Question about Hay

[Platypusstar]

I've been seeing most of you say that stuff from pet stores are bad as far as food and what not. i was wondering since i get my hay and feed from petstores if im limiting Ceasers needs. i normally go to petsmart or petco. the feed and hay i have right now is Kaytee Natural Brome Grass which says its naturalsun-cured? and Hartz Pet Rabbit Gourmet Diet. is this good or bad? he only gets about halfa cup of the Hartz and about 1 to 2 handfulls of hay. he seems to enjoy it. he knows what the bags look like, every time i grab them he runs and squeaks at me until i open it. his poops are normal, some are a little smaller then others but i dont think that would be a problem? im not sure lol i could be wrong. but hes active and alert, has a good weight on him. i was just wondering if i was doing good as far as picking and choosing my feed or if theres a better place i could go?

 

[aurora369]

I would recommend switching him to a different food. It looks like the food you are feeding has corn and other colourful bits in it, which are not very good for bunny diets. You want a plain pellet, with no colourful bits. You probably only need a protein of 12-14% and you want as high of a fiber as possible at least 18-20%.

However, make sure if you switch food, do so gradually. Start mixing in the new food slowly with the old food and gradually put in more new food than old food. And I would also start picking out everything but the pellets (no corn or colourful bits) before doing the switch.

The hay is fine, however buying in a feed store or by the bale is much more cost effective. I only pay about $15 for a 60 pound bale of timothy. If I bought hay at petstore prices I would go broke with 5 bunnies who eat as much hay as mine do.

My buns get 1/8th to 1/4th cup of pellets and lots of hay everyday. They vary in weight from 3 pounds to 6 pounds.

--Dawn

 

[Platypusstar]

well the thing about getting baled hay is that i live in an apartment lol so that would look pretty silly XD and i looked through his food, no corn =3 though there is some colored bits in there. no sunflowers eater. i grabbed the rabbit feed. it sounds like you found the bird feed hartz also has

 

[aurora369]

This is what I was looking at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006G5M7O/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
From the picture on that sight, I can seen corn, seeds, and coloured bits mixed with the pellets.

The only thing that should be in a rabbit feed are plain pellets. Nothing else. No coloured bits or seeds of any kind.

Seeds, corn and coloured bits tend to make a rabbit fat, and are hard on the digestive system.

--Dawn

 

[Platypusstar]

eep. well theres no seeds or corn in it so thats good, should i pick out all the colored bits? i should put him on the scale and see how much he weighs, i believe lion heads should only weigh about 4 pounds right? i dont want him getting unhealthy =(

 

[aurora369]

I would recommend for now, picking out the coloured bits. Then start looking for a better food that will be easy for you to buy.

It can be difficult to tell when a rabbit is gaining weight. Considering that your bunny is currently still young, he's probably okay for now. I wouldn't recommend keeping him on this food long term.

Here are some good links to the Library for you:

Plump or Obese:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12058&forum_id=17
Feeding Your Rabbit:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12046&forum_id=17

--Dawn

 

[Platypusstar]

thanks dawn =)
im just worried im doing things wrong XD hes my first rabbit

 

[aurora369]

There is nothing wrong with expanding your knowledge and learning how to best take care of your bunny.

I shudder when I think of all the things I did wrong with my first bunny. I wish I had had something like RO to learn from.

You are absolutely doing the right thing by asking questions and learning. I commend you for looking out for the best interests of your bunny.

--Dawn

 

[Platypusstar]

XD my pets are my children. i spoil them rotten. we're spending over $1,000 on my cat right now with all his vet appointments =( i feel so bad for him. and then we're going to look into neutering costs for little Ceaser (he didnt look too pleased when i talked to my mom about it while he was in the room lol)

 

[slavetoabunny]

Petsmart is selling Oxbow brand food and hay now. That is a much better food than Kaytee.

 

[BethM]

If you want to keep to a lower cost pellet, you could try Kaytee Timothy Complete. While Kaytee foods aren't usually the best, the Timothy Complete is not a terrible pellet. It is less expensive than Oxbow.
I used to use Timothy Complete, and my girls did fine on it. I had to switch, though, as Nick had some digestive issues on it. Petsmart around here sells that, I'm not sure about Petco. It doesn't have any colored bits or seeds in it.

As for hay......I use American Pet Diner hay, which I purchase through the Kansas City chapter of the Missouri House Rabbit Society. It's $45 for a 25 lb. box, and can be picked up at our monthly meetings. 25 lbs would last a little guy like Ceasar a LONG time! The hay is in a bag, inside a box, so it wouldn't be as messy as buying a bale.
Until recently, I lived in an apartment, and found this hay to work really well. I just filled up a large, clean rubbermaid-type bin with hay to keep near the rabbits, then stashed the box in a closet. The hay is green and soft, and my bunnies really love it.
I think Kleenmama's might be a bit less expensive (?), you can order that online.

 

[slavetoabunny]

I agree about the Kaytee Complete. We usually recommend it as a good pellet. I used to get APD hay, but over the last year, have switched to Kleenmama's. I'm a lot happier with the quality and price. APD hay is still an excellent choice, though. I still use APD pellets, although they are very pricey. The pricey part is the shipping - it is more than the pellets cost, and the shipping is fairly slow from them. It usually takes more than a week.

 

[BethM]

slavetoabunny wrote:

I agree about the Kaytee Complete. We usually recommend it as a good pellet. I used to get APD hay, but over the last year, have switched to Kleenmama's. I'm a lot happier with the quality and price. APD hay is still an excellent choice, though. I still use APD pellets, although they are very pricey. The pricey part is the shipping - it is more than the pellets cost, and the shipping is fairly slow from them. It usually takes more than a week.

I got my APD pellets in under a week. I am now switched completely over to them, and the bunnies love them. I got a 50lb bag, and even with shipping they cost me half what I was spending on the Oxbow pellets at Petsmart. 50lbs is a bit much for me, I may order a smaller bag next time. (Some other people in my HRS group use them; they said in the future I can group my order with theirs and save on the shipping. Yay!)

My group orders the APD hay by the pallet. (2 pallets at a time, I think.)
Katrina, if you would like to try out the APD hay before commiting to an entire box, we may be able to sell you half a box. PM me if you're interested.

PS. Which vet do you take Ceasar to, or are considering going to? I can recommend a really good rabbit-savvy vet in the KC area. Again, PM me.

 

[Platypusstar]

thanks guys! oh i PMed you Beth.
i'm going to look into all the suggestions!