Frustrated with trying to feed the right food

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ninetoes01

ninetoes01

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Jun 29, 2009
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Location
Ontario, Ontario, Canada
I normally feed my rabbit "nature's promise" premium rabbit food. Last time I went to the pet store to buy it, they didn't sell the rabbit version anymore, they only had a guinea pig kind. I bought it, compared the labels and the only difference was ground corn and corn gluten meal were switched into a different order. So I fed it to him until it was gone. (he also got a small pinch of seeds from the hamster food that I give my rat as a treat daily)
I don't have a lot of money, and I went back to the same store when this food bag ran out and discovered that I was 2 dollars short to buy the same food. (I literally have NO change anywhere in my house at all - that's how low I am on cash)
So I spent about 10 mins looking at the food that was there, what I could afford with the 10 dollars I had, and what was closest to the one I had bought before.
I ended up with "balanced-by-nature Ecotrition". It has little bits of oats in it, little bits of carrots (which I know aren't good, but there's not a lot in there).
The main difference between this and the other one is that it is alfalfa based and not timothy based. the second ingredient is ground corn, which is similar to the other.

I've tried reading through the nutrition facts on this site and there's just too much information to take in! Calcium, protein, which fresh veggies can he/can't he eat... etc, etc!!!!!!!!!
I do know how important it is for him to have a healthy pellet, because that is where most of his nutrition comes from!
But he also gets unlimited timothy hay, a bit of spinache/dandilion/broccoli each day, and a few kernels of unflavoured popcorn/piece of banana (so I can get him to go back into his cage each day).
He's only been eating these new pellets for a day and I have noticed his poops are a little more moist. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but I didn't like the dryness of his poops when he was on the other stuff...

anyways, I hope that's more than enough information, I need some advise, I want to have a healthy, happy long-lived bunny rabbit! Thanks ahead of time,

-Cinder-bunny's Mummy
 
K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple S. Just feed cheap basic pellets and hay.

The House Rabbit people flooded the net with "their" info which usually confuse new owners and make them paranoid.

First of all, IMHO timothy pellets are for older rabbits whereas young rabbits really should have alfalfa pellets to grow on.

If you have the room and a feed store around, buying pellets and hay in large quantities is the easiest way to save money.

Giving them treats such as popcorn and banana is more for the owner than the rabbit. Except for foods that they don't like, my rabbits look at regular foods as a treat. They love their pellets just as much as any treats. Giving rabbit treats is like giving children chocolate.

I think Arlette in alt.pets.rabbits is in Thunder Bay and can help. I don't know her but read some of her posts. You can use google to access the group.
 
Can you get Purina rabbit pellets there if your tight on cash they sell 50 pounds for 17.99 that should feed your bun for a long time. Purina fibre 3 for a house bun would be best more fibre storm pooh are pretty dry its all the fiber in there diet.

I would feed
Purina Fibre 3
and unlimited hay find a feed store near you.
https://www.rabbitchow.com/Products/ECMD2-0019043.aspx

This is the food put her location in and find a supplier they should also sell bails of hay.
 
If you feed a diet with lots of hay and a variety of veg then pellets become much less important. You can probably up the variety of veg you feed by sharing what you eat, eg if you have carrots feed him the peel, if you have an apple, give him the core etc.

One thing I would suggest though is trying to get the new bag of food a little before you run out of the old so you can mix the two. You might find the soft poop is more to do with the sudden change than the food itself :)
 
wow, thanks for all the info guys! RO never ceases to amaze me with the helpful and knowledgeable people on this site. Thanks again!
I think what I'm going to do is keep him on this stuff for now, and when I move to Ottawa in 2 weeks, I'll get him everything he needs.
*sigh* poor Cinder-bunny... these moves are hard on him!
 
ninetoes01 wrote:
I normally feed my rabbit "nature's promise" premium rabbit food. Last time I went to the pet store to buy it, they didn't sell the rabbit version anymore, they only had a guinea pig kind. I bought it, compared the labels and the only difference was ground corn and corn gluten meal were switched into a different order. So I fed it to him until it was gone. (he also got a small pinch of seeds from the hamster food that I give my rat as a treat daily)
I don't have a lot of money, and I went back to the same store when this food bag ran out and discovered that I was 2 dollars short to buy the same food. (I literally have NO change anywhere in my house at all - that's how low I am on cash)
So I spent about 10 mins looking at the food that was there, what I could afford with the 10 dollars I had, and what was closest to the one I had bought before.
I ended up with "balanced-by-nature Ecotrition". It has little bits of oats in it, little bits of carrots (which I know aren't good, but there's not a lot in there).
The main difference between this and the other one is that it is alfalfa based and not timothy based. the second ingredient is ground corn, which is similar to the other.

