Help with rabbit food and hay

[Sweetie]

My finances are very tight as of right now and I don't have enough money to keep up with rabbit food and hay. I was thinking about putting Prince in a foster home until my finances got better, which would be 2011. I have 1 lovebird, whom I am bonding with each/every day, named Kiwi, 1 cat named Anne, 2 rabbits named Sweetie and Prince, and 11 fish in a 55 gallon fish tank(there are fish in that tank that need this size tank). Starting January 2010, I will be having financial difficulties, even though I am getting financial aid, which isn't much, because I have to pay for books then I owe a friend money, after this I don't have barely enough to carry me month after month, because I am getting Sweetie spayed which costs me $111.00. It is $101 for the spay and $10 for her to stay overnight.

As you all can see my finances are really very tight. I really don't want to put Prince in a foster home until my finances get better or even give him up. Because Sweetie and Prince are a bonded pair. I don't want to split them up. I will not give up Sweetie at all. Female rabbits are hard to find and I have bonded with her, she is very special to me. I am not saying that Prince isn't special to me because he is. That is why I said that I really don't want to put him in a foster home or give him up, but I will if I absolutely have to.

I am wondering if there is anyone who give free rabbit food and/or hay to people who are having financial difficulties. Like a non-profit organization. Like PAWS(they give cat food and litter free or at a very low price).

Please help! I will greatly appreciate it. If you know of a really good and very safe non-profit organization that gives free rabbit food and hay, please let me know!

Thank you in advance!!!!!

 

[undergunfire]

Definitely do not split up a bonded pair, you will do a lot of damage to them.

What type of rabbit food are you currently feeding?

 

[Sweetie]

Sunaturals rabbit food. It is high in fiber. It has some hay, some veggies, pellets, tiny pinecones, etc. The vet said that it is good that I am feeding them this because it is high in fiber.

 

[Sweetie]

Splitting up this bonded pair would probably be a bad thing, that is why I am trying to avoid splitting them up. They love each other.

 

[undergunfire]

Sweetie wrote:

Sunaturals rabbit food. It is high in fiber. It has some hay, some veggies, pellets, tiny pinecones, etc. The vet said that it is good that I am feeding them this because it is high in fiber.

I think I know what you are talking about and if I correct, that food is no good and is over priced. In all honesty, since you are in a financial bind, I'd try going to a feed store and buying a large 25+lbs bag of rabbit pellets (50lbs is only like $14 here). I know timothy based pellets are best for adults, but if all you can afford right now if alfalfa based....well, then at least your rabbits still get to eat! You can also get hay by the bales or sometimes partial bales for cheaper then pet store hay.

 

[Sweetie]

My rabbits will not eat just pellets. It will take two to three days before they will touch the pellets. At petsmart here the food I buy is $11 for a 3 lbs bag. I know that is expensive but two bags will usually last my rabbits a month. They are small breed rabbits, I have a purebred Netherland Dwarf named Prince, and a lionhead mix named Sweetie. They are both small.

I am not sure if timothy pellets are high in fiber, are they? Next month I will check and see if I can get a bale of hay cheaper than the pet store here. We have three pet stores here: Petsmart, Petco, and Farmland. Farmland usually isn't that good with their stuff. Plus their pellet food for rabbits is in a large container not closed up. The pellets are probably not as good quality as the other two pet stores.

 

[undergunfire]

Sweetie wrote:

My rabbits will not eat just pellets. It will take two to three days before they will touch the pellets. At petsmart here the food I buy is $11 for a 3 lbs bag. I know that is expensive but two bags will usually last my rabbits a month. They are small breed rabbits, I have a purebred Netherland Dwarf named Prince, and a lionhead mix named Sweetie. They are both small.
I think you should start trying really hard to get them to eat just plain pellets. It sounds like they are "spoiled" off of junk pellets. Try slowly taking away the "fun bits" in their current pellets and adding in pellets from a feed store. Do you have Tractor and Supply? You can get Purina pellets, that is the only one I can think of off of the top of my head that is cheap.

$22 a month is insane for 6lbs worth of pellets. I pay $55 for 50lbs for high quality (Oxbow) pellets and that is with ordering it offline. I'd never be able to afford what you are paying right now to feed 2 rabbits for a month....mainly because I am also feeding & paying for litter for 4 cats and feeding a dog, plus rats.

I am not sure if timothy pellets are high in fiber, are they?
Your rabbits will get fiber from the timothy hay that they eat. Honestly....right now, if it means giving up your rabbits, I'd feed what is cheaper and you can get in bulk. You can't split up your bonded pair, so you'd have to rehome both rabbits together. So, you need to make some wise choices and try very hard to get cheaper foods in bulk from grain stores.

 

[Sweetie]

I don't have Tractor and Supply here. The only pet stores we have here are: Petsmart, Petco, and Farmland!

Female rabbits are very hard to find! Male rabbits are easier to find!

I rather not rehome them unless I absolutely have to.
I am trying to avoid rehoming them!

 

[undergunfire]

Sweetie wrote:

I don't have Tractor and Supply here. The only pet stores we have here are: Petsmart, Petco, and Farmland!

You don't have any locally owned feed stores around you, like...where they sell horse pellets, chicken feed, cow feed, etc? What foods does FarmLand sell? They sound like a feed store.

