rabbit friendly pet food / stores?!

[mamafern]

i am having a hard time finding rabbit pelletsthat don't contain stuff that rabbits shouldn't eat.. is there a brandof food that is organic and wonderful? im all new to this but i want toget the best for our new friend!and is there a certain chain or wellknown pet food store that specialises in rabbits? both places i went to(boslies and a small local shop) only had one choice for pellets, orbulk with no ingredient list and really nothing else bunny related...we live in vancouver canada, if that is any help!

 

[katt]

i have never heard of organic rabbit food.

i get my rabbit food from a feed store, they don't normally carry the food that is full of colorfull junk.

and my feed store breaks 50 pound bags into 10 pound bags, so i can get fresh food without buying 50 pounds

 

[mamafern]

from what ive read, pellets based in alfalfaaren't great for older rabbits, but so far its all ive seen.. imlooking for timothy, or at least ones that dont have 15 ingredients. ithink simple is better, no?

 

[mamafern]

even the pellets without the colourful stuffhave bad ingredients, at least the ones ive seen..most places onlycarry one type. im looking for someplace that has some options!

ill check out my local feed stores..thanks!

katt wrote:

i have never heard of organic rabbit food.

i get my rabbit food from a feed store, they don't normally carry the food that is full of colorfull junk.

and my feed store breaks 50 pound bags into 10 pound bags, so i can get fresh food without buying 50 pounds

 

[katt]

timothy are better for adult rabbits, however they aren't always easy to find.

i don't have to much personal info to add, because both my rabbits seemto have super high metabolizms(sp?). they are on a free alfalfa basedpellet food (both are adult rabbits), plus get free timothy hay and ahandfull of alfalfa and don't put on to much weight.

if you can find a good timothy based pellet, then go for that, but ifnot, just find a good alfalfa based pellet and monitor their weightwhile on it.

oxbow tends to be labled 'the best' out there, i have never used it, noshops near me carry it and the price to ship it is huge. . .

i personally feed purina rabbit chow, others have had problems with it,but i haven't. . .it seems that for every one person that hates it,there is another that loves it.

 

[katt]

just out of wondering. . .

what do are you reading as "bad ingredients"?

 

[Pipp]

Hey Fern, sorry I missed this earlier!

Others fromthe BC contingent should chime in soon, I'm sure.

Is Rabbit overweight? That might make a difference.

EDIT:I just saw Katt's post, we're on the same track!

I feed some of my guys Oxbow Bunny Basics which I get frommyvet (Arbutus Clinic on 16th anMcDonald)--the ones that don't eat hay, are alittle tubby or need lower calcium -- although the Martin Less Activeat Bosley's is also a decenttimothy pellet.

TheVRRA (Vancouver Rabbit Rescue and Advocacy) haveahouse they sell pellets and hay from as well, farther westfrom there -- 23rd and Mckenzie? Something likethat. Several bunny vets should sell Oxbow, you maywant to check out our bunny-savvy vet list in the Library.

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12111&forum_id=9

And there's another person in Burnaby that sells bunny stuff and givespart of the proceeds to SARSBC, the other rescue group, I'll have tolook up her site though.

I'm also feeding my backroom bunnies the 12% bulk alfalfa from Bosleysalong with huge salads and a ton of hay, and they're healthy as littlehorses.

Someget mixes of those three kinds, which also helps withteethwear. Also, as I mentionedin theemail (that was me responding to Craigslist) ,someofsplit up bales of hay. I've got a bale ortwoin my bathtub right now, although it's Washington timothy,not Alberta, which means it's been sprayed, but I have yet to find anyevidence of it affecting any animals. Still, the next balehopefully will be Alberta, I'd rather not feed theWashingtontoo long term.

I findmy bunnies that eat lots of hay are thehealthiest. The one that won't touch the stuffhasGI track issues and molar spurs. One of thosesilly pet shop bags wouldn't last a day around here. All ofmineget hay inplay boxes, litter boxes and hayboxes.

AndI saw your other post about the name, I'll add that Itried to change Pipp's name,buteven though she wasonly called Pipp for the first three months my friend had her, that wasthe name she did and still does respond to. I've found thatall three of thebunnies I could test responded to theiroriginal names.

Anyhoo, welcome to forum, and the world of rabbits! (Or should I say Rabbit). :welcome1

Keep in touch!

sas and the gang of five :bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance: (at the moment)

 

[mamafern]

well..

corn..soybean oil..


i can't list them all off since i havn't got the bag with me since ididn't buy them.. but i have read that corn isn't great and that wasthe 1st ingredient in one rabbit pellet that i saw. the others had ,oreprotein than recomended and like i said i hope to find timothy basedpellets mainly because he is an older rabbit.


i dont believe that he is overweight, but since i havn't got him yet ireally cant tell you. i looked at him through the side of a cage andthat is all.. i didnt hold him. but he looked trim and healthy withshiny fur and bright eyes.

 

[naturestee]

I don't know about soybean oil (doubt they needmuch extra fat), but corn in pellets isn't too bad because it'sground. Corn kernels are what cause problems because they'rehard to digest and have been known to cause blockages.

Although if you're looking for timothy pellets, Oxbow isfabulous! Kaytee is decent if your bun won't eatOxbow. Unfortunately there are no organic pellets that I knowof and no perfect ones either. Both companies add chemicalsthat are linked to possible health problems. But that'spretty much the best out there. Although if you can buyrabbit food and supplies and support the local rescues at the sametime, that's awesome!

