Martin Pellet Addiction

[kawaiiusagi]

Hi,

My rabbit is reaching adult age so I have to start limiting the amount of pellet I feed him daily. Everytime I open the cage he thinks I'm feeding him pellets, and when I do, he chows it down immediately and pace back and forth looking into the food bowl expecting more. He acts as like he is addicted to the pellets!

I started feeding him Martin the first day I got him when he was about3 months old and now he is 8 months and I have tried to switch to Oxbow before with no success. I told my vet and she said its okay to still feed him Martin for now and try to gradually swtich. I want to start to switch to the less active Martin but have heard it still contains higher calcium or fat although it is timothy based, is that true? Is my rabbit's behaviour normal? I just now rabbits act like they are always hungry ...

thank you!

 

[slavetoabunny]

It's best to switch pellets gradually, i.e. start off with mostly the old pellet and a little of the new and gradually increase the amount of the new pellet. I'm assuming that the Martin pellets are alfalfa? I think the buns like alfalfa better because it's sweeter. None of my buns liked switching to timothy. I've ended up just giving them the timothy and eventually they just start eating it. As long as they are still eating enough hay, I wouldn't worry.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Martin's pellets can be like bunny crack. It can be difficult to get them off and onto a different pellet. Many rabbits will eat the pellet they like first and leave the other pellet. On top if it all, I don't think Oxbow is the best tasting pellet, so not all rabbit will eat it first.
You need to be persistent with it. Give the mix of Martins and Oxbow and don't give more until it is all gone. Start with a small amount of Oxbow, even if it is only a few pellets to start with. He will probably eat the martins first, but should eat the oxbow when he gets hungry enough. Gradually increase the amount of oxbow and once he is eating it decrease the martins.

One thing I have noticed is that Martin has changed their rabbit pellets. The timothy one used to be 15% protein and is now 12%. I don't know if the other values have changed, but I think they would have. A few members who feed Martins have had shedding issues with their rabbits.

As long as he has hay avaliable, he is not going to starve. He will get used to eating the Oxbow, but you have to get him used to it. Once he is eating it, you might need to stop feeding the martins as part of the regular diet so he does eat the Oxbow.

My rabbit Korr is on Oxbow BB/T, but has been on Martins in the past. He seems to want to eat just about any pellet other than Oxbow if he can get it. Since he doesn't really get other pellets (except at agility when I put Lillians out too), he likes the Oxbow and will eat it. If he does get other pellets, he won't eat the oxbow first.