Thinking of changing pellets & hay

[kirbyultra]

The rabbit shelter I adopted from gave me a ton os supplies to go so I've been feeding Kirby that stuff for a while. It's finally time for me to think about buying my own supplies.

Kirby had:
Oxbow timothy hay
Oxbow BBT pellets

I bought a bag of Oxbow BBT pellets to backup/transition but I am wondering whether sweetmeadowfarm.com 's Rabbit Timothy Pellets and Timothy hay would be as good.

I compared the contents of the pellets and the guaranteed analysis of both are very very similar, especially around crude protein, crude fiber, crude fat, and calcium. Are there other things to look out for?

Oxbow: http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/products/type/detail?object=1536
Sweet Meadow: http://www.sweetmeadowfarm.com/pel_rabtimothy2.html

When it comes to shipping + price of hay, Sweet meadow's hay is WAY cheaper per pound so I definitely want to make the switch from Oxbow hay to Sweet meadow.In interests of saving on shipping, I was thinking of moving to Sweet meadow pellets too. Of course I'll have to see whether Kirby likes sweet meadow's stuff but if he does gobble itup like he does everything else, what are your thoughts on changing up food? Or does anyone have experience with Sweet Meadow Farms?

 

[ra7751]

I have been using Sweet Meadow Farm for a long time. I have never had any problem at all with anything....products or customer service. I have a large population of domestic rabbits and it is the favorite hay of my rabbits. The hay is so soft that I use a mix of their timothy hay and their alfalfa hay as bedding for my rehabbing cottontails. In fact, with most cottontails, the first solid food they nibble on is Sweet Meadow alfalfa. I also use their hay with my rehabbing squirrels....they don't eat it but they sure enjoy playing with it. I haven't used Oxbow in years. If I have a choice between Oxbow and SM...there is no question. SM wins that one every time. In fact, the only Oxbow product I will even consider is Critical Care. In my opinion, Sweet Meadow is so far ahead in qualtiy....and cost is much more reasonable due to less shipping costs. They are quick to get orders out. I have ordered in the early afternoon on Wednesday and my order arrived in eastern NC on Friday....and that happens all the time.

Randy

 

[swanlake]

I use sweet meadow. My buns LOVE it. Before I was using Kaytee so I can't really help you on the sweet meadow vs. oxbow.

My buns didn't eat much hay before, but now they attack it and gobble it right up! They don't seem to have a problem with the pellets either.

hope this helps.

 

[kirbyultra]

WOW Thanks Randy and swan for your positive input! I feel much better about making the switch now! :biggrin2:

Yes I also thought that SM had a much more reasonable shipping price for their weight in hay. I actually went quite of out of my way today to a place that their website said carries SM timothy and unfortunately the experience was bad -- the hay was frighteningly brown. I started to wonder what I would get in the mail if I ordered from them. But it could very well have been because that pet store has had those bags of hay for a long, long time. So your experience ordering straight from them has been fresh?

What about sweet meadow's timothy pellets? Do you use those for your buns too?

 

[ra7751]

I don't use a lot of pellets...but if I did...I would use the SM. And don't let color fool you. That is really no indication of the quality or nutritional value of the hay. I order from several suppliers. A few years ago Bunny Bale donated me a rather large supply of alfalfa hay.The reason? It wasn't a lush green like people expect. Mr.Tingler said it didn't mean his customer's expectations since it wasn't thecolor people wanted...but the hay was perfectly safe and just as nutritious. He didn't wantto ship a productthat his customers would not be happy with but didn't want to toss good hay....and he offered it to me. And my rabbits had no problem eating it. And I was very appreciative.

Sweet Meadow's hay is usually abit browner than other producers. It has a lot offlower heads in it most of the time....afavorite part of the hay around here. It is always very soft. I think itwould be very comfortable to roll around in. I originallyfound out about SM from Sweet Binks....a rabbit rescue located in RI. I knew the high standards that are in place at Sweet Binks....so I knew the hay would be great. I have buying for years...just got four large boxes in this past week....and not once have I been disappointed. And my rabbits have never refused their hay....including some rescues that had never eaten hay before they came here.

I would also check out Pine Hill Farms www.bunnybale.com I have also been purchasing from the Tingler's for years....and I have been to their farm in the mountains of western Virginia. This is a hay more like you have seen with Oxbow but with a lot less dust. Most of their cuts havea lot of seed heads and some very long stems....and that is what is best for the teeth and gut. I have never had any problems with their hay either. Again, shipping is much less costly since they are located on the east coast.

