Sherwood Forest pellets

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

Hey everyone!

So I'm thinking about starting my show buns on the Sherwood Forest Show & Maintenance pellets. On the website it says


"Sherwood Forest has formulated complete feeds (Adult Rabbits & Baby Bunnies) that are designed to be fed free-choice without rationing and without the need to provide additional hay, supplements, or treats. Just simply fill the dish and let your bunny eat as often as they want and need. In fact feeding them this way is healthier... and their appestat will tell them when they are full and their nutritional needs are met.

This may be different from what you have heard or read about. Many people are of the opinion that you need to provide hay free-choice and restrict feeding pellets, but there’s an inherent problem with this. The reason why this is such a popular and traditional way to feed rabbits is because most rabbit food on the market is full of grain and soybean meal, both of which are difficult to digest. Remember, undigested grain and soy protein will end up in the caecum and promote the growth of bad bacteria that can cause diarrhea...not a good thing."


Right now their diets are 1/4 cup of Kaytee pellets, 1 cup of veggies, & unlimited hay and seem to be at a good weight.


I know a few people feed this brand and I was wondering if you just feed the pellets unlimited or if you limit the pellets and supplement with veggies & hay?

Thanks!!

 

[Blue eyes]

I believe that most of those on RO that feed Sherwood Forest use it like any other pellet -- they limit quantity and feed just the same as you've been doing with your prior pellets.

 

[Imbrium]

yup, my bunnies get 1/4c sherwood twice a day (to share between both of them) and then lots of veggies and hay

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

A lot of brands that are sold at feed stores say that you can only feed their food and you don't need to give anything else other than water. Some say you should free feed.

I figure this can help them make more money. If you only feed the pellets and feed a lot, you go through more and need to buy more. If you feed less and give hay and vegetables, then you aren't buying as many pellets. Companies are out to make money and do want you to keep buying their product. Even brands that say to feed hay tend to also sell hay and recommend feeding their brand.

I would not trust some rabbits to be free feed. These are rabbits that eat all their food at once and would be apt to just keep eating if you keep filling the bowl and they can become fat. Free feeding can be ok for rabbit who graze pellets and may have weight issues, but most do best with a set amount each day.

Some foods are more calorie dense than others. If a pellet is lower in protein or weights less, you may need to feed more to maintain body weight. A higher protein feed may require a lower amount to maintain body weight.

Even with pellets that are hay based, hay still needs to be fed. Pellets may provide fibre and protein, but hay is what will wear down the teeth and keep the overall digestive tract in good condition.

 

[majorv]

Are you unhappy with the pellets you use now? If your show rabbits aren't maintaining a healthy weight and/or maintaining fit and condition then you need to make a change. You don't want to make too many changes at once though, so after you get the feed switched over then decide if you need to make changes to the amount of feed and vegetables you give them.

Good quality pellets contain hay and most definitely do wear down rabbits' teeth; however, we also give ours some hay because they like it and it also helps the gut.

 

[JBun]

There are some really good things about sherwood food, but there are also a few problems that I encountered feeding it.

First, it's really fresh and green. It doesn't contain sugars or grain, which I like because I have one rabbit really sensitive to carbs and sugars and she will get a poopy bum from them. And it cuts down on the ammonia smell from the pee, A LOT.

The problems I encountered were after a few months of feeding limited pellets with grass hay. I had one rabbit that started losing weight and also she started chewing her fur in places, then I noticed another rabbit chewing his fur. I've never had this happen before. I researched it and found that fur chewing can be due to a nutrient deficiency. So I gradually increased their pellets to nearly free fed(with just a little bit of hay), and after several weeks I noticed that my rabbit started putting weight back on and that both rabbits had stopped chewing their fur and it was growing back. So their claims that sherwood food needs to be free fed, may not be exaggerated to just make more profit, and that it actually may need to be done for rabbits being fed it, to get the proper nutrition. Unfortunately it doesn't stop there though. Several weeks later my girl rabbit started her molt and I noticed some tiny poops strung together with fur. Poops strung together with a little bit of fur, wasn't a big deal, it's normal during a molt, but what concerned me was that the poops were a lot smaller than her normal ones, and that is an indication of a gut slowdown and can lead to GI stasis. In the past when I had limited pellets and fed lots of hay, she never had problems during her molts, so I knew this was because I was having to free feed the sherwood pellets and limit her hay. So I had to decrease pellets and increase her hay, so that she didn't have a stasis problem, but then that leads back to the possibility of a nutrient deficiency, again.

I decided to just switch back to an alfalfa based pellet, as my rabbits had always done good on them before I had switched to the sherwood food. So I started to slowly transition them onto the alfalfa based pellets, and off of the sherwood, and boy did my rabbit room start to stink like ammonia again, and I wasn't even halfway through transitioning them to the new pellets. Plus I have one rabbit that has a genetic digestive disorder, and he started to get really soft poops, and another rabbit that's sensitive too, that started to get soft poops. Sooo.... I had a bit of a dilemma. Going with the alfalfa based pellets will create a stinky rabbit room, plus two rabbits that just can't tolerate them and will have to stay on the sherwood pellets anyways. And going with the sherwood pellets creates nutritional deficiencies if not fed in adequate amounts, but then not enough hay is being consumed to keep blockages from occurring during a molt, but it is also a food better tolerated by all my rabbits.

At this point I am still feeding the sherwood. Not free fed, but in slightly more amounts then when I was first limiting it, but not too much so that my rabbits are still eating enough hay to prevent stasis.

Sherwood just came out with a concentrated pellet, that is designed to be fed along with grass hay. I'm thinking that I am going to switch to this as it pretty much solves my problem, just as long as it keeps the ammonia smell to a minimum, like the M/S food. Then my rabbits will be able to be fed limited pellets and still get the proper nutrition, but also get plenty of hay to prevent stasis.

 

[Imbrium]

wow, I totally missed you having all those problems with sherwood :S I wouldn't have thought feeding it could cause nutrient deficiencies considering it's possible to feed a pellet-free diet that doesn't. I also totally missed that sherwood is coming out with something new - on the one hand, that's awesome... on the other hand, I still have two gallon ziplock bags of the m/s to get through.

 

[JBun]

Yeah, it was a little annoying having it happen. I've really liked feeding their food, and it was really frustrating to all of the sudden start having problems with it. I have 10 rabbits indoors, and with them on this food, it pretty much got rid of that stinky ammonia smell. So it really did make a HUGE difference. Plus I discovered that those two rabbits just couldn't tolerate sugary pellets anymore without it causing digestive upset, especially with my megacolon bun. I even tried switching to the adult oxbow food, and it seemed like it caused an even worse poopy butt problem(maybe their food has more sugar in it?). So I didn't want to change foods, but then I was having those problems. Non pellet diets do work, but with so many rabbits, I'm not able to feed them all, a lot of veggies. My one rabbit that can't have pellets, does get more veggies, but the others only get a few. And I hadn't started my babies on veggies yet when this happened. Anyways, I'm really glad they FINALLY came out with the concentrate. I still have about 30 lbs to go through of the m/s, but with 10 rabbits, that will only take about 3 weeks.