Pick Your Pellet...

[TinysMom]

HollynRabbits wrote:

I feed mine Small World Rabbit Pellets.... is that a good or bad brad...

I mix Small World w/ another brand....its made by Manna Pro and if you read the list of ingredients....well...its better than others I've seen.

Peg

 

[naturestee]

Boricua_bunny wrote:

HollynRabbits wrote:

I feed mine Small World Rabbit Pellets.... is that a good or bad brad...

I think that Small World Rabbit Pellets is not a very good brand. I used to buy that for my rabbit because it was cheap, but then I realized that he wasn't getting all of the nutrients that he needed. Try looking around to see if you can buy Purina Rabbit Chow or Oxbow Bunny Basics. Those two are very good brands.

~Josh

I've had major issues with it, and I know several others on the forum had bad experiences too. When I got Fey and Sprite, all they were being given was Small World Animal Pellets. They had very large, soft, icky poops that took a long time to fix. My vet did a fecal test and said they didn't have parasites or an infection, it was just from the food.

I love Oxbow, but if you can't get that can you get to a feed store? Most brands that are marketed for show and breeding rabbits are pretty good, if high in protein and calories. I've heard Manna Pro's other pellets- the ones actually called Manna Pro- are good, same with Blue Seal, Purina, etc. If you can, go for high-fiber "maintenance" pellets that have less protein. Unless you're breeding, of course.

If you can't find one good brand of pellet, you can do what Tinysmom does which is mix brands. Sometimes our choices are limited by our location, and ordering pellets online is usually way more expensive than buying the same brand in a store- I've checked.

 

[doodle]

Is Small World a Wal-Mart brand? Is it made by Manna Pro? I'm wondering because my foster rabbit is on a brand made by Manna Pro that came from Wal-Mart (it came with him when I took him in). I already poored the pellets into a container and threw away the bag, so I can't remember the name of them.

Sure wish I could get Purina Rabbit Chow here. I'd love to get Oxbow, but it's a fortune to order it online.

 

[TinysMom]

naturestee wrote:

If you can't find one good brand of pellet, you can do what Tinysmom does which is mix brands. Sometimes our choices are limited by our location, and ordering pellets online is usually way more expensive than buying the same brand in a store- I've checked.

Tiny's Mom mixes pellets because using onebrand of rabbit food killed her rabbits when she got a bad batch. I was so mad too because I had switched to that brand a couple of months earlier thinking "it's a national brand....I ought to use it".

The same night that another breeder and I diagnosed the problem as being the food - another lionhead breeder in a completely different area of the country said, "Hey...is anyone having problems with ___? We've lost TEN juniors..".

I felt like saying, "Get in line buddy.....I've lost 3X time that in babies and a buck."

Since then....two other breeders that I know of have lost babies too.

SOOOO......TinysMom is now PARANOID! onder: She will never again feed only one brand of food....

BTW - we think what saved my rabbits was the fact that I mixed calf mana, sunflower seeds, oat groats and I forget what else right off....into my food. I think barley.

I came close to losing all of my bucks...and my does were having stillborn babies or unable to nurse.

Peg

P.S. I'm not saying that one brand is good and one brand isn't - ok? I'm just saying that after my experience - because I feed so many rabbits (I go through over 150 pounds of food per week - and that's just the basic pellets - not counting calf mana and other stuff)....I won't use only one brand ever again.

 

[LessThanAnNa]

I don't know how I managed to neglect researching pellets, when I was doing all the reading up on rabbits, before getting one. I read all kinds of things on care, housing, behaviour, and even diet.. but it somehow never clicked in that I should look into different pellets and brands ahead of time. So, on the morning that we were going to pick up our bunny at the shelter, (the end of last month) there I was standing at the petstore, reading the ingredients and descriptions of different kinds of pellets, and picking up some hay, a large water bottle, and somem toys for my birdies. I ended up going with Martin's, and Moo Shoo loves it.

 

[tailof2rabbits]

I use Hagen. Is this a good brand? It's the only one readily available that isn't crumbly. The fiber and protein are up to standard but it's alfalfa-based and "suitable for dwarf rabbits" which my rabbits are definitely not.I have options: Sluis / Puik / VitaKraft rabbit mixes but I'd rather stay off the multi-colored, tutti-frutti stuff. It gives Marbles diarrhea.

 

[JimD]

LessThanAnNa wrote:

I don't know how I managed to neglect researching pellets, when I was doing all the reading up on rabbits, before getting one. I read all kinds of things on care, housing, behaviour, and even diet.. but it somehow never clicked in that I should look into different pellets and brands ahead of time. So, on the morning that we were going to pick up our bunny at the shelter, (the end of last month) there I was standing at the petstore, reading the ingredients and descriptions of different kinds of pellets, and picking up some hay, a large water bottle, and somem toys for my birdies. I ended up going with Martin's, and Moo Shoo loves it.

