Pellet Only diet? (with some veggies)

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i would suggest trying to buy it from a local farmer if you can get it. It may be in a big bale,but it will be much cheaper, and fresher then the pet shop stuff. You can also talk to them to make sure they aren't adding any chemicals to help it dry faster, like they do some of the store bought brands.
 
There is a difference between a pellet only diet and a pellet based diet. Yes, a rabbit can survive and even thrive on a pellet only diet IF you're feeding the good stuff. I see all too often that most pet rabbit owners feed their rabbits food they bought at a pet store or even Walmart. *shudders* They don't read labels and don't have an understanding of the ingredients and how they can help (or hurt) their rabbit.

My suggestions.....buy from a feed store and buy a well known brand like Purina Mills (this is NOT the dog food "Purina" company that paid to use the checkerboard logo), Nutrena, Manna Pro, King, etc. These companies have animal science nutritionists with PhD working for them full time at their research facilities and keep abreast of, and create, the most up to date information on research based rabbit nutrition. The *only* rabbit food company that sells their products at pet stores that I could recommend is Oxbow. However, you can get the exact same or better quality at a feed store and pay only about 1/2 to 1/3 of what you'll pay in a pet store.

It pays to read labels, including feeding guidelines that are on evey package of rabbit feed. Hay (either alfalfa or timothy) is the main ingrediets in nutritionally balanced pelleted rabbit food. It reads just like any super market nutritional fact/ingredients label - with the first ingredients listed as being what is used most in the product.

Your friend need not worry that much about her son's rabbit rabbit not eating hay though I would recommend finding a good hay that it will eat. There are so many good choices - timothy, oat, orchard, fetch, etc. Barbie Brown is quite the expert when it comes to the nutritional break down of hay varieties and hay blends. You might suggest your friend Google for a consult. I'm sure she can help find *some kind* of good rabbit hay that the rabbit will like.

My rabbits have preferences for different types of hay and I know which ones they like and could tell you how my rabbits rank them. lol. But there are also other reasons, besides just preference, that a rabbit might not eat hay. Moldy hay (looks like dust but not the normal bit of dirt dust that is a by product of baling it in the field), teeth problems, age and/or packaging of the hay, or some other health problem that has nothing to do with the hay.

Again, I recommend purchasing quality hay from a feed store and not those "bread bag" hays you see at pet stores. The feed store employees can/should tell you exactly where it came from and when, what cutting it is (this affects nutritional values), if its a blend - what percentages of what grasses are in it, etc., etc.. AND you can buy an entire bale for what you'd pay for 2 smal bread bags of pet store hay. If a bale is too much for you (it keeps for 3 years if stored properly) then split a bale with friends or ask the clerk if he'll bag is down for you because you don't need a whole bale.

The difference in quality between pet store and feed store pelleted food and hay is incredible - like night and day. I can see why those that don't have much experience with rabbits might think pelleted based diets are not good. I would not waste a penny on pet store stuff, myself. It's junk. Switch to the stuff the the exibitors use and your eyes will be opened. ;)

Most exhibitors use a pellet based diet. That means that the core of the nutrition comes from a nutritionally balanced food in pellet form. By volume, the rabbits eat very little of this (read labels for feeding guidelines) because it is concentrated nutrition. They'll also get hays, bark, veggies (at the appropriate age), and sometimes "special" conditioners used to give their rabbits that extra "oomph" during the show season.

Any concerns about using a pellet based diet are easily dispelled by just a glance at, and running your hands over, a show rabbit. They'll have thick, luscious coats, be lean and muscular, and bright eyed and bushy tailed (alert and as active as their specific breed typically is).

Do encourage your friend to investigate the hay issue. It may be as simple as switching to another variety or it may be that there is a health issue present. But, barring those, in the end, your friends rabbit should be fine and live a long life on
"just" a pellet diet (reads: quality pellets). Purina Mills even makes a higher fiber pellet (Fibre 3) that some like (and some don't) jic the rabbit owner can't get the rabbit to eat hay and is still concerned about it.
 
I would say it would depend on the actual pellets. Regular pet store pellets are little more than junk food. Especially ones with whole corn and brightly colored kibble mixed in.

But there are some really good pellet diets out there like Mazuri and Pfau which are the two I use. Now don't get me wrong I also offer Timothy hay because well I own a bunch of hay eaters and why not feed everyone hay. Because I have tortoises (Russians and a Redfoot), I offer all my critters a pretty balanced diet. Here are the foods I give my rabbit along with his pellets and Timothy hay.

Red and green leaf lettuce
Endive
Escarole
Radicchio
Chicory
Kale
Collard greens
Mustard greens
Bok choy (small amounts)
Spinach (although limited because of the oxalates and calcium binding)
Dandelion greens (I grow my own but you can buy organic ones at Whole Foods Supermarket
Broccoli,
Arugula
Chard.

I also grow my own pasture mix in the yard so I can feed a mixture of good healthy greens.

Pasture mix consists of
Fawn Fescue
Ryegrass
Orchard grass
Timothy
Bluegrass
White Clover
Alsike Clover

Then there are the various plants I grow in the yard that I feed trimmings from.

Hibiscus (flowers and leaves)
Hosta
Sedum
Hen and Chicks
Ice Plants
Prickly pear flowers, fruit and pads (burn the spines off)
Plantain (not the banana type fruit....the weed plantago major)
Mallow (flowers and leaves)
Henbit
Rose (flowers and leaves....make sure no systemic pesticides were used)
Chrysanthemum flowers
Cornflowers Plagiobothrys ssp
Forsythia (flowers and leaves)
Dayflower Commelina diffusa (flowers and leaves)
Chia Salvia hispanica

So that's my grand rabbity diet. Granted most people won't grow things like this for their animals and my dad thinks I'm crazy for actually buying dandelion seeds and growing them in my yard along with the other weeds. lol

But since the question was can rabbits live on Pellets alone, well yes they can. Is it the best for them? Probably not, they could use more variety. Will it kill them? If it's low quality and full of junk it could. You just have to be selective of the pellets you use.
 
