What kind of pellet feed do you feed your bunnies?

[undergunfire]

ratmom wrote:

We feed small world pellets

Aren't these from Walmart? If so, I would change their pellets ASAP. Small World is a very terrible food...pretty much the worst of the worst . I had a foster rabbit who came to me on these pellets and she was in such poor health....I switched her to Oxbow and she was in amazing shape.

 

[ratmom]

undergunfire wrote:

ratmom wrote:

We feed small world pellets

Aren't these from Walmart? If so, I would change their pellets ASAP. Small World is a very terrible food...pretty much the worst of the worst . I had a foster rabbit who came to me on these pellets and she was in such poor health....I switched her to Oxbow and she was in amazing shape.

Well it is made by manna pro. Yes one of my buns has poopy butt, but that happens with any food I give him. Other than that he's in perfect health so is my other newest bun. He came to us on hartz with all that crap in it. Once I switched him over to the small world his smell went down and his fur got better. My oldest has been on it for probably 2 years.

 

[FlickeringHope]

CKGS wrote:

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..

I feed Manna Pro Pro Formula. I don't know if it's the best out there - but you can pick up a 50 lb bag of it at your local TSC for under 16 bucks. And as we can't afford to go out much, that's what we get.

I haven't had any issues with the Manna Pro; Honey seems to like it.. I've tried tossing in a few cavy pellets to sweeten her meal a few times a week, and she completely ignores the cavy pellets and eats her rabbit pellets. So... I'd just go based on how healthy your rabbit looks/acts.

There's really no "Best" food out there. It's all relative in my opinion. Sure, you have the HORRID brands, like Sunseed, and L&M Animal Farms, Hartz, etc etc....

In fact, I fed "small world" a WHILE ago to my rabbit, Flicker. It was a 10 lb bag at Walmart for under $10, couldn't pass that up. Actually, from the package itself, is where I learned corn is a bad ingredient to have in your rabbit's pellet. The Small world did nothing horrible to Flicker at all, he seemed to like it, his fur shined, his eyes sparkled, so I had no complaints.

 

[undergunfire]

ratmom wrote:

undergunfire wrote:

ratmom wrote:

We feed small world pellets

Aren't these from Walmart? If so, I would change their pellets ASAP. Small World is a very terrible food...pretty much the worst of the worst . I had a foster rabbit who came to me on these pellets and she was in such poor health....I switched her to Oxbow and she was in amazing shape.

Well it is made by manna pro. Yes one of my buns has poopy butt, but that happens with any food I give him. Other than that he's in perfect health so is my other newest bun. He came to us on hartz with all that crap in it. Once I switched him over to the small world his smell went down and his fur got better. My oldest has been on it for probably 2 years.

Okay, but do keep in mind the long term effects of feeding an extremely low quality food. No food at Walmart is a good food....for any animal.

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

FlickeringHope wrote:

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.

I feed Zupreem also and storm loves it. I bougth ox bow for the first time and spent 4 weeks trying to get storm on it he would not touch it for the life of him.

Storm does not get vegy we found out in the past months that they cause him to go into Stasis. He can eat them once in a while but everyday he kept getting sick so Zupreem is his main diet now.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

CKGS wrote:

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..

Are your rabbits healthy? Is their fur shiny and soft? If you pet them backwards, does it fall right back down into place? Do they have good condition?

If the answers are yes, it's an excellent food for you.

For the same reason, I would never put down a food just beause it comes from Walmart. IMO, Small World is actually a pretty decent food. And if the rabbit is healthy and in condition on it, it's perfectly fine for you. What it does to another rabbit is a different story.

Feeds are VERYindividual. Don't let anyone tell you that something is bad (and believe it!) if your rabbit is thriving on it.

 

[tonyshuman]

OakRidgeRabbits wrote:

CKGS wrote:

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..

Are your rabbits healthy? Is their fur shiny and soft? If you pet them backwards, does it fall right back down into place? Do they have good condition?

If the answers are yes, it's an excellent food for you.

For the same reason, I would never put down a food just beause it comes from Walmart. IMO, Small World is actually a pretty decent food. And if the rabbit is healthy and in condition on it, it's perfectly fine for you. What it does to another rabbit is a different story.

Feeds are VERYindividual. Don't let anyone tell you that something is bad (and believe it!) if your rabbit is thriving on it.

This is true. However, there are things you can't tell about health just by looking at the rabbit. Things like fatty liver disease, urinary tract problems, etc. Granted, a rabbit with fatty liver will probably be fat looking on the outside as well. That's why annual checkups with blood work over the age of 3-4 are so important for house bunnies.

