Oxbow v. Vitakraft

[SirLawrence]

I've had my boys for a while now, and have made all of the new rabbit-dad mistakes. That being said, they used to be on Vitakraft Vita Prima adult rabbit food, but they've recently switched to Oxbow Garden Select Adult. They used to go CRAZY for the Vitakraft, but not so much for the Oxbow. I knew of the dangers of "junk" rabbit foods, but they were on it for so long because I told myself: "Self, I know foods with "bits" can be bad, but I recognize all of the ingredients, and there's no artificial dyes, no added sugar, and the nutrition info looks good... and they just LOVE it so MUCH!" Both rabbits are free-roam (when supervised) and have pens that are huge, so they get exercise.

So my question for the group: Is the Vitakraft Vita Prima food bad? I would love for them to really get excited about mealtime like they used to! I don't want to be that "un-fun" dad if I don't need to be!

I've added a poll so you can still vote, even if you don't want to give reasons.

 

[LopsAreGreat]

I've had my boys for a while now, and have made all of the new rabbit-dad mistakes. That being said, they used to be on Vitakraft Vita Prima adult rabbit food, but they've recently switched to Oxbow Garden Select Adult. They used to go CRAZY for the Vitakraft, but not so much for the Oxbow. I knew of the dangers of "junk" rabbit foods, but they were on it for so long because I told myself: "Self, I know foods with "bits" can be bad, but I recognize all of the ingredients, and there's no artificial dyes, no added sugar, and the nutrition info looks good... and they just LOVE it so MUCH!" Both rabbits are free-roam (when supervised) and have pens that are huge, so they get exercise.

So my question for the group: Is the Vitakraft Vita Prima food bad? I would love for them to really get excited about mealtime like they used to! I don't want to be that "un-fun" dad if I don't need to be!

I've added a poll so you can still vote, even if you don't want to give reasons.

If they like the Vitakraft, and it’s healthy, I’d stick with that since your buns like it more. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

 

[JBun]

It's no wonder your rabbits loved it. It's full of carbs - corn, carrots, beets, apple, grains, seeds. Rabbits have a sugar tooth. They will always have a preference for the high carb high sugar foods. It's best to keep their normal food healthy stuff like hay, and the oxbow pellets are a good lower carb pellet. Then if it doesn't cause digestive issues, feed a very small limited amount of a treat so they(and you) have something to get excited about and look forward to. I stick with greens cause they're healthy and my rabbits think they're treats. But if you want to do something sweeter, I would stick with tiny amounts of fruit or carrot as a semi healthy treat.

You'll actually find that as they adjust to the new oxbow food and forget the old food, they will start getting excited about pellet time again. They're just used to the junk food, so it's going to take some time for them to get used to a low carb diet. Then once their taste adjusts, they'll be just fine and happy with the oxbow.

The main problem with feeding a high carb pellet and high carb diet, is that it then affects the amount of hay they eat. They'll eat less hay because they are getting so many calories from carbs. And less hay means less fiber, which then in turn affects their gut function, making them more susceptible to digestive issues and/or GI stasis. So best to stick with a healthy diet, keep that digestive tract healthy, and if you offer treats, keep it very limited.

 

[SirLawrence]

@JBun , Thanks for the reply. This is what I was wrestling with, but I guess I needed to be told by someone with more expertise... They are still on the Oxbow pellets, and I think the health benefits are more important than the excitement!

Thanks for weighing in!