LV426,I didn't know they could eat hosta trimmings.I have tons of those.My rabbit eats purina rabbit chow but it gets fed to her with fruits and vegetables too.Pellet foods can be one of the rabbits foods but that shouldn't be their base food.They need a variety of fruits,vegetables,etc. to stay healty.Oh and don't forget the hay.I have seen rabbits that go crazy and eat a ton of hay and I've seen rabbits that eat it but don't eat very much of it but regardless which one your rabbit is,they need hay.
 
Purina is good. Watch it if its the corn based, green bag formula. Corn isn't good for them I would try to go with something like the show formula, or fiber3. Just make sure you keep it in an area where it will stay fresh.
 
Uh oh!It is in a green bag!Should I keep feeding it to him.He has been eating it for around 8 years.
 
Thanks for letting us know about the pellet change--we feed the green bag to baby bunnies at the shelter, and the pickier bunnies that are used to "pellet food mixes", and I often recommend it. Will have to do some new research on it, now that it has changed!
 
A lot of great info in this thread. :)


sas :bunnydance:
 
A little bit of corn in the diet won't hurt. I had always heard that corn was bad as well, but I've actually heard many opinions for it recently. Just like anything, you don't want to feed too much of it but it is a good source of energy in moderation. :)
 
No problem. Just keep an eye on it. There was a lot of problems with toxins in the corn, in the feeds last year. If you see any type of entropathy(?) , get them off of it, and see your vet. I lost alot of babies ot it last year, and I will never feed corn based feed again. It wasn't purina, it involved a couple of other brands though.
 
I am relieved now:)When I get my new bun in a few weeks should I take the chance and try using this food?
 
OakRidgeRabbits wrote:
A little bit of corn in the diet won't hurt. I had always heard that corn was bad as well, but I've actually heard many opinions for it recently. Just like anything, you don't want to feed too much of it but it is a good source of energy in moderation. :)
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Until you end up dealing with a nasty toxin in it, like many of us dealt with last year.

 
dixonsrabbitry1 wrote:
OakRidgeRabbits wrote:
A little bit of corn in the diet won't hurt. I had always heard that corn was bad as well, but I've actually heard many opinions for it recently. Just like anything, you don't want to feed too much of it but it is a good source of energy in moderation. :)
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Until you end up dealing with a nasty toxin in it, like many of us dealt with last year.
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Most livestock and pet feeds do include corn, though. I understand that there have been some problems associated with corn based feeds, just as there are problems associated with pellets in general, veggie diets, fruits, etc. There can be troubles with any food, depending on the amount that is given.

I'm just saying that I wouldn't fix what isn't broken. If a food has been working well for someone for years, it's not worth changing it because all feeds have their downfalls. It's just about finding what works for your buns in particular.

I think nearly every feedmill cleans out their machines with corn between batches of feed. It is my understanding that this is what caused last year's issues.
 
Spot wrote:
LV426,I didn't know they could eat hosta trimmings.I have tons of those.My rabbit eats purina rabbit chow but it gets fed to her with fruits and vegetables too.Pellet foods can be one of the rabbits foods but that shouldn't be their base food.They need a variety of fruits,vegetables,etc. to stay healty.Oh and don't forget the hay.I have seen rabbits that go crazy and eat a ton of hay and I've seen rabbits that eat it but don't eat very much of it but regardless which one your rabbit is,they need hay.
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Oh yes my whole zoo eats hosta trimmings. I have to becareful in summer because if the tortoises get out they will eat my hostas down to the ground. They are a very nutritious plant. In fact some asian restaurants will decorate their plates with flowers from the H.plantaginea. They are rather tasty. I've put the flowers in salads before when my dad visits, mainly so I can make him eat flowers ;-) . The brand new shoots when the leaves are still furled are also tasty. I like to put them in salads. They taste sort of asparagus like. I know that some people cook the older leaves somewhat like collard greens but I'm not fond of the older growth because it's got a bitter taste. The rabbit and tortoises don't seem to care either way.
 
Spot wrote:
When I get my new bun in a few weeks should I take the chance and try using this food?
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If your bunnies are healthy, maintaining a good weight, and have a shiny coat, that food should be fine to use. Those are all indicators of a good diet.:)
 
My rabbit is an ok weight but that's because I like to give her a little extra food because she's a good rabbit lol.Her coat is shiny and very soft.The pellet food is not her main food though.She gets fresh fruits,vegetables,etc.I will continue to do what I do:)Thanks!
 
LV426 wrote:
Oh yes my whole zoo eats hosta trimmings. I have to becareful in summer because if the tortoises get out they will eat my hostas down to the ground. They are a very nutritious plant. In fact some asian restaurants will decorate their plates with flowers from the H.plantaginea. They are rather tasty. I've put the flowers in salads before when my dad visits, mainly so I can make him eat flowers ;-) . The brand new shoots when the leaves are still furled are also tasty. I like to put them in salads. They taste sort of asparagus like. I know that some people cook the older leaves somewhat like collard greens but I'm not fond of the older growth because it's got a bitter taste. The rabbit and tortoises don't seem to care either way.
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They don't look to tasty to me but that's my opinion lol.By the look of them I actually thought that rabbits weren't supposed to eat them.I always cut things off of my hostas when they get really big because they start to take over the whole area.From now on the rabbits will get the things I cut off;)
 
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