I just know there are so many pelleted feeds for rabbits at the farm store that are better than Small World, and may even be cheaper. That's why I think something like Purina or Manna Pro is much better than Small World. Also, if you're only feeding a small amount of pellets, which I think is best for non-production rabbits, it really doesn't matter what's in them, as long as it's not toxic.

I'm considering switching my Holland to Purina Hi-Fiber Lab diet, which is alfalfa-based, but high in fiber, from Oxbow BBT because she is always in a molt.

 

[whaleyk98]

I have always used Purina Show in the blue bag but my ELs never seem to keep weight on. I am now switching them over to the Purina Professional (Gray Bag) with the higher protein content and see if that helps. What else could I add to get them to gain weight??

 

[SunnyCait]

Choosing the right rabbit pellet is a very involved process... Something I am not used to. In the rat world, you basically have three "top" foods, Harlan, Oxbow, and Mazuri. People bicker about which formula in each brand is better, but really all three are WAY better options than most commercial rat mixes, so it's really an individual thing past that point.

Rabbit pellet is confusing. I started off with some plain Purina rabbit chow, and then they had this Fibre3 come out, and I switched MJ to that. It has a higher protein (17%) but because she is young I figured that would be fine. The fibre is between 20-25%, also good. It's an alfalfa based pellet. Now I'm wondering if when she gets older she will have to be on a different type of pellets. Ho hum. Rabbits.

 

[ratmom]

undergunfire wrote:

ratmom wrote:

undergunfire wrote:

ratmom wrote:

We feed small world pellets

Aren't these from Walmart? If so, I would change their pellets ASAP. Small World is a very terrible food...pretty much the worst of the worst . I had a foster rabbit who came to me on these pellets and she was in such poor health....I switched her to Oxbow and she was in amazing shape.

Well it is made by manna pro. Yes one of my buns has poopy butt, but that happens with any food I give him. Other than that he's in perfect health so is my other newest bun. He came to us on hartz with all that crap in it. Once I switched him over to the small world his smell went down and his fur got better. My oldest has been on it for probably 2 years.

Okay, but do keep in mind the long term effects of feeding an extremely low quality food. No food at Walmart is a good food....for any animal.

Well that's your personal opinion & we'll just have to agree to disagree

 

[ratmom]

SunnyCait wrote:

Choosing the right rabbit pellet is a very involved process... Something I am not used to. In the rat world, you basically have three "top" foods, Harlan, Oxbow, and Mazuri. People bicker about which formula in each brand is better, but really all three are WAY better options than most commercial rat mixes, so it's really an individual thing past that point.

I know what you mean I wish I could make my own mix for the bunnies like I do for the rats. it would be so much easier lol.

 

[Becknutt]

I use Purina blue bag, and I belive it is 16% protien and 21% fiber...

 

[JimD]

Everybun at my place gets Kaytee Timothy Complete, except for Chippy.
Chippy gets Kaytee Supreme.

 

[Kel4mum]

After reading this thread i have been left a little confused. I feed both of my rabbits Supreme Science Selective,it is 19% Fibre, 14% Protein and is Alfalfa. Is this ok? I also give my rabbits fresh veg everyday and they always have Hay. Is this ok?

 

[tonyshuman]

It depends on how old they are, and how much of the pellet they eat. Younger bunnies are fine on a pellet like that, and I think an adult would be ok on it if they ate enough grass hay. Alfalfa pellets are ok for adults if they have 14% protein (usually they have more than that), and the rabbit is still getting enough protein. I previously mentioned an alfalfa pellet that is pretty good for adults that has 14% protein, 1.5% fat, and 25% fiber, called Purina Hi Fiber Lab Diet.

It seems that the most important thing is that your pellet has protein, fat, and fiber numbers of 14%, less than 2%, and 20+% respectively, for an adult. For young bunnies (under a year), it is different. For adults, I also don't think you should feed more than 1/4c per 5lb of bunny. I start my guys out at that amount and reduce the amount if they gain weight until we find a good balance.

So, if they eat hay (I'd say a handful a day is a good amount), and don't get more than 1/4c pellet per 5lb of bunny, that's a fine diet. Dwarf breeds may need more pellets as well because they are so hyper.

edit: I want to qualify this by saying I'm an Infirmary mod, not a Nutrition and Behavior mod, so my statements are based only on what I know from reading, from my own bunnies, and from the bunnies at the shelter. My guys get Oxbow BBT, except Muffin who gets half that and half Purina Hi Fiber Lab Diet (a recent change). Tony and Muffin are 4-5lb and each get a tablespoon a day (1/16 cup). Frida and Benjamin are 2-3lb and each get 1/8c a day (as dwarves).