Pellets

[Nidia]

I read on a rabbit care sheet that pellets for rabbits should have 20-25% fiber, and that the different colored and shaped pellets aren't really needed, but the pet store I got Abby at didn't have a wide variety of pellets. I bought the one with the most fiber I could find, which was 17%. It's called Sun Fun, and it has the different colored and shaped seeds and what not. Is this bad? Should I look for something different? What do you all use for pellets? Also, I went ahead and bought Timothy and Alfalfa hay, but was advised by the pet store to only use the Alfalfa until she is 7 months old. They told me she is only around 3-4 months. Is that true or should I be offering both? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I want the best for my Abby!

-- Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place. --

 

[naturestee]

Hi Nidia!

Do you have a feed store near you? You might be able to find better pellets there. Those seeds and such are high in fat and in carbs, which bunnies have problems digesting. A plain pellet would be much better. Purina High Fiber, for example, is a good choice for young rabbits. Or if you can find Oxbow in your area (this would be at pet stores of vet offices), their 15/23 formula is designed for young house rabbits.

You don't have to feed alfalfa hay if you're feeding her alfalfa pellets, although it makes for a nice treat.

 

[Nidia]

I don't think we do. I'm not really sure, though. I'm used to reptiles, so I usually buy all my pet food and supplies online. Is there any websites I could maybe find a good one? And do you think I should pick everything else out but the pellets until I can get a better one? I dont want her to get off to a bad start. =/

-------------------------------------------------------

Wow that was a retarded question. I found the Oxbow. I'll be ordering some shortly. Last question, I think. Would it be ok to offer the pellets and the hay all the time?

 

[naturestee]

I've ordered hay from Oxbow online, and they have great service.
http://www.oxbowhay.com/index.sp

You can also do a search to see if there are Oxbow vendors near you. And here's a dealer locator for Purina:
http://rabbit.purinamills.com/rabbit/index_rabbit.html

I buy my pellets at a pet store (Oxbow BBT) because the shipping increases the price so much. But if you do need to order online, shop around a little to find the brand you want at the best price. For example, there's an ad at the top of the page for Rabbitstop.com. I've only ever ordered from Oxbow and Leithpetwerks.com (also good service) so those are the only sites I can personally recommend.

There are more brands to check out, too. When you're comparing pellets, look both at the fiber (minimum 18%) and the protein, which for a growing bun should be 15-16%.

 

[Nidia]

Ok. Thanks so much. This is my first bunny and I want everything to be perfect for her.

 

[coco]

Hi,

I buy Oxbow products from a online store called

www.rabbitstop.com

Thay have realy good prices on Oxbow products (the best prices so far that I have found)

They ship really quick also.

Hope this helps

Coco

 

[Spring]

Hey!

If you can find a feed store, maybe see if they have pellets, or you could order from oxbow. After switching from a pellet I was getting from a petstore to a brand I found at a feed store my buns seem more active, larger droppings, and love the new pellets! The problem with the pellets with all the goodies in them is that sometimes the rabbits pick out the good stuff and leave the healthy pellets behind. Then, then don't get the proper nutrients that the pellets provide, then that might lead to a problem. Also the seeds and goodies can cause rabbits to gain a few pounds and turn overweight.

For the hay, if you find a good alfalfa based hay, you could feed timothy. Even if you do give the pellets, you should give unlimited timothy hay (which is a grass hay) and may a handfull of alfalfa. The alfalfa has lots of protien in it, so with the hay and pellets both alfalfa you could have a problem with an over excessive amount of cecel droppings (the night droppings they eat).

For offering the hay and pellets, you can feed unlimited pellets while he's still growing (6-8 months around). Then you can cut back a bit on the alfalfa hay, but you can always offer timothy.

Hope this helps! If you have any other questinos, feel free to ask!

 

[Nidia]

I did a search and found a feed store that sells Oxbow 2.9 miles away from me. Yay! That's a lot closer than I was expecting, so hopefully I can get my mom to give me a ride up there tomorrow. Thanks again for the replies, guys. You've all been a great help.

 

[Spring]

That's great!

 

[Snuggys Mom]

I get Oxbow products from:

http://www.theferretstore.com

and

http://www.petfooddirect.com

 

[JimD]

[align=left][font="trebuchet, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"]I use Purina Complete Blend Rabbit Chow(green bag) and Kaytee Timothy Complete.[/align]
[align=left]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/align]
[align=left][font="trebuchet, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"]From the Sun Seed website:[/font][/align]
[align=center][font="trebuchet, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"]Sun Fun for Rabbits[/font][/align]
Alfalfa pellet based, vitamin enriched mix with a fun feast of nutritious favorites including bananas, raisins, carrots, celerys, peanuts, and peas. Colored sun, moon, and star shaped "cookies" added for delicious fun.[/font]

[font="trebuchet, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"]Protein: min. 16%[/font]

[font="trebuchet, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"]Fat: min. 5%[/font]

[font="trebuchet, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"]Fiber: max. 16%[/font]

 

[Spring]

Oh wow! I think you should change over Nidia to a different pellet. That pellet is pretty much junk!

 

[JimD]

Spring wrote:

Oh wow! I think you should change over Nidia to a different pellet. That pellet is pretty much junk!

And could lead to "chubbie-bunnie" syndrome, too.:apollo:

I wish I could have gotten the list of ingredients to see where "Sugar" was listed and what kind of calories were involved.

I'm thinking that even Kaytee Supreme, Purina, Big Red, or something similar would be better if it's available.

~Jim

 

[maherwoman]

Hello Nidia! Welcome!

As far as food, my best recommendation would be to read the Feeding Your Rabbit section of the Rabbit 101 forum on this site. It contains LOADS of great information and links to other sites that have a bounty of information as well.

Here's the link to the Feeding your Rabbit site:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12046&forum_id=17

And here's one on Pellets:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12160&forum_id=17

I've read on the following site that seeds are actually quite bad for bunnies:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

And if you go to the Diets link on this site, it will list by age what and how much to feed your bunny:
http://www.carrotcafe.com/index.html

Just browse around to the different links that first site provides, as well as the Pellets link I gave you, and you should be able to determine quite a lot about what to do for your bun. I would be careful about what pet stores tell you to feed your bunny, as they also sell food that contains nuts and seeds (which are both very bad for bunnies). In switching her food, however, be sure to gradually switch over a period of 14 days, and not all at once. If you switch suddenly, and not gradually, she could get the runs, and her health could be in jeopardy.

Hope all that helps!

 

[Nidia]

Yah I read through a lot of those last night before bed. They were very helpful. Unfortunately mom doesn't want me to have Abby at all, and she said she's not paying for anything for her. So I can get her some good pellets, but it's going to have to wait until this Sunday unfortunately. It IS a work in progress though, and I thank you guys very much for the help. It's good to have a group of people with the same love for animals that I have.