Confused on rabbit food brands

[Topaz]

I've seen many people recommend Pruina and Mana Pro rabbit foods. I'd like to switch to Purina (easy to get and much cheaper than Oxbow,) but all the ones I saw have alfalfa as the first ingrediant. I have 3 adult rabbits, and spending about $30+ a month on the oxbow, which is a little nuts. No one carries the large bags, and so I'm paying $10 per 5 lbs bag of food. I think I know where I can get Mana Pro Sho (local feed store,) and know of 2 places I can get the Purina Show. I guess I'm asking why are these so highly recommended if everyone says to stay away from timothy based diets?

Also, if they are okay, which ones would be best? The show formulas or the "professional." The only maintenance diet I've seen was Rabbit Chow by Purina. My last choice would be Kaytee Timothy pellets, which is a little over a $1 per pound, and only comes in 5 lbs. bags.

I love the oxbow as do the rabbits, but it's not good when you have to dip into your own grocery and their vet fund to afford it every week/biweekly (not to mention the gas to drive out to the one store to get it.)

 

[naturestee]

Where are you? You can pm me your city if you want. Could the pet store you buy the 5 lb Oxbow bags from order 10 lb or 50 lb bags for you? Some stores will do special orders like that.

My only problem is that Purina and other alfalfa pellets are a huge difference from Oxbow BB/T. Your buns could be ok with it, just make sure to switch very slowly and watch out for excess or mushy cecals which might be caused by the increase in protein.

 

[Topaz]

The store carries the 11lb bags as well, but it's $17...which I think is nuts. I can slowly switch them if it would be okay to have them on something alfalfa based.

Which formula would work best, btw? Show, professional, rabbit chow?

 

[tonyshuman]

I wouldn't personally switch to an alfalfa pellet unless you have small, active bunnies like nethies, or you don't feed more than 1/8c a day. I feed my three adult bunnies (2 are in the 5lb range and one is a 2lb nethie) 1/8c of BBT a day. I find a 10lb bag here goes for $12ish, and lasts me probalby 3-4 mo. If you have a Mounds store near you, or an Animart, they sell it. Mounds is cheaper. Maybe your bunnies don't need so much pellets, and you can save money that way?

 

[Little Bay Poo]

I use Manna Pro, but both of my bunnies were being fed this diet at the breeders before we got them. They've never been on a timothy based diet. They are Netherland Dwarfs and highly active...in fact I have to feed them oatmeal daily to keep on their weight because I have seen them get a little skinny with too much play time. Like tonyshuman said, maybe this diet is only good for the smaller bunnies. If you are feeding a timothy based diet currently, I'd be hesitant to switch over to alfalfa.

In terms of price a 50 pound bag of Manna Pro Sho formula was about $15.

 

[Topaz]

Thanks everyone for your replies. There is a Mounds near me, and, strangely, they're very limited on their small pet supplies, especially the food.

I have 2 dwarf mixes and a French Lop. All are very active. I've started doing the 1/4c a day thing with unlimied timothy hay, and am wondering if I did 1/8c a day if the alfalfa would be okay. I really hate the idea of switching to alfalfa based, but it seems that the only timothy products out there are Kaytee or Oxbow.

 

[Maureen Las]

I feed a mix of purina green bag with kaytee timothy pellets. My rabbits will not eat BBt ..maybe because they all were adult shelter rabbits used to alfalfa pellets.

I think there is some debate (on EB) whether it is absolutely essentail to feed a timothy pellet for health to an adult . I feed so little of the alfalfa pelletthat I sometimes wonder if it makes that much difference.
I would be interested in others opinion on this as it is not something that I am sure about either.

 

[tonyshuman]

[align=left]:yeahthat:
I think the main thing the bunnies get out of pellets is all the vitamins and minerals they need, like a vitamin pill. But I have no clue, they like the BBT, I can afford it, so all is good here.

that's too bad about your Mounds. ours is WONDERFUL and I LOVE IT!
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[BethM]

I've just switched my bunnies from Kaytee Timothy Select to the Oxbow BB/T. I think the 5 lb bag was $10. (The Kaytee was $7, I think) But it's lasted a long time, my 3 bunnies get 1/4 cup each per day. They love it. As soon as it's available again, I'm going to switch them over to the American Pet Diner Timmy Pellets. They look really good, and I've heard a lot of good things about them. Even with shipping, I will be paying the same or less than I'm paying for the Oxbow.
They've been a lot more active and had no squishy poos since I switched them. With the Kaytee I could only give it to them twice a week or I had tons of squishy poos to clean up, and they would just lay around all the time.
With the price of produce going up, I'm cutting into my own grocery funds to pay for the rabbit food, anyway.

 

[werecatrising]

I was paying 13 dollars for the 5 pound bag of BBT. I asked if they could get a 50 pound bag. They special ordered it and it was $48.

 

[tonyshuman]

I bet you could get your Mounds to order you some BBT. There are several here and they all seem to carry different things, I think depending on what the people around there want. For instance the one in the country carries goat, pig, and chicken feed, and the one in the city carries more cat stuff. Some carry 25 and 50lb boxes of oxbow timmy hay and 50lb boxes of BBT, some don't.

 

[slavetoabunny]

BethM wrote:

As soon as it's available again, I'm going to switch them over to the American Pet Diner Timmy Pellets. They look really good, and I've heard a lot of good things about them. Even with shipping, I will be paying the same or less than I'm paying for the Oxbow.

My girls have eated APD all their lives. I was very suprised when I went to order from the APD website and they were out of stock - a first. I did find a 10 pound bag at Bunny Bunch Boutique for about the same price as APD.

http://www.bunnybunchboutique.com/HayFoodnew.html