Switching to new feed...

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

So as part of my Senior Project (Rabbitry Management), I have decided to switch feeds as part of the feed management portion.

I have a brochure that I got from my county fair that gives information about four different kinds of the feed from Purina...what are you opinions/tips on feeding Purina?

Breeders do you use Purina - and if so, do you get good results with coatconditioning, flesh condition, etc.? Should I stay away from Purina altogether and look into another brand? If so - which works best for you?

I'm thinking about going with either Advanced Nutrition: Show Formula or Advanced Nutrition: Professional Formula.

Here is the basic info on Show Formula:

- Contains Veggie Oil & Amino Acids for thicker, shinier coat;Lactobacillus and Yeast Culture to help digestive function; Yucca Shidigera to help reduce ammonia levels; Papaya enzymes to help reduce hair ball formation

It has 16% protein, which is the same as the current feed I have.

Now, here is the basic info on the Professional Formula:

-18% protein for superior breeding, more litters per doe and optimum growth; excellent coat quality.

So...what's the difference between 16% & 18%? Pros...cons?

Thanks!!
Emily

 

[Maureen Las]

You may use a different pellet for a Rabbitry than for indoor pet rabbits ; I looked over the different types and realize an indoor pet owner is going to lookd for high fiber, low fat , lower protein and calcium but that is most likely not what you want if you are breeding or possibly you need different types for different buns


http://www.rabbitnutrition.com/

if you don't get responses here that are satisfactory i can move this to the rabbitry.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

I have mainly show/brood rabbits, but will have four pet rabbits; although we do show the Polish...and will show the 4-H pets in 4-H for two more years. Any more rabbits we get (that aren't Mini Rex) will be purebreds/show quality of course, so we'll want them on show feed as well.

I think I would just rather stick with one feed; that way it's less expensive.

Thanks for the link! And yeah, I think the rabbitry might be the best place for it - I wasn't sure.

Emily

 

[Erins Rabbits]

I feed Purina Show Formula with EXCELLENT results. My rabbits are in prime condition and definitely enjoy it. At one point I put my bred does on the advanced formula... and all it did for them was make them overweight, other than that, I saw no real change. :/

Definitely wouldn't go with Fiber 3. A lot of breeders have had issues with it and I tried it on a trial group of rabbits in my herd and was met with deteriorating condition.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Thanks for your input, Erin! What have you noticed by feeding this feed?

It just came to me that the Show Formula probably would be a good feed since it has the stuff for a "shinier, thicker coat." and I bred Mini Rex, where coat does matter quite a lot! Do you think that would help?

The Professional Formula still would also be good - but I really don't need "More litters per doe"...they only have 2 a year, and that's all I want anyway. What does the 18% for "superior breeding" and "optimum growth"? It does also say "excellent coat quality"...but I think I would rather feed a feed that puts them in good condition, then getting more litters... I think superior breeding would come from breeding two superior animals anyhow...

Anyway, still looking or suggestions/tips/advice!

Emily

 

[TinysMom]

I use Purina as part of my food mixture I make up. First...the reason why..

Purina is milled regionally - at least that is what I've been told. About three years ago now - I had a bad case of losing rabbits that were on Purina - I forget how many I lost and how many lost condition also. It was pretty bad. I had does having stillbirths or having babies but not having milk. (One doe kept 24 babies alive from other litters while I waited for a couple of other does to give birth and help her).

I found out that others in Texas were having issues with it (I was talking with another Texas breeder and she'd heard of other Texas breeders having issues that week also...all had used Purina).

That same week - something came through on the lionhead email list - about a breeder in WA state who had lost about 20 juniors and they only thing they could figure out was that it might be the Purina - so they were checking to see if others were having problems.

A year or so later - a friend of mine who was in PA lost rabbits- she emailed me and said, "I didn't heed your warnings about Purina and I lost several juniors..".

Needless to say - I avoided Purina like the plague for a couple of years.

Then I got Zeus last year...who was on Purina (the green bag) and wow - his fur was so soft....he was in excellent condition.

I decided to switch back - but to use caution...which I still use.

So now I mix the Purina green bag with the Purina blue bag and I also use Manna Pro. I used to add in Dumor also- but TSC has stopped carrying it.

I've had good luck now by mixing my food. If one food has issues - they have at least two other types of pellets to eat. (I'll never forget the time that Sapphira - who normally licked her bowl clean - dumped her FULL food bowl at me...I switched the food that very day if I remember right).

I like the results I'm seeing with my rabbits now. Sometimes I'll add in another brand ...or two other brands - depending upon if I can find them or not and how fresh they are.

I wish I could tell you which of the ones my rabbits like the most...I will say that when Nyx is out and playing - if she's not trying to get into the calf manna - then she tries to get into the Purina show formula bag...

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I use a 50/50 mixture of the blue blag (show) and the green bag. They ar both 16% protein. I have had excellent results on this. Before I used it, I was on Blue Seal. It did well for me, I never had any particular health issues or decrease in successful litters or anything. But my rabbits never seemed to have good condition. On Purina, their coats are beautiful and I haven't lost my luck in the breeding area either. So I love it! I can also get it much fresher here than Blue Seal.

Personally, the 18% sounds like way too much protein to me. The trick with protein is to get "just enough". Not enough and your does won't have success carrying litters, but too much and you can have the same results. I have not personally tried 18%, it just sounds way too high and I know some people who have had issues on it. I prefer to stay around 16% protein, and actually, Hollands are a breed that tend to do better on a higher protein rather than lower. So since they do so well on it, I would definitely not put them or any other breed on an 18% But that's JMPO.

 

[Blaze_Amita]

I used to use Neutrena naturewise, but since no one down here carries it, i tried the purina with small sucess, my mini rex liked it, but the dutch were so-so with it and the hollands dumped their dishes. I moved to Big red until i can find someone that can/will ship in my nutrena back in, and Blaze i started with big red when he was young and he loves the stuff, the V-Lops though i'm not sure what they used to eat, they love the big red as well. does with kits i mix some of the purina back in for the smaller pellet to encourage the babies.
So my guess is it depends on the rabbit more so than normal. I had great luck with the neutrena.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

So we are going to switch to the Purina Show Formula, but now I've run into the problem of when to switch. My feed bin is currently filled to the top (even though I told my mom not to pick up another bag of Dels feed, and she did. )and I have two does that are due with litters on December 25/26th. So the question is, should I switch feeds now or once the litters are born, that way they can be easily weaned onto the new feed via the mothers' milk?

Emily