And keep the equine community in mind too. Any hay that is fed to a horse can also be fed to a rabbit. In eastern NC, not exactly the hay belt due to the warmer weather, we can find good quality hay around horse people. I routinely buy 70# bales of hay mixes...timothy, bermuda, orchard grass and alfalfa....and even the ultra high quality bales cost less than $15 per bale. And since there is a large horse facility near me, shipping costs are almost nothing. There is a lot of high quality hays grown in upstate NY....I think you might be surprised at the savings you can enjoy and still provide your rabbits with high quality hay just by looking around within the horse community. Many states, NC and VA are two, that post Hay Alerts on their state agricultural sites.

Randy

 

[kirbyultra]

Thanks Randy! I just checked out Bunny Bale too, and the prices are extremely competitive. From what you've said and their confidence in their product with the free sample, I will definitely try it out!

:dutch

 

[JadeIcing]

I LOVE Sweet Meadows. My guys all love it. :biggrin2:

 

[ec]

Sweet Meadow timothy pellets are a hit here.

And their hays are very nice, though if given a choice, my bun will go for 2nd cut timothy from Kleenmama's Hayloft 1st. Still, she likes SM grass hays, too.

I would never go back to Oxbow products.

 

[slavetoabunny]

Sweet Meadows is a good hay. My last order was for 25 lbs. and they mistakenly shipped 45 lbs. to me. Sweet!!!! Kleenmama's is well worth checking out too. The batch I have now is from Kleenmama's and it is beautiful.

 

[kmc5]

Where do you buy sweet meadow online? I went to the main site and it don't look like they sell it from there.

 

[naturestee]

There's an "Order Now" button on the bottom of most pages. Some stuff looks like it's not available as they're probably out of it until the next season, but the pellets are there.

 

[pixelle]

When we first adopted Pansy a friend gave us a bag of Oxbow timothy hay. Since we knew the hay wasn't going to last too long we ordered a bulk box of Sweet Meadow hay and a big bag of timothy pellets too. Pansy shows a huge preference for SM hay. We're first time bunny owners and there are some things you just have to see to understand. We thought she was eating hay just fine until we got the Sweet Meadow shipment (in just two days!) Boy was she eating hay! The Sweet Meadow timothy pellets are similar nutritively to the Oxbow basic bunny T pellets except for the vitamin A content. Oxbow pellets are way higher. We try to make up for it by feeding her vitamin A rich foods, including less than an ounce of carrots a day.

Oh and the SMF hay makes my room smell soo nice! it's true that it does have more brown in it, but Pansy eats it (after picking out her favorite flower bits) and what she doesn't eat we move to her litterbox.

We like that the SMF hay is loose, not baled, which I hear is better because baled hay has more breakage.

 

[Baby Juliet]

Couple questions.

If you already feed timothy hay why do you need timothy based pellets? Would it be better if they have a varied diet?

Are long hay important? I've never seen my rabbits eat a whole long hay. They always chew and break into short pieces before eating.

 

[pixelle]

I'm no expert, but I can share what I learned.

Pellets are an important part of rabbit nutrition. They provide protein and vitamins that otherwise is difficult for humans to provide. The reason why we feed adult, speutered rabbits timothy based pellets is because alfalfa based pellets are too rich.

long stem hay is better than cubed hay because of the long stems helps the GI tracts along. Also cubed hay might be held together with sweeteners which aren't healthy to feed in unlimited amounts. Pansy will grab a piece of hay and we'll watch the whole strand disappear rhythmically into her mouth. Also, pressing hay into bales or cubes increases dust and waste. But baled hay does save a lot of space because it's compressed.

When people say rabbits need a varied diet they mean so they can get enough nutrients. Just like if we ate the same balanced meal every day we would be healthy and live well, but we might be bored. So we rotate in a new veggie every so often but be sure to introduce new foods slowly and check to make sure poops, eating and drinking are normal.

you should read the sticky at the top of this forum about Rabbit Diet. I like the article from www.medirabbit.com as well.

 

[tonyshuman]

Rabbits don't actually chew up the hay into tiny pieces, I've heard. They fold it more than chew it--so that it becomes like an accordian. That's why longer strands are more important.

 

[naturestee]

Baby Juliet- a lot of us feed timothy pellets to adults because they have less protein and calcium than alfalfa pellets. Think of alfalfa pellets asbaby food (like kitten food), timothy pellets as adult food (like with adult cats).

Variety is good- which is why you can feed different types of grass hay like orchard grass or oat hay as well as a variety of veggies. I haven't seen any grass-based pellets aside from timothy, besides the pellets have added vitamins and minerals for more complete nutrition.

Also, Tonyshuman is right about how rabbitschew hay.