I've tried reading through the nutrition facts on this site and there's just too much information to take in! Calcium, protein, which fresh veggies can he/can't he eat... etc, etc!!!!!!!!!
I do know how important it is for him to have a healthy pellet, because that is where most of his nutrition comes from!
But he also gets unlimited timothy hay, a bit of spinache/dandilion/broccoli each day, and a few kernels of unflavoured popcorn/piece of banana (so I can get him to go back into his cage each day).
He's only been eating these new pellets for a day and I have noticed his poops are a little more moist. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but I didn't like the dryness of his poops when he was on the other stuff...

anyways, I hope that's more than enough information, I need some advise, I want to have a healthy, happy long-lived bunny rabbit! Thanks ahead of time,

-Cinder-bunny's Mummy
Click to expand...
commercialism/commerce/advertisement/--its all pointed at the consumer,,and if they can make it appeal to you,-(marketing)-,they know they can sell it,,no matter what it is.//.health of the critter is secondary in most cases--,i use purina rabbit chow-at my facility..nothing special..just plain jane-quality/lowfat/- alfalfa pellet--for vitamins a nutritional suppliment/.never freehand pellets,,rabbits only require a small amount daily of this digestible-fiber pellet,,their main staple is hay-ie,timothy/orchard grasses/yard grasses-(non-digestible fiber)-this will make the teeth happy and gitract in optimum operating order...,there are many other things that can go wrong with a pet rabbit,we certainally do-not need to compromize their health,,i donot believe in-feeding alfalfa -maybe-only a-(small amount as a treat.)-it is digestible fiber-like clover...you can check out my profile for my website diet/nutrition-sincerely james waller:wave::rose::pinkbouce::biggrin2:
 
Everyone had good input about the rabbit food, but I want to add you should do just as much research about your rat's food. Seed diets are not appropriate and a hamster seed mix certainly isn't. I order Harlan Teklad lab blocks online at www.thecraftyrat.com I usually get 15lbs at a time and even with paying shipping, it only costs about $1.50 per pound. That is way cheaper than any rat food at a pet store that they shouldn't even be eating.
This is another good website about a homemade diet: http://www.ratsrule.com/diet.html
 
thank you! What about hamster blocks? That is what I was told to feed him, and the people I asked said they could eat just about anything. I thought hamster seeds would be ok since the little pellet/block things were
 
Rabbits main diet is leaves (mainly grass but with other plants too) and hamsters main diet is seeds and grains.

Although rabbits can eat seeds/grain (it's not poisonous) it's much higher energy/lower fibre than their natural diet. That means that it can make them fat and upset the balance of bacteria in their digestive systems and cause sticky poops.

Small amounts are fine but too much can cause a problem. Most rabbit pellets are grass based where as mixes are cereal based. If you can only get hold of rabbit mix then it should only be fed in small quantities alongside plenty of hay and a mix of vegetables.

The other thing to remember is hamsters are omnivours (they eat plants and meat) not herbivours like rabbits so anything designed for a hamster might contain unsuitable items for a rabbit.

I wouldn't give to much weight to anyone recommending hamster food for rabbits. There is quite a bit of difference between what isn't poisonous to a rabbit and what is actually good for it :)
 
Most if not all rat foods in pet stores are not suitable for rats. Oxbow is the very best but many rats will not touch it. I would really recommend you find somewhere online to buy Harlan Teklad lab blocks like the site I've already mentioned. So many pet store workers share false care information about rats and they are often improperly fed and housed because of that. You should join www.goosemoose.com it is just as helpful as this forum but all about rats! :D I love it there.
 
Yeah, def read up on putting bun on a new food, before you actually have to. It takes about 2 weeks of mixing the old with the new before they are on the new food completely. I recommend Oxbow if you can get it. Kaytee is also a good one.;)

I ran into this same problem when the petstore I was going to was closing. I did a search bysupplier and found an actual hardware store that actually sells pet products and rabbits believe it or not. We have been getting our pellets there. They weren't carrying them at the time, but the lady said she could order it for me. It has been successful, I've not even had to call, she keeps one or two bags in stock for us.:D

So, try doing a search for the pellets you feed now, there should be a list of suppliers in your area and maybe another store or vet sells it or can order it for you if they don't already sell it.;)
 
yeah, I wouldn't have switched him like that if it wasn't an emergency situation. It just happened that I literally didn't have the extra two dollars at all... like just enough to cover something different.
Tamsin: I never fed my rabbit hamster food as his main diet, it was only a small pinch as a treat each day. It's my rat that has been eating hamster food. (he is starting today on a much healthier diet and will be getting seeds only as a treat as well!)
 
pocketsizedrhino:

update: I created a pasta mix for my rat, added oats, corn flakes and started giving him some dog food as well. My dog gets holistic dog food and the protein is 23%... a little higher than the recommended brand in the link you showed, but it's a very high quality food and about 3 kibbles a day should be sufficient.
I picked through the hamster food, took out the corn to throw out, added the alfalfa pellets for my bunny (he's always gotten themanyway), and added the sunflower seeds and dried fruit in the mix to his new food mix. I think I may add the leftover seeds to the mix as well? Not sure yet. Anyhow, my rat loved it and devoured nearly all of it! I'm hoping he'll live a little longer! 2 years is old for a rat...

As for my Cinder-bunny, I unfortunately can't afford to buy him more food right now, so he'll have to make do with what he's got. I think his diet is healthy enough right now that he should be alright, despite the fact I switched him so abruptly. At least this food is similar enough to what he had before that hopefully it won't make too big of a difference.
I'm moving in about 2 weeks, so once I get settled in and can get him some proper food, I think I'll be buying from a large animal feed store. Also, come springtime he's going to have an outside freerange contraption of some kind for the daytime so he can eat grass and dandilions to his heart's content!
Thanks again for the help everyone! Especially with my rat, I didn't realize that the food he's been having is so unhealthy!
 
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