So I broke down today and bought...

[BrittsBunny]

Taking Wrangler's age into perspective (even though he is only a little over 3...I think?), I finally decided to switch over to Oxbow Essentials so that I know for a fact that I am giving him the best nutrition. I am a big fan of their hay as well and it seems to be Wrangler's favorite.

Anyway, I was reading the feeding instructions on the back and how they explain the switch over from a previous feed...usually I just mix the 2 feeds together and give it as is until I run out and then I buy just the one bag of new feed. I know that this probably isn't the best way to do it, but it's worked just fine for Wrangler in the past. Any suggestions?? Or do you just follow the instructions on the back?

 

[clg2011]

The instructions are likely the "best" way to do it. Those sorts of things are what nutritionists are paid to know! That being said, the way you're doing it is probably fine, particularly if you haven't had any problems.


There's frequently a pretty sizable difference between what you SHOULD do and what you can get away with doing. I don't even transition my horses between feeds, and they're usually perfectly fine (probably because they live on pasture and get insane roughage). Unless you're for some reason feeding only pellets, the rabbits should have more than enough roughage and other sources of food that a less than perfect pellet exchange should "pass" (ha ha) without trouble.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Yes, slowly switching to the new food over a period of two weeks is about right. I have always just added a little of the new and every other day or so add a little more of the new and less of the old.