 

[katt]

i don't know about soybean either. . .

the corn is just a filler, and is added to many rabbit feeds, thisagain can play a role in rabbits being overweight, as corn is a fattyfood for them.

but if you are feeding your rabbits the correct amount of foodeverything should be okay, this will depend on body weight, i think itis 1/4 to 1/2 cup of pellets to 6 pounds of rabbit. . .i could bewrong, like stated above, my rabbits are a rare find, they can eat andeat and eat and stay at around the same weight(i wish i was so lucky),but if you feed the right amount and they get the balance of veggiesand greens, hay andmixed with lots of playtime then youreally shouldn't have problems with weight issues.

and as pipp said, hay hay hay. . .i feel that hay is so important to rabbits.

i offer all the hay they want. they are currently getting alfalfa(handfull) timothy (all they want) and a large handfull of orchard(herman got a bag of it for his birthday, it is not something theynormally get, but they love it so much, i am thinking of making it aregular around here). i have had rabbits (myrhinelanders)that were not a huge fan of hay, they wouldnibble here and there but bearly eat any of it, and a few worried mebecause they needed the fiber, so i added straw to their mix (this wasback when i bred), they loved eating the straw and it added the fiber.. .straw doesn't provide much else but fiber, but boy did myrhinelanders love it. . .

here is some information passed onto me from one of the larger rabbit rescue's in michigan:

this is for ideal rabbit feed:

crude fiber 20-25%

crude protein 13-15%

crude fat <2%

i have a feeling that the soybean oil is added as a protein as soybeanis rich in protein and isn't an animal by-product (which you need tolook at any food you are considering to make sure they don't containanimal by-products. . .that is my only guess as to why soybean oil isin rabbit feed, i could be completely wrong. . . hopefully someone canconfirm or correct that. . .

 

[mamafern]

well, i found some timothy based pellets at thelittle local pet food shop. they seemed to have the best stuff ive seenso far..it isnt oxbow, it is kaytee "timothy comlete" and for now itshould do. im hoping he will like it! i also picked up some naturalbiodegradable nesting paper?! i cant reember the name and its in thecar still..i think that i will go the the local rabbit rescue centerfor anything else.they have a store ad it is a good thing to support.

 

[Pipp]

mamafern wrote:

well, i found some timothy based pellets at the little localpet food shop. they seemed to have the best stuff ive seen so far..itisnt oxbow, it is kaytee "timothy comlete" and for now it should do. imhoping he will like it! i also picked up some natural biodegradablenesting paper?! i cant reember the name and its in the car still..ithink that i will go the the local rabbit rescue center for anythingelse.they have a store ad it is a good thing to support.

Kaytee Complete is good stuff. Where did you get it?

Is the litter Carefresh? Or Yesterday's News? (Idon't like the latter, it's dark (you can't monitor poops and pee verywell), and it doensn't smell very good (and you can find staples andother bits in it). I use Woody Pet or Wood Stove pellets (orHorse Stall pine pellets for the free run open air guys).

sas

 

[JimD]

Pipp wrote:

Kaytee Complete is good stuff.

:yeahthat

 

[missyscove]

I feed Kaytee Timothy Complete aswell. It's the best I can find, though I sometimes see Oxbow,the oxbow is a goot bit more money for a smaller bag, my mom isn'treally willing to pay that much more for it, and I'm definately happywith the kaytee.

 

[mamafern]

i got the kaytee complete at the lynn valley pet food store..
it is on lynn valley rd and mountain hwy or so.. in a little complex...not if that helps at all..
and the litter is "carefresh" brand.. i guess i will see if i like it or not.

ETA: do you use the carefresh in their litter boxes as wellas in the cage as bedding? or doyou use actual kitty litter?

 

[missyscove]

You can use carefresh if you'd like, but it'snot the best. I use feline pine. That or woody petor a similar wood pellet bedding works great.

Never use clay cat litter.

 

[katt]

i wouldn't use kitty litter in the box, use carefresh

or look into wood stove pellet, they are a god send around here. forthe price you pay for a small bag of carefresh you get 30 to 40 poundsof the wood stove pellets (also called woody pet or pellet bedding)

 

[naturestee]

I don't use anything in the cage as bedding,except maybe a grass mat. When I did use Carefresh asbedding, Mocha usually pushed it aside to lie on the barefloor. So now I keep litter in the litter box.

Clay cat litter is very bad for rabbits. And I'd highly recommend wood pellet litter, it's the best I've found.

 

[Pipp]

You don't need bedding, just litterina litter box. Newspaper, grass mats or a towel isjust as good for the rest of the area, depending on Rabbit'shabits. He may be a digger (bad for newspaper, good fortowels) or an eater (good for newspaper, bad for towels).

I have a cardboard box with holes cut in it as a hidey box, with twoexits and a towel inside for them to push around, the rest of thepen/cage is newpaper, that's their fav set up. The floorbunnies who don't eat carpet have mats for traction (or a blanket thatcovers the whole pen).

sas


(Oops, forgot to mention grass mats, editing!)

 

[mamafern]

where do you get grass mats from?

also do you know a place in vancouver that carries NIC squares? i spentabout 4 hours yesterday going all over north vancouver and the onlyplace i found any was at canadian tire ( iwent to zellers, walmart,staples, london drugs) and there was 1 pckg. and it was open andmissing connectors, which is okay since im going to use something elseto put it together, but im so frustrated! 1 pckg. isnt enuff to make acage..and i want him to have an upper level and room to roam..i misghtjust have to cave in and buy one.but then i will end up making oneanyways and i havnt much $ to spare..