Pellets

[BethM]

I was right in the middle of switching my bunnies to American Pet Diner pellets, from Oxbow, when Ben came to live with us.

I didn't have any of whatever he was eating before, and he refuses to eat pellets. He's eating salad and hay just fine, so it's not an issue of not wanting to eat. I put him directly on the APD, and he won't eat those. I tried some of the half-and-half mix the other bunnies are currently getting, and he won't eat those, either. Each day, Ithrow out the previous day's pellets and give him fresh, which then get thrown out the next day.

He sits by his pellet dish, as though he's waiting for me to put something "good" in. I have noticed that the pellets will be moved around, so he's been rooting around in the dish, but no pellets have been missing.

Any suggestions?

 

[slavetoabunny]

Maybe he was used to getting a "rainbow" pellet mix and is looking for the junk stuff. I would keep offering a little bit of pellet each day. As long as he is eating plenty of hay and salad, I wouldn't be overly concerned. I've had fosters that weren't big pellet fans.

 

[Maureen Las]

Was he on alfalfa pellets?; if so that is the reason

when I changed mine over to timothy they would pick out the alfalfa and leave the rest.

you could buy a bag of goodalfalfa pellets and add a little to the timothy

the only way thatI got all of mine to eat timothy pellets was to reduce the amount ; they got so hungry for pellets they eventually ate the timothy .

It took an extremely LONG time for me to get some of my rabbits to eat timothy

All of my rabbits hate oxbow but will eat timothy comlete by kaytee; you could also try that brand even though it is not as goodquality as APD

A small amount of alfalfa pellet will not hurt an adult rabbit ; it's just that timothy is preferable but not something absolutely set in stone

 

[BethM]

angieluv wrote:

Was he on alfalfa pellets?; if so that is the reason

I'm not sure what he was getting before. I suspect it was alfalfa, or "rainbow" junk. I am not even sure what the shelter was giving him. His temporary foster mom (she had him for about 5 days) was giving him Sunseed, and he was eating that, but reluctantly. She gave me one serving of that, in his dish, when I picked him up, but didn't give me any extra.

She also said that the first time she gave him veggies, he didn't know what to do with them, so he probably hadn't hadveggies before. He loves his salad, now, and doesn't leave the tiniest bit of stem uneaten. (He's still shy, but will come up to me to take a bit of fruit.)

 

[tonyshuman]

It may be better to go from alfalfa pellets to APD, especially since he was probably on really bad stuff before. Benjamin was a very picky bunny and the only thing he would eat at the rescue (before we adopted him) was the Rainbow Exact Kaytee junk. We mixed that with some alfalfa pellets, I think Purina Rabbit Chow Green Bag (maybe Hi-Fiber Lab diet, but I think it was Rabbit Chow), just to get him eating a normal amount, then phased out the Rainbow stuff. He was also pretty young at the time. We then switched him to Oxbow BBT after 2 or so months, when he was around 8 months of age.

I'd give him whatever he will eat at this point, even if it's junk food (except the kind with seeds). It sounds like he's as picky as Benjamin was. Then phase in an alfalfa pellet, and switch to APD.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I'm not sure what the deal is with classifying alfalfa pellets as a food in the same category of treat mixtures. "Rainbow mix" is unhealthy because it contains many pieces of conditioning treats throughout the food. This is not necessarily bad in and of itself. In fact, it can be a pretty well balanced feed. The problem is that most rabbits will pick out and only eat the treats, which can cause health problems or obesity. As with people, no food is bad, it is the amount you eat it in.

Alfalfa pellets, however, are a great source of nutrition and a very popular pellet choice for breeders, exhibitors, and pet owners alike. In my opinion, it is better for them, especially for young growing rabbits or older rabbits. My rabbits recieve about 1/2 cup of alfalfa pellets daily, supplemented with timothy hay. If the new rabbit is used to alfalfa, I say...give him alfalfa! No reason to make him uncomfortable by offering something he doesn't like.

 

[Maureen Las]

I agree that alfalfa pelets are good food and shouldn't be classified with treats/junk etc.



Ifed alfalfa pellets until I joined this forum

Ithink the issue with it is that the protein and fat levels are higher than many house rabbits need .

I also feed it to my older rabbits who have gotten thinner but the other 7 rabbits don't get a lot of exercise and don't need higher protein .

 

[tonyshuman]

The Rainbow Excel I'm talking about is actually all extruded shape pellets--like lucky charms shapes, but made of rabbit food. It's not terrible for bunnies, but definitely not good as a sole food or for an extended period of time. This isn't one of those mixes that contains seeds along with extruded shapes and normal pellets, so there isn't any selective eating with it. It is alfalfa-based. I certainly am not against all alfalfa pellets for adult bunnies--the shelter I help at feeds a high fiber alfalfa pellet to their adult bunnies and they seem to do just fine. It is best to start a bunny on what they're used to, but if you don't know what that is, you might have to start with something you wouldn't normally feed a bunny, like the Kaytee Rainbow Exact. I was just saying to transition him to APD because that's what the OP wants to do, eventually, plus I do think less active adult house bunnies do better on a timothy pellet if you can afford it.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Not a pellet expert over here, but I was thinking that maybe if a bit of steelcut oats (like oatmeal) were mixed in, the taste might be appealing enough, (but the fragments too challenging to pick through).

