What kind of pellet feed do you feed your bunnies?

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You guys don't know how lucky you are, I have searched high and low in my town and I cannot find a pellet food :(
I have to feed mine a mix! I give them loads of hay and veggies though to make up for it.
 
I just switched to American Pet Diner Timmy Pellets, and couldn't be happier. My chubby girls seem to have trimmed down a bit, but Nick hasn't lost weight.

Ben finally started eating his pellets at the end of last week.
 
"Cow flop" is what I call it!! I went to a HRS "Meet-Up" last year where there were Vets, as speakers. They called it something else (something that I can neither spell, nor pronounce!) but, suggested Probotic supplements to correct this digestive disorder. Basically, the rabbits that are prone to having it are black and white, floppy eared, buns. Their poops are very large and rather soft........not like diarrhea. I gave my buns that have it the Probotics and nothing really changed......my Vet kind of laughed and said it would help if the ones that had it also ate hay.....which, oddly enough, they don't!!! The Timothy pellets do help, quite a bit.
 
I feed Honey Manna Pro Rabbit Pro-Formula; we get 50 lb bags of it for 15 bucks at our TSC, and as we don't have the leisure of getting out often, yeah.. Along whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh(lol, the kitten just walked across the keybo55556..ard.... lol....) But along with the Manna Pro, I feed Honey every other day like 1/8th cup of my guinea pig's food: Oxbow Benne Terre Organic Guinea Pig. I think this gives her a sweet touch to her food somedays, so she doesn't get bored.
 
Mine are on the Martin's Little Friends food right now, slowing but surely switching over to Oxbow Bunny Basics T. I may just keep them on Martin's if they don't take a liking to Oxbow stuff, they have a timothy-based pelleted food and it's easier for me to get.
 
I did some looking into whats available at all the feed stores within 50 miles home and today while I was in town I picked up a bag of Purina Show Rabbit formula for only a few dollars more than the Nutrena I've been feeding. The Purina Show formula has papaya (helps prevent wool block) and yucca (supposed to help neutralize the ammonia odor in the urine) in it.
 
I feed Oxbow BBT, but Tony and Muffin only get 1/16 of a cup each a day, and Frida and Ben only get 1/8 of a cup each a day.

The shelter uses Purina Hi-Fiber Lab Diet, and I'd have no problem feeding this to my guys if I couldn't get or afford Oxbow. It's alfalfa based but is very high in fiber and lower in protein. They also use Purina Green Bag for younger bunnies.
 
Nutrena Naturwise since I first started with bunnies, and I've been incredibly happy with it, they get hay and alfalfa cubes to chew on as well. Though my mommy's that start to drop too much weight with kits, they get oatmeal in their grain as well, the babies adore that stuff and it helps momma too.
The lone bunny at the horse barn I keep my horses at gets Big Red, I wasn't as happy with that with the condition and coat of her rabbit(Nethie doe) so I wouldn't even think about using that on my bun buns
 
When searching for a pellet for adult rabbits check the nutrition information on the bag. What you're looking for is HIGH fiber and LOW protein. The fiber should be at least 18%, higher is better. The protein should NOT be over 14%. Also check the list of ingredients. The first ingredient should be Timothy hay. If the first ingredient listed is anything else, put the bag down and walk away. And don't buy a bag if it has junk food in it, like dehydrated apples, sunflower seeds, etc.

While Oxbow makes a very good pellet, Pixel HATED it! Would not eat Oxbow, at all. I spent alot of time and money looking for a pellet she would eat. Finally, I got some Zupreem, and she loved it!

So, high fiber, low protein, and what tastes good to them.
 
Flick wrote:
When searching for a pellet for adult rabbits check the nutrition information on the bag. What you're looking for is HIGH fiber and LOW protein. The fiber should be at least 18%, higher is better. The protein should NOT be over 14%. Also check the list of ingredients. The first ingredient should be Timothy hay. If the first ingredient listed is anything else, put the bag down and walk away. And don't buy a bag if it has junk food in it, like dehydrated apples, sunflower seeds, etc.

While Oxbow makes a very good pellet, Pixel HATED it! Would not eat Oxbow, at all. I spent alot of time and money looking for a pellet she would eat. Finally, I got some Zupreem, and she loved it!

So, high fiber, low protein, and what tastes good to them.
Click to expand...

Okay, okay, I have something to say about this statement-

We're taught in 4-h that rabbit feeds should have a 16-19% protein content to keep the rabbits healthy and in shape conditionwise. I feel GOOD about feeding purina show for this reason. My rabbits have thrived on it! They are all healthy and happy, even considering that, (oh no) it's an ALFALFA pellet.

Now, consider the millionsof show and breeding rabbits kept happy and healthy on Purina pellets. Consider the Millions of rabbits raised on an alfalfa diet, and doing just fine. Now can you tell me, exactly why it is so awful to feed an alfalfa pelleted feed, and one high in protein, because everyone I've asked doesn't seem to know the answer.

I'm not going to argue too extensively. I find it hard to believe that timothy is the way to go, for several reasons, most of which being that it seems to be HRS propagated, as is an all veggie diet,which seems to increase a rabbits chance for GI Stasis.When I was on Bunspace, it seemed like every other topic on the bunny ER area was about GI Stasis, and this was a site that hugely pushed for an all veggie diet. This is the kind of information people get from the HRS.

So, correct me if I'm wrong, I just need to hear exactly WHY lower protein is so much healthier. ;)
 
I've looked into Zupreem - as knowledgable as their site may seem, their rabbit product contains corn ingredients, corn is absolutely unnecessary ingredient in rabbit pellets, and it's been proven to lead to digestive health issues.
 
