00
calcium min 0.35
max 0.85
According to THE RABBIT HANDBOOK, pellets should contain
protein 14-15%
fat max 2%
fiber 12-25%
calcium max 1%
RABBIT HEALTH IN THE 21st CENTURY says that the protein maximum should be 16%. So the pellets you're wondering about have too much protein, fat, & calcium. But that MIGHT be better than in the other, unlabeled option, which is why you might want to look for delivery options.

 

[Toady]

Have you tried to see if you can get Barastock Rabbit Pellets? It has less fat, similar protein but more fibre. Honestly I wouldn't trust a supermarket food, you never know how long it's been sitting in a warehouse before it gets to the store.

Crude Protein (minimum) 16.5%
Crude Fat (minimum) 3.0%
Crude Fibre (maximum) 21.0%
Salt (maximum added) 0.3%
Copper (added) 8mg/kg
Selenium (added) 0.1mg/kg
Calcium (minimum) 1.0

We don't have a lot of choice here in Australia, do we?

 

[Soapsmum]

Were using the same Peter's brand that you linked to.
There's definitely not much variety here though.


Is it worth looking at pet stores, and vets to see if I can find something healthier?

 

[gelato]

Thanks for the replies everyone! unfortunately i cant find the barastoc brand here. Does anyone know where to purchase some in western australia, perth region. Im not to keen on buying oxbow pellets online because of the rediculous price and having to by online again when the other ones run out.

 

[Toady]

Just reading that no Barastoc feed (even that for horses and cattle) is available in WA, which is pretty crappy and probably due to the restrictions. I did find a few 'live stock feed' places online; City Livestock at Gnangara and also found Laucke Mills which produce a rabbit food http://www.lauckemills.com.au/rabbit1.html and click on the Distributors link for WA stockists... not sure about Perth suburbs but hopefully there's one near you. However the protein's a bit high but the Pet Rabbit/Guinea Pig Mix is lower but better it's better than supermarket brands

 

[Jacki-Small-Pet-Select]

Hi gelato

Wow - you really don't have much choice in pellets, do you.

Now, there are differing opinions on this, but it is possible to feed your buns a healthy diet without feeding pellets at all. As long as they are getting unlimited hay (generally timothy or another grass hay unless they're in need of having a higher protein legume hay)and daily vegetables, then it's possible to leave pellets out of the diet all together.

There's info about this from various different sources, and I can point you to a free nutrition paper that we've written that discusses this issue in more detail if you like. I'm pretty new to this forum so don't want to post a link in case that's not allowed, but if you'd like details just send me a message & I'll let you know.

Cheers,
Small Pet Select

 

[ZRabbits]

Jacki-Small-Pet-Select wrote:

Hi gelato

Wow - you really don't have much choice in pellets, do you.

Now, there are differing opinions on this, but it is possible to feed your buns a healthy diet without feeding pellets at all. As long as they are getting unlimited hay (generally timothy or another grass hay unless they're in need of having a higher protein legume hay)and daily vegetables, then it's possible to leave pellets out of the diet all together.

There's info about this from various different sources, and I can point you to a free nutrition paper that we've written that discusses this issue in more detail if you like. I'm pretty new to this forum so don't want to post a link in case that's not allowed, but if you'd like details just send me a message & I'll let you know.

Cheers,
Small Pet Select

I've heard of this practice. Not so much in the United States, but other parts of the World don't have access to good pellets. And greens and hay is all they have. Bunnies thrive with this practice.

Thanks for sharing this Small Pet Select. Knowing different ways to make sure your rabbit is getting healthy food is definitely a win/win for us bunny owners. It all boils down to knowing what your bunny is being fed.

K

 

[LakeCondo]

According to Rabbit Nutrition And Nutritional Healing [published 2011], it's nearly impossible to give a rabbit the nutrition needed each day without pellets.

The 'no-pellet diet' actually was popular in the US for awhile but has fallen out of favor in the last few years.

 

[Mobun1]

Hi there, The bunny vet in Booragoon sell what you are looking for. We get our oxbow Timothy pellets there also.
You will find it under rabbit medicine unit 10/20 Shields crs Booragoon
PH 93302321

 

[toyabrooke]

I use the pellets you can get in a bag at Pet Stock. It doesn't really have a name or much information, but Horatio seems to love it!! My mum said it is just 'Natty Cat' and can be used as a litter too so it's not fantastic but does the job. Our breeder also just used the Woolies brand for her rabbits so I don't think there is anything wrong with it. Just don't get ones with lots of nuts and seeds and fruit - I have already made that mistake once!

 

[Nela]

I very much love the more natural feeding route. Especially in places where good quality pellets aren't so readily available. I recommendusing the pellet more as a supplement, to help with the things that are hard to balance, and feeding a ton of grasses and hay, and loads of greens, and fruit as the occasional treats. It's really not so expensive, not more than getting a good quality pellet so this can be an option for you. Herbs are easy to grow indoors and outdoors although it might be hard to grow enough to actually feed your bun but if you have any gardening space, maybe you can have a little fun with that.

Myself, the good quality pellet I have found here is alfalfa based and therefore higher in calcium so they get much less of a pellet diet.

 

[LakeCondo]

I don't know if it is available in The Netherlands or not, but Lucille Moore's book Rabbit Nutrition and Nutritional Healing says that it is virtually impossible for a rabbit to receive needed nutrition without daily pellets because that would take a certain mix of over a dozen vegetables to accomplish it.

 

[Nela]

Book or not, rabbits in the wild don't get pellets so saying it is 'virtually impossible' would be incorrect. Sure they get their teeth on loads of stuff, but I doubt they are finding themselves 12 veggies daily. And like I said, my rabbits do get pellets to supplement to be sure that they get a bit of everything, they just get less of it. Just because it's in a book, doesn't make it fact Go read previous books on rabbits and you'll see how much truth there is in that statement. Either way, my buns do great on this method and I don't feel there is anything wrong with it. If you feel it's wrong, you are entitled to your opinion, and free to do what you choose with your own but I don't have to accept it just because one person in one book said so. I can find you another book which says this method is the one they recommend and where does that leave us? Simply leaves us to what we prefer for our buns and what is and isn't available to us.

 

[ZRabbits]

Nela wrote:

Book or not, rabbits in the wild don't get pellets so saying it is 'virtually impossible' would be incorrect. Sure they get their teeth on loads of stuff, but I doubt they are finding themselves 12 veggies daily. And like I said, my rabbits do get pellets to supplement to be sure that they get a bit of everything, they just get less of it. Just because it's in a book, doesn't make it fact Go read previous books on rabbits and you'll see how much truth there is in that statement. Either way, my buns do great on this method and I don't feel there is anything wrong with it. If you feel it's wrong, you are entitled to your opinion, and free to do what you choose with your own but I don't have to accept it just because one person in one book said so. I can find you another book which says this method is the one they recommend and where does that leave us? Simply leaves us to what we prefer for our buns and what is and isn't available to us.

Nela, there is nothing wrong with your method. I've heard many successful stories on more greens, less pellets.

As long as you KNOW your rabbit, and keep to the same regime of feeding and they are thriving and healthy, guess what...You WON!


K