 

[maherwoman]

NorthernAutumn wrote:

Not a pellet expert over here, but I was thinking that maybe if a bit of steelcut oats (like oatmeal) were mixed in, the taste might be appealing enough, (but the fragments too challenging to pick through).

I couldn't agree more. This is how I've gotten our picky buns to eat their food. When we first brought Cinnamon home, she wouldn't eat her pellet food. Mix it in well, and once you've seen him eating the pellet food on a regular daily basis, gradually reduce the oats.

You can use regular, uncooked oatmeal from the grocery store. Here are the type we give our babies:

Just mix them in raw...they're perfect!

 

[BethM]

I'm sorry if I implied that I thought alfalfa-based pellets are the same as treats/junk. I just meant that he was probably used to eating something that was NOT timothy pellets. My other three bunnies are eating timothy pellets, and are doing very well on them; I would eventually like to get Ben on the same food as the others.
I do know that alfalfa pellets can be quite good for some bunnies, but I would really prefer for all the bunnies to be on the same feed.

I stopped at PetSmart on my way home from work today, but they didn't have an alfalfa pellet that looked good to me. The Kaytee Exact was on sale, and they were out of it.

I will try the oats thing, I have some in my cabinet.
Ben didn't eat any pellets again today. *sigh* Will try to get to PetCo to check out their selection sometime, but it won't be until Saturday at the earliest.


This is my first experience with a bunny who is particular about his pellets. My other three will gobble up anything I put in their bowl, without hardly noticing what they're eating. Ben is also the only shy one.

 

[maherwoman]

OH!! One other thing I just recalled...

How long has he been home with you?

Just about every single bunny I've brought home refused to eat pellet food the first week they were home...and then all of a sudden, once they adjusted to the new home a bit, would be eating totally normally.

Has he been home with you less than a couple weeks? It could easily just be that he's nervous about his new home, and is still adjusting.

 

[BethM]

He's been here with me less than a week. He was at his temporary foster home for 4 days before that, and at the shelter for 10 days before that. So he's pretty nervous. Unfortunately, we're moving on Sunday, but he'll have all his same stuff with him when we go.

The oat's worked! Sort of. I tried giving him a few last night, and he ate them from my hand, so I knew he liked them. I put a good pinch in with his pellets. This morning, about 3/4 of the pellets, and most of the oats, were gone!

He was also more energetic this morning than he has been. He moved his litter box during the night, and I moved it back. As soon as I stepped back from his pen, Ben ran out of his house, put the litter box back where he wanted it, then ran back to his house. LOL!

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Don't be afraid to mix in a good amount of oats the first few days and then slowly wean him off if it helps him. They are good for energy and a healthy coat, but won't make them fat like some treats do. My rabbits get a pinch every night on their pellets. Babies even get a handful because it helps with weaning.

 

[anneq]

My 9 week olds LOVE their oats - they get a Timothy/Alfalfa based pellet from SweetMeadow farms and plenty of hay (they love the Orchard grass)...but man, they really dive in when they see it's oats.

 

[maherwoman]

OH YAY!! Glad to hear that he ate so much of them! Your boy will be just fine!

Also, another good thing, hearing that he's a rescue, the oats will help him put on any weight he needs. (Which, for future reference, can also cause them to gain TOO much weight, but you don't need to worry about that right now...it's more important for him to start eating.)

GOOD JOB!!

GO BEN!! et::flowerskiss:

 

[NorthernAutumn]

I'm glad the oats worked

 

[BethM]

NorthernAutumn wrote:

I'm glad the oats worked

Well.....We're still working on the pellets. Even though his pellet dish is pretty tall, and Ben has wide mini-lop cheeks, he has managed to learn how to eat JUST the oats out from the pellets.

He does love the oats, though. He has now figured out the food schedule, and will run right over to the dish when I put the oats and pellets in.

I'll keep trying, though.

 

[anneq]

"He does love the oats, though. He has now figured out the food schedule, and will run right over to the dish when I put the oats and pellets in."

Hehe, the little stinker.
My babies do that also.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

BethM wrote:

NorthernAutumn wrote:

I'm glad the oats worked

Well.....We're still working on the pellets. Even though his pellet dish is pretty tall, and Ben has wide mini-lop cheeks, he has managed to learn how to eat JUST the oats out from the pellets.

He does love the oats, though. He has now figured out the food schedule, and will run right over to the dish when I put the oats and pellets in.

I'll keep trying, though.

:roflmao: What a little booger! He's got a lot of tenacity!
Guess he's just kinda hovering over the bowl, lightly sucking in air to make the oats rise...

Clever fella Got you trained anyway!:biggrin2: