Oxbow pellets

[Thumperina]

I unfortunately have to give up on Sherwood forest food , my rabbits don't eat it anyway. I am going to try Oxbow pellets. I have two 10 months old rabbits, and two 3 months old.
Do you think there is a chance they would like Oxbow pellets? I am not worried about my younger rabbits (they would eat almost anything) but the older are very picky (well, I guess because younger buns allowed all the good sweet stuff like alfalfa, and older buns must be stuck with Timothy).
Does anyone know if any samples of Oxbow pellets available? Their alfalfa based "Young rabbit food" - until what age should it be fed? I am not finding answers yet.
Did anyone have a good experience switching buns who used to junk rabbit food to Oxbow?
Those who feed Oxbow pellets - are you finding good deals? For the beginning I am buying a 5lb bag for 9.99 (which is 2 dollars a pound) at the local pet store (this price can be compared to Sherwood bulk price - not bad at all). I guess, I need different types of Oxbow pellets for the parents and for children, right?

 

[Thumperina]

Nobody used Oxbow?

 

[LakeCondo]

Yes, Oxbow & Kaytee are the only 2 brands I've found that I like. Oxbow is a little better in that it has more fiber, but if your rabbit eats enough hay, that shouldn't be a problem.

I recommend wag.com. The last I checked, 10-lb bags were $17 for adult Oxbow $12.50 for Kaytee. Shipping is free with a $50 purchase & if you have a joint order with one of their other sites, I think it's $40. It gets delivered in a couple days. I like some of their dried fruit & cleaning supplies.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I have not used Oxbow, but I know a lot of people here do, so you'll probably hear from someone.

If your adult rabbits don't do well with timothy pellets, you can feed them an alfalfa pellet instead. Alfalfa itself isn't bad for adult rabbits, it's just higher in protein and calcium so it needs to limited. Free-feeding alfalfa to adults can make them a little "fluffy!"

If you do use an alfalfa pellet, usually around 1/2 cup per 5 lbs. body weight is a good general starting point. Then you can alter it from there if the rabbit is seeming too thin or too fat. Of course, an adult will need less of a higher protein/fat feed than a lower protein/fat feed, so it will depend on what you end up with. Just be sure to supplement with timothy or grass hay if you use an alfalfa pellet, not alfalfa hay. Alfalfa hay + alfalfa pellets would be a bit too much.

Anyway, someone will likely have a suggestion for a timothy pellet your rabbits will like. Failing that, I just didn't want you to worry. All ages can do well on an alfalfa pellet too. Go with what your bunnies enjoy and tailor it from there. All animals are different!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

I have one that has bladder issues with alfalfa pellets, so I use Oxbow for her and give the others kaytee.

 

[Thumperina]

OakRidgeRabbits wrote:

I have not used Oxbow, but I know a lot of people here do, so you'll probably hear from someone.

If your adult rabbits don't do well with timothy pellets, you can feed them an alfalfa pellet instead. Alfalfa itself isn't bad for adult rabbits, it's just higher in protein and calcium so it needs to limited. Free-feeding alfalfa to adults can make them a little "fluffy!"

If you do use an alfalfa pellet, usually around 1/2 cup per 5 lbs. body weight is a good general starting point. Then you can alter it from there if the rabbit is seeming too thin or too fat. Of course, an adult will need less of a higher protein/fat feed than a lower protein/fat feed, so it will depend on what you end up with. Just be sure to supplement with timothy or grass hay if you use an alfalfa pellet, not alfalfa hay. Alfalfa hay + alfalfa pellets would be a bit too much.

Anyway, someone will likely have a suggestion for a timothy pellet your rabbits will like. Failing that, I just didn't want you to worry. All ages can do well on an alfalfa pellet too. Go with what your bunnies enjoy and tailor it from there. All animals are different!

The problem is that my older rabbits DO NOT eat timothy hay. I have a bale of good alfalfa in the yard for my youngsters, but my older rabbits just come and feed there. I bought them orchard grass hay - no luck with this one either(((

 

[MiniLopHop]

I use Oxbow and get it for $45 for a 50 pound bag, so it is a really good deal. I get it from a rescue that gets that price since they get so much per shipment.

Several of my buns were on "junk" food when I got them. I just gradually weaned them over by mixing the food. Even my youngsters were on regular oxbow because that is what I could get at a good price, I just added alfalfa hay. If you block the adults access to the alfalfa they should switch over to grass hays if it is all they can get. I do keep a little alfalfa on hand for my one rabbit who has cronic health issues and needs it to maintain her weight on occasion. The others will steal it if they have the chance, but normally eat timothy and orchard grass well. Sophie in particular tends towards bladder sludge so I have to watch her calcium.

 

[qtipthebun]

Q-tip says "I wuv Oxbow! It's my favorite bunny food type! Mommy said she gets it at something called the House Rabbit Society. She said she gets really good deals because she joined and is a member. I don't know what that means, only that I'm a house rabbit. And I like food."

Q-tip's mommy wants to add that Q-tip is not picky and will eat everything you put in front of her, but she seems to devour Oxbow faster than any other pellet type.

 

[ldoerr]

I have never feed Oxbow. I have always used an Alfalfa based pellet for all my rabbits from birth to death. Never had a problem with an alfalfa pellet. I fed Purena gray bag for 4 years with good results and now feed Mana Pro brand Pro feed. I have a bag of zupreem for when I run out of Mana Pro though so will be switching to that soon.

 

[Blue eyes]

Thumperina wrote:

Did anyone have a good experience switching buns who used to junk rabbit food to Oxbow?
Those who feed Oxbow pellets - are you finding good deals? For the beginning I am buying a 5lb bag for 9.99 (which is 2 dollars a pound) at the local pet store (this price can be compared to Sherwood bulk price - not bad at all). I guess, I need different types of Oxbow pellets for the parents and for children, right?

I was using the cheap walmart "rabbit world" pellets. I switched to Oxbow Essentials (adult) by mixing the two brands for a week or more. I don't think they really have a choice to reject the oxbow. I did mix around in the bowl the 2 types of food. Gradually I increased the proportion of oxbow. Since the adult buns only get limited pellets anyway, they were more than happy to eat up what was offered. I didn't have any problems.

After I bought my first 5 lb bag, I opted to buy a 50 lb bag through petfooddirect.com
I didn't get quite the deal that minilophop gets, but between their sale and free shipping, it ended up being about $1.23/lb. (I store it in gallon ziploks in the fridge)

 

[Thumperina]

When I looked at the packages in the store and the feeding instructions, it seemed that "young rabbits food" intended for those who younger than 1 year old (while I was thinking you needed to switch for adult formula at age of 6 months). Is this correct? Everybody younger than 1 yo need "young rabbit" alfalfa based pellets (speaking of Oxbow)?

 

[Blue eyes]

6 months is usual. I don't go by what's on the bag. The consensus I've seen on RO and from the House Rabbit Society is 6 months.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

It really depends on the rabbit. It is generally recommended to switch to timothy pellets when the rabbit is done growing or around 6 months, which ever is later. So if you have a smaller breed that is done growing before 6 months, then you would want to switch to timothy around 6 months old. If you have a bigger breed who takes longer to reach the full size, they might need alfalfa pellets for longer. Some rabbits many need alfalfa as adults too, this can be the activity level, if they are breeding or if there is some medical issue where they may need more protein or something to keep weight on.

Any recommendation or guidelines for a food are just that, guidelines. They are meant as a starting point and might not work for all rabbits. Some rabbits may need more or less of a food or even something different. If something doesn't work for your rabbit, then try something else.

 

[Mariah]

My buns would not eat the oxbow adult pellets. I tried so hard to switch them but they wouldn't have it. I feed Martins adult Timothy pellets. They LOVE them. The good thing about Martins is that there is no molasses added to the pellets. Oxbows pellets have molasses in them. Molasses isn't bad but I have a bunny with a sensitive stomach so no added sugars for her. I'm not sure where your from but I'm in Canada.
I don't know if the States have Martins.

 

[Blue eyes]

Mariah wrote:

My buns would not eat the oxbow adult pellets. I tried so hard to switch them but they wouldn't have it. I feed Martins adult Timothy pellets. They LOVE them. The good thing about Martins is that there is no molasses added to the pellets. Oxbows pellets have molasses in them. Molasses isn't bad but I have a bunny with a sensitive stomach so no added sugars for her. I'm not sure where your from but I'm in Canada.
I don't know if the States have Martins.

I never heard of Martins. I googled and most came up as Canada. Even petfooddirect.com and wag.com did not carry Martins. That's too bad because Oxbow does have that molasses. Sherwood Forest has no molasses, but it is alfalfa based.

 

[LakeCondo]

Ir depends on the grade of molasses that's used. According to the wikipedia article on molasses, when the sugar is removed with 3 boilings you get black-strap molasses. This contains virtually no sugar, just the vitamins & minerals the sugar cane started with. It certainly doesn't taste sweet. I never buy brown sugar; I combine a little black-strap molasses with much more sugar to make brown sugar. So it would be very useful to know what grade molasses they use.

 

[Blue eyes]

LakeCondo wrote:

Ir depends on the grade of molasses that's used. According to the wikipedia article on molasses, when the sugar is removed with 3 boilings you get black-strap molasses. This contains virtually no sugar, just the vitamins & minerals the sugar cane started with. It certainly doesn't taste sweet. I never buy brown sugar; I combine a little black-strap molasses with much more sugar to make brown sugar. So it would be very useful to know what grade molasses they use.

That's interesting. Maybe one of us can write Oxbow and find out....

 

[KittyKatMe]

I get a 10 lb bag of Oxbow at my local pet store for $9 for Young $10 for adult. It's a pretty good deal, and I have 3 on Young, 2 on a mix, and 2 on adult, so I need a couple bags per week.

 

[Thumperina]

I e-mailed Oxbow with general questions but never got a reply...

 

[miverson]

I pay around $15 for a bag of Oxbow young rabbit food. I have to order it online as nobody in my area carries it.

I did a bit of research and looking at the nutrition values and I found oxbox to be one of the better ones. It is all I have fed my buns from a pellet perspective.
They get a pretty mixed diet. Lots of hay, pellets and veggies every day.

Pretty much spoiled haha.

If you can stick with the Oxbow food I would recommend it.