Hi LTAN! Welcome to the forum!!!

First, I just wanted to say the we also have a female bunnie named MooShu (a bit different on the spelling). How did you pick the name? We got it from the movie "Mulan".

I try not to get too involved in this topic, because there are soooooo many different pellets and even more opinions.

Availability is a big factor as well,taking in the consideration that this is a world-wide forum.

If I could afford Oxbow I would use it. I have 8 bunnies and the cost is just too much.

I use Purina Rabbit Chow Complete Blend (green bag). I buy it in 25 lb bags that last appox 2 weeks. I'm aware of the incident with contaminated product, however that can (and has) happen to any manufacturer. Even the Hubble Space Telescope got messed up....remember? Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying to throw caution to the wind. I'm putting a lot of trust in Purina's quality control. They took care of the problem and I'm sure hoping they are being more vigilant in the inspection and control in order to avoid the same problem again. I really don't want to get into any debate over this and my intention is not to prompt one, either.

For one of my buns I use KayTee Timothy Complete. She's are oldest at about 3+ years. She has a problem getting soft poops from high protein pellets. I must say that I'm very satisfied with their pellets. Cost is also a factor here or I would buy it for the rest of my herd. I pay $7.50 for 25lbs of Purina. The KayTee costs $8.50 for 10lbs.

Iuse KayTee timothy hay and buy it in the 6lbs mini bales.

My suggestion is to get the analysis of Oxbow and try to buy a pellet that is as close as possible. I found that the KayTee Timothy Compltet is actually 1% lower in protein and this was an important factor when we had to switch S'more over from Purina.


~Jim

 

[Krissa]

Kaytee Timothy Complete cause Merry cant take anything with alfalfa, so Kaytee is the only non-alfalfa that my Petsmart carries.

 

[LessThanAnNa]

Hi Jim! Moo Shoo actually already came with that name when we adopted him, and I loved it so we kept it. I think the spelling the shelter had was like yours, but I changed that part because I liked the double O's. Our Moo Shoo is a male tortoiseshell Rex, and he's about one. I'd love to hear more about your Moo Shu! Everyone seems to love the name, I've seen it in various places. I thought it was from Mulan, but wasn't sure. A random whale on Futurama was also called Moo Shoo. Heh. It's a great name, and really suits my bun. He's rambunctious, friendly, and extremely silly. Nice to meet you and yours.

 

[FlopsnWills]

i feed my boys purina rabbit chow in the green bag.. but i was wondering if i should switch to kaytee timothy complete. the only thing holding me back is i heard one of the preservatives they use (Ethoxyquin), is actually a carcinogenic. has anyone else heard anything about this? i would use oxbow but i don't have any dealers near me and shipping is a small fortune.

 

[Tatum]

Before I got on this, I went to the medical site and posted that i just went out and found one of my three minilops dead! I came to the conclusion that it was the food. Looking through the pellets left in the dish, i found a piec or two that was grayish in color so it looks like mold. I assume this was the cause of death...tears....

I also have 5 indoor rabbits and all seem fine. I was at the bottom of the old bag which lasts me oh.. about 5 weeks so it wasn't old.

I saw no one listed my brand of pellets, which is "Tradition". I have used these for over 8 years now with no problem. They always smell so sweet and fresh.Guess maybe i will switch to Purina?

Has anyone lost a rabbit due to mold? i am going to email the company about it, any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance...sad day..very sad day..

 

[VNess2010]

Oxbow Basics/T

 

[tclarkpprr]

I have just switched from something called LM that she was being fed at the pet store to Oxbow's Bunny Basics T.

 

[Akkatia]

I use Purina show formula, and sometimes use breeder formula for my Dutches. I give them two ounces of food twice a day.

 

[bunnylover78642]

Either something called Blue Rabbit (I think... something like that) or Kaytee. I pretty much have to buy something that is sold at either Walmart, HEB, Target, or Georgetown Farm Supply (where I get Blue Rabbit and the usually have other brands that are better).

 

[tclarkpprr]

Kaytee has a preservative in it that has been found harmful to birds and I lost a few hamsters that were on Kaytee. I don't know if they use it for the bunny food but they probably do so you might want to read into it more in depth. This is new news to me as well but I will pass along some links if you like.

Kaytee's defense: http://www.kaytee.com/ask_the_experts/faq/paragraph 5.

Comment about the toxic claims: http://www.parrothouse.com/ethox.html

 

[bunnylover78642]

Thanks for the info.. I will look into it. I guess I am going to have to stop buying from Walmart, HEB, or Target since thats all they sell here!!

 

[tclarkpprr]

Maybe you have a feed store or petstore around? I order my oxbow online at the rabbitstop.com now but not everyone is able to do that.

 

[peapoo_bunny]

i was just wondering what everybody thought about fiesta rabbit pellets?onder:

 

[tclarkpprr]

Isn't Fiesta a Kaytee brand?