KAYTEE brand kibble bad for bunnies?

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Mr. Bunbun

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whenever i give Bunbun KAYTEE brand kibble with dental bites in it, she twitches and seems to have ticks. whenever i give her the KAYTEE PRO HEALTH kibble with omega 3s, she acts normal and doesnt twitch. i went to all the pet stores around where I live and only 1 petland had the dental bite kibble. was it recalled from stores? if it was i wouldnt be surprised. it makes a bunny act abnormal. If anyone has heard anything about this please let me know. Ty.
 
angieluv wrote:
so are you sure that you are buying the rabbit food and not for another animal?
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:yeahthat:
 
I have fed the Kaytee with dental bites before, and it's not a very good pellet. The dental bites are just treat biscuits with a bit of pumice or something in them, and the pellets are alfalfa-based, not ok for an adult bunny. I don't know about the other one.
 
I would recommend that if you're going to get your bun Kaytee brand, try Timothy Complete for a Timothy-based pellet, or Kaytee Supreme Daily Blend for Rabbits for an alfalfa-based pellet. They are the only Kaytee products I would recommend, and this after much research. :)

Also, be sure to switch GRADUALLY over a period of a month. :D
 
I agree with Rosie. Also, if cost is a factor, the first thing I'd do with an adult bunny is decrease the pellet amount to 1/8 cup/day/5lbs of bunny, or less. You can also find a few good pellets at feed stores if there are any around you. Those usually come in huge bags and are a lot cheaper than pet store pellets.
 
When you say it makes her twitch and gives her ticks, is it as she is eating? Is it on her hips? If so, that's excitement. Some rabbits only get it with specific treats but others get it more frequently.

I completely agree with the others though that maybe it is better to get her into a healthier food gradually.
 
tonyshuman wrote:
I agree with Rosie. Also, if cost is a factor, the first thing I'd do with an adult bunny is decrease the pellet amount to 1/8 cup/day/5lbs of bunny, or less. You can also find a few good pellets at feed stores if there are any around you. Those usually come in huge bags and are a lot cheaper than pet store pellets.
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Too true. The general rule of thumb is 1/4 cup of food per 5lbs of body weight. :)

When decreasing, you'll want to take your time and do it gradually, too, that way it's not too much of a shock to your bun's system. :)
 
Huh, interesting. It could be bunny butt twitches for loving the stuff, but she really shouldn't have either of those foods. Timothy complete is the only Kaytee I'd recommend feeding.
 
That sounds like a bunny who just really loves the food if she is doing it at the time of eating. Unfortunately, like with children, just because they like something, doesn't mean its good for them.
 
I would never feel Kaytee because I do not believe that any of their products are made for the best interest of our pets. They may make a "decent" Timothy rabbit & piggie pellet that some people like..but look at all the other crap products that they put out on the market for uneducated people to buy. I'd rather not support that. When you buy Kaytee Timothy Complete, you are just fueling them to keep producing junk products.

Sweet Meadows, Oxbow, or American Pet Diner are you're best choices. Where do you live? You can find Oxbow in PetSmart if you can't order it online, not I am not sure if you can find Sweet Meadows or American Pet Diner in stores.
 
undergunfire wrote:
I would never feel Kaytee because I do not believe that any of their products are made for the best interest of our pets. They may make a "decent" Timothy rabbit & piggie pellet that some people like..but look at all the other crap products that they put out on the market for uneducated people to buy. I'd rather not support that. When you buy Kaytee Timothy Complete, you are just fueling them to keep producing junk products.

Sweet Meadows, Oxbow, or American Pet Diner are you're best choices. Where do you live? You can find Oxbow in PetSmart if you can't order it online, not I am not sure if you can find Sweet Meadows or American Pet Diner in stores.
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I understand what you're saying on this...but I do have a basic disagreement on it...

What about people that cannot afford to buy the pellets you mention? There've been times we couldn't...and had to feed ours the Kaytee pellets I mention. I agree that a lot of their products aren't the best for animals, but those two kinds of pellets are good products, and when you don't have the money for things like American Pet Diner and Oxbow, you have to find SOMETHING affordable and healthy for them...and those pellets fit the bill. We couldn't afford Oxbow for the longest time (or American Pet Diner...couldn't even find Sweet Meadow, except online, and that was just too expensive with shipping). The only reason we can afford it now is because we found a place where we could buy it at-cost. If we hadn't found that here in Canada, we would've had to go back to Kaytee, and I wouldn't have felt like they were getting a horrible quality of life because of it, because I've done the nutritional comparisons, and Kaytee Timothy Complete was appropriate on all values.

I just cannot agree with telling people something that makes them feel bad for not ordering their bunny food online, paying for shipping, and thereby spending twice as much as they have to (and even paying quite a bit more if they do find it in stores). If someone cannot afford it, they shouldn't have to feel bad for buying what they can afford, especially if it's something that has the proper nutritional values for their pet. Plenty of companies (and companies owned by other companies that qualify) have other products that we may not agree with...but you've got to do what you've got to do to keep your animal healthy. I think that's the most important thing.

I hope this doesn't anger you...it's just that there are people out there that are able to afford Oxbow, American Pet Diner, and Sweet Meadow...but there are also a lot out there that cannot, either by buying it in-store or ordering online. It's an expensive option. If someone cannot afford it, they should know about a good pellet food that they can...and shouldn't feel guilty in buying it.

Sorry for the soapbox, guys...just something I've become passionate about, given how things have gone for us in the past year. We worked hard, and really fought to keep our buns healthy and alive, and I just cannot back something that makes someone feel bad for doing what they can to give their pet a healthy life.

:soapbox

Hugs to all!

Rosie*
 
There was something Danny (my husband) wanted to add to this idea...

You might want to aggressively price the food. If you decide you want to feed your bun this or that, do some research, call around at different pet stores (and feed stores) to not only know which stores carry that product, but also to find the best price.

We did this about a year ago, when living in California, when we decided we could afford spending a little more on the buns' food, and found a place where we could buy Oxbow Bunny Basics T at-cost (about $10 for 10lbs of food), so we went with it. (We also did this with the Kaytee Timothy Complete when we had just Maisie, back in '06. You can and should do this with any bun/pet food. We've also done this with our kitties' food.)

When we moved here to Canada, we had to do this all over again. We started out by going on the Oxbow site and researched dealers in our area. We then called them to see what exactly they carried, and for how much. If they didn't carry Oxbow any longer, we asked them if they would be willing to order it, and for how much.

Then, we researched (I believe in the MSN Yellow Pages) to find any feed stores near us (horse feed and tack, usually), and called around, asking the same things: Do you carry Oxbow bunny food, and if so, for how much? If they didn't carry it, would they order it, and for how much?

By doing this, we not only found excellent sources of hay (we also asked them if they had Timothy hay, in what quantities, and for how much), but also found excellent stores to purchase the food we wanted at a great price. When we got here to Canada and researched using this technique, we found food for less than even the people on the forum that already lived around here had found it for! :)

Right now, we're getting 10lb bags of Oxbow Bunny Basics T (their Timothy-based pellet) for $14 each...which is about $10 less than they normally go for. That's with them ordering a certain amount for us, which normally takes about two weeks to come in. If you want to get it faster, try checking with vet offices in your area. Some of them carry Oxbow in their office, but sometimes that can be more expensive than ordering it through a pet/feed store. The vet office we found around here that carries it sells it for about $19 (including tax) for a 10lb bag.

So, there ya go. Research, call, and interrogate...on any brand of bunny food. :) It's so worth it!! :D
 
I have a tattoo appointment that I have to leave for in a few minutes, so I don't have time to write out a long reply....


I do have to say though, that I was not being a "snooty high-priced pellet person" (which is what you're post made me feel like :ph34r2). I was simply stating my opinion on Kaytee and why I would never feed it.

Personally, Kaytee Timothy Complete costs a couple dollars less then Oxbow. You're situation was definitely different, Rosie, but I think for any person living okay in this economy...you can cut out going out to eat one night or cut down on you're cell phone texting or something...in order to pay the couple dollars more per month for a food that is better for you're pet AND isn't paying money to a company who supports bad health in our pets.

I am all for someone buying the highest quality pet food that they can afford, but I do believe that the proper research needs to be done. I'd rather pay $5 more per bag for a higher quality food made by a company that only puts out high quality products...then pay for a quality product by a company that might be $5 cheaper per bag, but puts out products that are misleading and in poor nutritional value.
 
Hi!

I have a question about your post. are you sure she's twitching, and not binking? My two buns get very excited around meal time, and they hop straight into the air, race around, shake their ears and the like. Does this sound like the twitch you're seeing? I used to give them Kaytee Fiesta (it's horrible, by the way. It's all fat) and they used to love it because it was very similar to the treats they got. Essentially, they thought they were getting treats for breakfast, so they would bink (or binky)! Not all bunnies fly into the air when they bink, only one of mine does.

Thank you youtube, check out this

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDXgYa3La_0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDXgYa3La_0[/ame]

and this

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lPfKBw6Zys&feature=related]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lPfKBw6Zys&feature=related[/ame]

As for food I'm right there with you! I just finished my search for good, affordable pellets. So, according to HRS, it should have 18% fiber minimum. To that, I would add not more than 2% fat, 14-16% protein. So I took those guidelines and checked them over with all the bunny foods. This is what I recommend to you, since I do not know what all you have available to you. Myself, having compared all the rabbit foods offered at my local pet store, I settled on Zupreem Nature's Promise pellets. They're timothy based (Woo!) super high fiber, and very low fat (1% also woo!) And, best of all, I found the 10 pound bag at CountryMax (it's a tractor supply/feed store)for 11 dollars. Not bad, right? So, what I'm saying is, good pellets don't always break the bank. And also, if you have a countrymax, or the like, anwhere around, check it out. It might have your answers. ^.^

Hope that helps!

 
We bought the Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health w/omega 3 and the ingredients look pretty good. I couldn't stand them either in the past, but I think kaytee is starting to slowly change their ways.
 
ratmom wrote:
We bought the Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health w/omega 3 and the ingredients look pretty good. I couldn't stand them either in the past, but I think kaytee is starting to slowly change their ways.
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I definitely have to disagree with this. Kaytee definitely isn't changing their ways...they still have terrible products with fancy names on the market luring people, like you, in :(.
 
Do you have a link to the ingredients, or can you tell us the protein %, fat %, and fiber % of the pellets?
 
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