 

[Sweetie]

Unfortunately I do not have any feed stores that sell cow feed.

Farmland sells rabbit feed, bird feed, horse products, fish and fish products, cages and fish tanks, puppies, birds(including chickens and ducks), some books, hay, bedding(not real sure on bedding). These type of things Farmland sells.

They really aren't a good pet feed store. I try to avoid them if at all possible.

 

[undergunfire]

Could you go to FarmLand and write down all of the different brands and types of rabbit feed they sell, so we can help you find a more economical feed so you can keep your rabbits? Or call them and see what they sell in 25-50lbs bags? Your rabbits aren't being fed good food as it is, so switching woulnd't be bad for them...you just need to do it slowly.

 

[aurora369]

Sometimes feed stores can be a bit hard to find. Try looking through a phone book. Or, call a horse stable and ask them if they know of any local feed stores. I have done that before to find a local place to sell hay. You may even be able to buy some cheap hay from a horse stable.

I buy 60 pounds of hay for $14 when I buy it in a bale. That would last two bunnies about 6 months.

I buy cheap pellets at a local co-op feed store for $15 for a 40 pound bag.

I did a google search for feed store in Bremerton WA, and came up with this location.
Bay Hay & Feed
10355 NE Valley Rd, Bainbridge Isle, WA, United States‎
(206) 842-2813‎

You could give them a call and see what they have. Google says it is about 40 minutes away from you.

You'll probably have better luck finding something by calling some horse stables or looking in your local phone book. Most feed stores aren't very big and don't have websites.

-Dawn

 

[Sweetie]

Undergunfire: if the feed that I am feeding my rabbits is not good for them, then why are they healthy? I have only had to take them to the vet about 3 times since I got them last year. Farmland only sells the pellets for rabbits. I can probably get a big bale of hay cheap there. They also sell chew sticks, mineral blocks. That is pretty much it.

 

[Sweetie]

Aurora369: thank you! I will see if I can get a bale of hay, large bale of timothy hay. Sweetie goes crazy when she has hay, she loves it and it is gone within two days or less. I will call that number when I get a chance and see if they can help me out!

I will also see if there are anybody that has a farm around here. Maybe there is a farm out in Seabeck area. There are a lot of people who have acres out there.

 

[aurora369]

A proper feed store is not going to have much else than food and hay. Maybe some horse tack and other stuff for larger farm animals.

You can always ask Farmland for the nutritional break down of the pellets that they have.

The first bunny I had lived to be 13 years old on the plain feed store pellets. For the longest time, I would just buy it from a bulk bin at a local pet store because it was close to my dance studio and cheap. The only time he ever went to the vet was when I needed to have someone teach me to clip his nails.

My buns get a plain pellet that is 14% protein and 20% fibre and it is made from alfalfa. They also get tons of timothy hay that I buy by the bale. Litter is compressed wood pellets. So, pretty much the cheapest I can find for pellet, hay and litter, and they are all super healthy and happy.

-Dawn

 

[Sweetie]

The food I am feeding my rabbits is high in fiber and my vet who is knowledgable in rabbits even said that it is really good because it has what they need and is high in fiber!

 

[aurora369]

I just moved about a month ago, so to find somewhere to buy hay, I just started calling horse stables in my town. The first place I called was able to get me in touch with a couple of stores. I played a bit of phone tag and eventually found this little place about 3 minutes away from me that sells awesome bales of hay for $14 each.

It can be a bit tricky to find these places, but once you do, your bunnies and your pocket book will thank you.

I don't even bother trying to conserve hay. It's so cheap for me that I just put gobs of it in their cages and clean it up every couple of days when I do a litter box clean. And even with that attitude, a bale last me about 3 months for 4 bunnies.

About the pellets... Even if the pellets you are feeding are good for the buns, if it is really expensive then you may want to look into feeding a bulk plain pellet from the feed store. Yes, the higher the fiber the better, and low fat too. You can probably find a feed that is just as good as your current feed for about $15 for enough to last you 6 months. For that reason alone is why I feed the bulk food. I could spend a ton of money on another pellet that is slightly better, but this stuff has everything my bunnies need and since I'm on a strict budget, that's what they get.

-Dawn

 

[Sweetie]

That is cool! When your bunnies, Dawn, get their ration of hay do they go crazy and wolf it down like there is no tomorrow? Sweetie does that!

 

[aurora369]

Two of mine do. They are the fat ones on a very limited pellets (1/8th cup each) and they just mow through the hay. The last bale I got is awesome and they just love it.

Sugar will if she's not sleepy. If I put hay in her cage when she's sleepy, then she'll just ignore it until she wakes up more. Then she'll hop over to her litter bin with the hay in it and eat it. When she eats the hay she also does this funny burrowing thing. She'll start throwing any pieces that aren't perfect over her self and she ends up burying herself in hay. It's pretty funny to watch. She then eats the rest of that hay later once all the good pieces are gone.

Baxter, he loves food and attention, but he loves attention more. So when I am giving him anything, he is begging for pets first and then he'll eat the food/hay I put in his cage only when I close the cage and walk away. But he does eat quite a bit of hay too.

-Dawn

 

[Sweetie]

LOL! Yeah Sweetie has buried herself in the hay also. She even offers me some. It is really cute. She will even build a nest sometimes with the hay. Prince is fixed so he cannot impregnate her.