Rabbit Food Brand?

[coxbrea151]

I've been lurking around here for awhile now, doing research before I get a rabbit, but I can't sem to find a thread really about rabbit food brands.

I've heard people mention Purina and other brands, but I can't seem to find any in my area. I cannot buy online unfortionently due to not having an credit card or paypal I cannot order online. I live in the London area of Ontario, and I'm looking to buy somethong less expensive than oxbow. They/it will be fed unlimited timothy hay (if I get a JR. it will be a mix of Timothy and Alfalfa hay) and lots of veggies (benefit of loving veggies and owning guinea-pigs [and being vegetarian]is that I ALWAYS have loads of veggies laying around :biggrin2:.

My question is; What are some other good feeds out there? I'm hopeing to feed a timothy-based feed, but it is difficult to find. I might show the rabbit for a while then alter it, or I might get it from a rescue, still deciding...:?

 

[woahlookitsme]

Do you know what is offered around you? Since you aren't able to order online that would cut out Sherwood Forest.

Another thing you could do is check feed stores around you and see what feeds they get in. A feed store by us carries the same brand of feed we want to switch to but for different species. All we have to do if find out if they can put a couple of rabbit bags on the trucks when they fill the truck up.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We get ours at Walmart and one with an alfalfa problem gets Kaytee Essentials.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Many brands like Purina, Manna Pro and others that breeders use tend to only be available in the US. Unless you can travel there on a regular basis, then it is best to not consider them. Most places won't ship or of they do it will cost a lot. These brands are also alfalfa based, so are good for babies but not really for adult pet rabbits.

I use oxbow and am quite happy with it. The cost isn't too much, even with 6 rabbits on it currently, I spend maybe $20 a month on Oxbow. If you are only getting 1 rabbit, then a bag should last a while and not cost too much a month.

When you are price comparing, figure out the cost per pound for a food. I have seen some brands that cost like $12 for 3 or 4 pounds, that is at least double the cost of Oxbow.

I do think that you need to get a good quality food and not focus too much on the cost. There are many cheaper foods out there, but they are not very healthy and are basically junk food. A healthy food will cost a bit more, but does go a long way to a healthy rabbit with fewer issues in the long term.

If you do want to save some money, see if you can find bales of hay. With only a few rabbits, you would only need a couple bales a year. Even at $10 a bale, that is a lot less than pet store hay. Horse hay is best as it tends to be higher quality and is usually a grass mix or just strait timothy.

 

[LakeCondo]

Kate's right. A good pellet is essential. Oxbow & Kaytee are the 2 brands I rely on.

 

[gmas rabbit]

if you check out the nutritional values in the library Martins little friends tends to be higher in fat and lower in fibre than Oxbow. Protein in martins is 15 % for less active 16 in regular. Fat is 2.5, fibre 18 - 22 % in less active and 3.5 and 15 -18 % in the regular. Compare to oxbow which is 14% protein, 1.5 % fat and 25 -29 % fiber. I was thinking of switching to martins because it is half the price, but agree that quality if you are only feeding one rabbit is more important than price. Oxbow with Derby costs me around $20 per month as we are in a small center, almost twice the price than if you were to buy it somewhere else.

 

[coxbrea151]

The main reason for why I was hopeing not to get Oxbow is because of the sugar/mollasses in it. I can spend up to 20$ per month on the food too. I buy by the slice and only pay aprox. 7$ for Meadow/Timothy/Orchard/other grass mix, that includes delivery. I would spend less if I owned a car, but the supplier is the only person I know who will deliver it for me that cheap. I wish they could be fed alfalfa. I donot skimp on quility eithar, as my guinea pigs are fed a deit similar to a rabbit deit (unlimited hay, their own weight in veggies, 3/8 or 3/4 of a cup for pellets, etc.)The local feed store only carries this bran (follow the link) http://www.tscstores.com/25KG-RABBIT-FEED-P8749.aspx & http://www.tscstores.com/Rabbit-Feed-10-Kg-Pellet-16-P3530.aspx & http://www.tscstores.com/25KG-RABBIT-BREEDER-P8750.aspx I don't think any of them are good though...

 

[MiserySmith]

I live in Ontario and also don't want to order online. Myself as well as the closest rabbit rescue to me uses Martins little friends food. My rabbit won't eat anything else and obviously the rescue would be feeding what they think is best. I have never had a problem with it.
http://montrealcritters.com/store/less-active-adult-rabbit-food/image_preview

 

[Imbrium]

coxbrea151 wrote:

The local feed store only carries this bran (follow the link) http://www.tscstores.com/25KG-RABBIT-FEED-P8749.aspx & http://www.tscstores.com/Rabbit-Feed-10-Kg-Pellet-16-P3530.aspx & http://www.tscstores.com/25KG-RABBIT-BREEDER-P8750.aspx I don't think any of them are good though...

yeah, protein is quite high/fiber is crazy low in those foods

 

[coxbrea151]

Yeah. Would Oxbow be okay for the time being then? I'm not getting the rabbit for a while, and I might even be getting my old Flemish Cross back. She would be around 7 now, I havn't seen her since 2008.... I'm trying to convince my parents to let me borrow their "Virtual Debit Card", so fingers crossed. What are some good brands that I can order online then?

 

[Imbrium]

hmm... my personal favorite is sherwood forest rabbit food, as it's all natural with no added sugars and molasses - https://www.naturalrabbitfood.com/sherwood-forest-natural-rabbit-food/ ... not sure what shipping costs to canada would be like, though.

if sherwood forest isn't an option, oxbow is a good brand.

 

[earsnted]

We use oxbow young adult on our 4-5month old thrianta,
and oxbow adult on our 2 year old.

honestly if ur not overfeeding them, the 5 lb bag lasts a good while. definatly worth it, my buns love it and its good for them, all that matters