How long do pellets stay good for?

[Azerane]

I'm currently in the process of considering my options regarding buying oxbow pellets. It seems that I can get them from several vet clinics in the area, but they have to order them in (not sure how long that takes) and the cost is in the range of $23-$30. I was also looking at buying from mypetwarehouse.com.au because they sell the 2.25kg bag for $23.99, the shipping is $7.50, but apparently I can place an order up to 20kg and the shipping still remains at $7.50. So if I was going to order through them, I would order maybe three bags to cut shipping costs in future. What I'm wondering, is if those other two bags stay sealed, are they still going to be good a fair way down the track? Do they only go stale if you open them, or do they go stale anyway?

This is what I'm currently feeding as it's what he was on when I got him: http://www.lauckemills.com.au/rabbit1.html as you can see the fiber content is pitiful but 13-16% is pretty much all you find in this country. Also, Bandit is 6 months old on the first of May, should I be buying a bag of the oxbow young rabbit food first? Or should I just go straight to the adult?

Also, I was looking at these oxbow treats, are they any good? http://www.mypetwarehouse.com.au/OXBOW-SIMPLE-REWARDS-TIMOTHY-TREATS-40GM-p-10092

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

The pellets should be good as long as the bag stays sealed. They do have an exxpiry date, but it is usually a year or longer from when it is made. Bags close to the expiry date might be more stale, so you might not want to keep it around too long, but they should be good for a while.

Once opened, they won't stay fresh forever. If you are getting larger bags and only have a couple rabbits, then I would portion the pellets into ziplock bags to help them stay fresh. 2.25kg is 5 pounds, so should not last too long even with a couple rabbits.

Since you rabbit is almost 6 months, he is pretty much full grown. I would just go for the timothy pellets.

My rabbits love the Timothy treats. They do seem to like all the oxbow treats as well.

 

[JBun]

If bandit is a bigger breed rabbit, you may want to keep him on alfalfa based pellets a little longer. Also if you can store the pellets in the fridge it will help. Some vitamins are affected by heat, light, and oxygen. If you can't keep them in the fridge, try to store the sealed bags in a dark, cool, and dry area.

 

[Azerane]

Thanks for all the info guys, from what I understand Bandit is pretty much full-grown. Last time he was weighed I think he was 2.3kg which is I believe just over 5 pounds and I was told that that's about all he would grow to. However his dad was large, so he may even get a little bigger depending on if he's inherited that trait.

Just thinking about it, if I was only buying 3 bags at a time, I'm really not saving a lot of money anyway, only if I was buying 7 bags or so, and I don't want to fork out that much first off, especially since it will take him a while to get through the pellets. Perhaps I'm simply better off just buying from the vet clinics. Will ring around tomorrow to check prices and ask how long they take to come in.

Thanks again!

 

[Azerane]

So I managed to buy some of the Oxbow adult pellets today. I was going to ring around a few different vet clinics to find out how much they charge and how long they would take to get in. But before I rang anywhere, I dropped into a clinic nearby where we live, I asked them my questions, the lady gave me a funny look and then pointed to where they had them on the counter. Last time I stopped in at that clinic they mustn't have had them in stock but told me they would order them in, but apparently they stock them all the time. So that's plus number one, the second plus is that they only cost me $19 for a 2.25kg bag. Everywhere else is in the $23-$30 price range. It was strange though, because one of the bags I didn't pick up had a price sticker on it for $25.30, but when they looked it up on the computer they told me it was $19, I wasn't going to argue

So now I've got oxbow pellets, I've already made up little snap lock bags of transitions. Instead of the 4 to 1 ratio, I went with the 5 to 1 (1 cup old, 1/4 cup new; 3/4 cup old, 1/2 cup new etc) and have also sprinkled a few into his remaining old pellets so he gets a bit of a taste for them before the proper introduction begins. Each bag is only going to last me five days of his morning pellets, but then I also give him pellets in his treat ball in the afternoon, so will have to mix some in with that as I go along. I also tested whether Bandit would actually have any interest in them, so I took one pellet and held it out to him and he quite happily ate it. A good sign I'm super excited about the switch over. I only paid about $5 for Bandit's previous 2.5kg of pellets, but when you compare that the oxbow has twice as much fibre and 1/4 the amount of calcium, the extra cost (barely anything considering how often I'll have to buy anyway) is definitely worth it. I'm hoping the better quality pellet will also help when I try to introduce him to some more greens again. In the past week I've been giving him a tiny amount of parsley every night at bed time, but that's it since his little tangle with stasis. Because I'm switching pellets now, I'm going to hold off on increasing the amount of parsley until he's transitioned onto them.

While I was at the vet clinic, I also noticed that they happen to sell little bags of the compact timothy cubes. I was thinking of trying them out at some point, just for a treat every now and then (considering they're probably expensive).

 

[minmelethuireb]

I usually buy 10-lb bags from Dr Foster and Smith when they're on sale for about $12. That seems significantly less than what you paid, though I don't know how much shipping to Australia would be. The expiration date goes about 1 1/2 year out. Once I open a bag, I usually move it to a Ziploc bag because they're easier to close.

 

[Azerane]

I know it's not cheap, but it's about as cheap as you can get oxbow in this country. Because it's imported it can be difficult enough to find in the first place. I noticed the expiration on my bag was around about November this year (if I'm remembering right).

Plus I'd rather pay the few extra dollars and feed Bandit something that should be much better for him.