Erins Rabbits wrote:
Flick wrote:
When searching for a pellet for adult rabbits check the nutrition information on the bag. What you're looking for is HIGH fiber and LOW protein. The fiber should be at least 18%, higher is better. The protein should NOT be over 14%. Also check the list of ingredients. The first ingredient should be Timothy hay. If the first ingredient listed is anything else, put the bag down and walk away. And don't buy a bag if it has junk food in it, like dehydrated apples, sunflower seeds, etc.

While Oxbow makes a very good pellet, Pixel HATED it! Would not eat Oxbow, at all. I spent alot of time and money looking for a pellet she would eat. Finally, I got some Zupreem, and she loved it!

So, high fiber, low protein, and what tastes good to them.
Click to expand...

Okay, okay, I have something to say about this statement-

We're taught in 4-h that rabbit feeds should have a 16-19% protein content to keep the rabbits healthy and in shape conditionwise. I feel GOOD about feeding purina show for this reason. My rabbits have thrived on it! They are all healthy and happy, even considering that, (oh no) it's an ALFALFA pellet.

Now, consider the millionsof show and breeding rabbits kept happy and healthy on Purina pellets. Consider the Millions of rabbits raised on an alfalfa diet, and doing just fine. Now can you tell me, exactly why it is so awful to feed an alfalfa pelleted feed, and one high in protein, because everyone I've asked doesn't seem to know the answer.

I'm not going to argue too extensively. I find it hard to believe that timothy is the way to go, for several reasons, most of which being that it seems to be HRS propagated, as is an all veggie diet,which seems to increase a rabbits chance for GI Stasis.When I was on Bunspace, it seemed like every other topic on the bunny ER area was about GI Stasis, and this was a site that hugely pushed for an all veggie diet. This is the kind of information people get from the HRS.

So, correct me if I'm wrong, I just need to hear exactly WHY lower protein is so much healthier. ;)
Click to expand...

I reached the above conclusions by researching a large variety of books and respective web sites, as well as discussing it with several exotic vets. If you disagree with my findings, fine. If you want an answer to your question, do your own research, as I have. I will not be sucked into an argument about it.




 
There are different requirements for show rabbits than pet rabbits. Show rabbits are usually young and growing, or breeding. These rabbits need the added protein and calcium that older rabbits don't. Alfalfa provides extra protein and calcium. An adult house rabbit doesn't do a lot of physical activity and isn't breeding or growing, so they end up with extra protein in their diet--more than they need.

What usually happens is that when the diet has too much protein, the rabbit gets fat. Protein isn't excreted very well, so all that goes in to the body gets used by the body. Also, when a rabbit has a lot of protein in the diet, they don't eat their cecal pellets, which contain vitamins and protein. They are getting enough protein in the normal food that they don't want to eat their cecal pellets. This means that they don't get all of the vitamins that are also in the cecal pellets.

In addition, the extra calcium in alfalfa isn't good for a rabbit that isn't growing, because rabbits metabolize calcium differently than humans. They excrete it in the urine as salts, and high levels of Ca can lead to bladder stones and sludge. This is another reason alfalfa isn't recommended for adult bunnies.

There is at least one alfalfa-based pellet that I would consider feeding my adult house rabbits, but it has high fiber and low protein (Purina Hi-Fiber Lab Diet) like many Timothy pellets. Not all alfalfa pellets are bad for every rabbit, and you can't lump breeding or growing rabbits into the same group with sedentary adult house bunnies whose only stress in life is when the vacuum cleaner comes out. If I had baby bunnies, I'd absolutely feed them an alfalfa pellet, until they reach 8-12mo of age.
 
tonyshuman wrote:
There are different requirements for show rabbits than pet rabbits. Show rabbits are usually young and growing, or breeding. These rabbits need the added protein and calcium that older rabbits don't. Alfalfa provides extra protein and calcium. An adult house rabbit doesn't do a lot of physical activity and isn't breeding or growing, so they end up with extra protein in their diet--more than they need.

What usually happens is that when the diet has too much protein, the rabbit gets fat. Protein isn't excreted very well, so all that goes in to the body gets used by the body. Also, when a rabbit has a lot of protein in the diet, they don't eat their cecal pellets, which contain vitamins and protein. They are getting enough protein in the normal food that they don't want to eat their cecal pellets. This means that they don't get all of the vitamins that are also in the cecal pellets.

In addition, the extra calcium in alfalfa isn't good for a rabbit that isn't growing, because rabbits metabolize calcium differently than humans. They excrete it in the urine as salts, and high levels of Ca can lead to bladder stones and sludge. This is another reason alfalfa isn't recommended for adult bunnies.

There is at least one alfalfa-based pellet that I would consider feeding my adult house rabbits, but it has high fiber and low protein (Purina Hi-Fiber Lab Diet) like many Timothy pellets. Not all alfalfa pellets are bad for every rabbit, and you can't lump breeding or growing rabbits into the same group with sedentary adult house bunnies whose only stress in life is when the vacuum cleaner comes out. If I had baby bunnies, I'd absolutely feed them an alfalfa pellet, until they reach 8-12mo of age.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your answer- I really wasn't trying to argue. That makes a lot of sense.

I'm not exactly a nutrition buff, but I like to think I'm learning.. Again, I appreciciate your answer. :D
 
Hmmm... soooo I'm still wondering... and confused about my feed. Is MannaPro okay? I don't want to feed them something that isn't to par..
 
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