Feed question

[susansheila]

I have two rabbits. One is a year old female (altered) dwarf and the other is a 4 month old flemish giant. Not altered yet.
I'm currently feeding Manna Pro Sho. I'm paying $30 for a 50 pound bag. But I'm considering switching to Nutrena which I can get for about $15 for a 50 pound bag.
My question is does anyone use Nutrena? And are there different varieties?
Thanks so much!

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

susansheila wrote:

I have two rabbits. One is a year old female (altered) dwarf and the other is a 4 month old flemish giant. Not altered yet.
I'm currently feeding Manna Pro Sho. I'm paying $30 for a 50 pound bag. But I'm considering switching to Nutrena which I can get for about $15 for a 50 pound bag.
My question is does anyone use Nutrena? And are there different varieties?
Thanks so much!

I have used that brand and never had a problem with it, I'm just finishing my bag and working my way over to Timothy Pellets. There are a couple of different choices of Nutrena I've only bought regular pellets.

Here's another thread about this pellet

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

Personally, I would stick with the Manna Pro Sho Formula. The Nutrena appears to be very basic food. I am considering going to the Sho Formula myself. While we feed very limited pellets (our Flemish get about 1/3 cup pellets per day), in comparing different brands of pellets, the Sho Formula does appear to be one of the better pellets overall. We also feed Dumor to some of our older rabbits that have issues keeping weight on.

In qualifying my comments here, I am not a huge believer of pellets. They were originally designed to fatten up rabbits in an industry we don't like to discuss. There is a lot of debate on using timothy vs. alfalfa based pellets as well as weight issues, digestive system issues and dental issues by feeding too many pellets. We offer pellets only to maintain weight and body conditioning and have rabbits on no pellet diets. The bottom line on all the debates is that pellets should be such a small part of the diet that the arguments are irrelevent.

But in my opinion, I would stick with the Sho Formula. I would suggest shopping around as that sounds like a much higher price than is charged around here. And since you are in New England, Sweet Meadow Farms offers an excellent pellet. You might want to check them out since they are also located in MA....I use their products and our rabbits love everything we get from them. Customer service is great. Their web site is www.sweetmeadowfarm.com . I just checked prices on a 50# bag of their pellets and it's $19.99....they are worth a look.

Randy

 

[pamnock]

For pet rabbits, I certainly wouldn't hesitate switching to the Nutrena and supplementing the diet with greens and some veggies as well as providing some hay. Since you only have 2 rabbits, you might consider buying in smaller quantities or freezing some of your feed. The humid Mass. weather can cause feed to easily mold.

Pellets were designed as a convenient, nutritionaldiet to feed large numbers of rabbits. (Not to "fatten" up commercial rabbits - we don't want excess fat, just good muscle.)

As Randy mentioned, pellets need not be the primary source of nutrition for a pet rabbit.

Due to the excessive increase in prices and issues with availability, we've actually been regularly switching feeds recently depending on the market.

Pam

 

[susansheila]

Thank you everyone for your great replies.

It's such a tough choice. But what I didn't mention was that I have four chinchillas that are also on the manna pro sho. So the switch would be for all. So I do need the larger bag. My baby flemish eating the most, lol.

Most feeds, Nutrena, Manna Pro Sho and Tradition, I have to order in advance. But the price I'm paying for the Manna Pro seems to be more expensive than what anyone else pays for it. I think the feed store I get it from is making a small fortune on it. Not fair.

So of course I want quality with out getting robbed.