URGENT! Please Help - Ran out of 1 brand of pellets

[Insley]

This is quite the emergency, I went to my basement to refill my pellet bin and the pellets are compleatly gone. I have no idea how I didn't notice that I was out. The brand I normally use is currently out of stock so I'm going to go to the pet store today to just get some oxbow pellets (I have not used oxbow before). I don't have any old food left to transition her to the oxbow pellets!
I have no idea how she will react to the sudden change of food, everything I've read says it depends of the rabbit.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions? I really have no idea what to do

 

[Popsicles]

I don’t think there’s much you can do if you don’t have any of the older pellets, maybe give her fewer of the new pellets than you would normally so it isn’t a huge amount for her body to deal with. My rabbit has been fine changing pellets as they stopped making her old brand, so you might find yours is okay too. Good luck! Sorry I couldn’t be much help!

 

[Insley]

Thank you so much for responding so quickly, I will try giving her just a few to start. Really hoping she'll be fine switching so suddenly

 

[Popsicles]

Fingers crossed for you!

 

[Cookiemonster]

my rabbits all do well if i run out and buy a new brand... they will eat it and they dont seem to care that it changed... as long as its food my buns will eat it!!

 

[Insley]

Thank you, I'm hoping my bun will do be the same way!

 

[Out of this world bunnies]

My male rabbit does fine switching frequently as for a while i didn't have a brand i used but now i do )

 

[Specials]

I have switched brands on my three multiple times due to running out trusting some to grab my food for me or just the store happened to be out the first day one of my three gets a bit diva-ish and wont eat as much as normal second day he is eatting it like its the norm. And the other two seem to be happy with a change every now and then if anything it seems they eat it faster. My only recommendation is make sure if your prior food was timothy based the food you grab is timothy based as well

 

[JBun]

If you are free feeding a grass hay(which is recommended) and your bun eats it really well, then you can continue free feeding the hay and gradually introduce the pellets over the next week or two. It's what I would do. Your bun will still be getting plenty of food from eating the hay, so it won't be a huge problem having to gradually introduce the pellets, plus it will give your buns digestive system some time to adapt to the change of food. Key is making sure your bun is eating the hay really well to make up for the lack of pellets in the diet.

Gradually introducing pellets or other new foods(besides grass hays) into a rabbits diet is always the recommended thing to do whenever possible. Reason is that the microflora in the rabbits cecum, contains a balance of beneficial bacteria, yeast, etc that forms due to the specific foods a rabbit is accustomed to eating. When you change food you need to do it gradually so that you give this microflora time to adapt to the new food. Slowly transitioning onto a new food also helps you be able to recognize if your rabbit might be sensitive to a particular food, so you can stop feeding it before it causes severe digestive upset. This can especially be the case for things like new veggies.

 

[Insley]

Thank you so much, I'll make sure she has unlimited hay for the next week and then gradually introduce the pellets.

 

[Insley]

Thank you to everyone who replied, you all helped a lot!

 

[bluebird]

Adult rabbits rarely have trouble with feed changes.

 

[Tay24]

This is quite the emergency, I went to my basement to refill my pellet bin and the pellets are compleatly gone. I have no idea how I didn't notice that I was out. The brand I normally use is currently out of stock so I'm going to go to the pet store today to just get some oxbow pellets (I have not used oxbow before). I don't have any old food left to transition her to the oxbow pellets!
I have no idea how she will react to the sudden change of food, everything I've read says it depends of the rabbit.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions? I really have no idea what to do

Most rabbits do just fine with switching food. I switch food probably more often than I should just because of the time of the year, or how I want their coats, etc. and they couldn’t care less!! I have never once had any problems with changing food

 

[JBun]

Adult rabbits rarely have trouble with feed changes.

Tell that to my adult rabbits

Sure not all rabbits will have issues with sudden food changes, but there are rabbits that do, some with severe negative effects. Young rabbits are especially susceptible. So I'm of the opinion that whenever possible, a slow transition is always best to try and avoid these types of upsets in case a bun is particularly sensitive. Why risk it if you don't have to.

 

[Watermelons]

Please refrain from using titles like this to get attention.
Running out of a pellet is not life or death.

Try being more specific to the actual problem.

 

[ravenmoore36]

How do you get your buns to eat the pellets? Mine wont eat any brand at all! Believe me iv tried. Fresh all the way and loads and loads of meadow hay.

 

[Popsicles]

God that’s strange because my rabbit LOVES pellets - they’re what I use to clicker train her because she is honestly obsessed with them haha.

 

[RoadkillStewie]

Load them up with hay, they won't starve and gives you time to get the pellets they're used to rather than risking a sensitive gut & upset.

 

[ravenmoore36]

God that’s strange because my rabbit LOVES pellets - they’re what I use to clicker train her because she is honestly obsessed with them haha.

They just wont touch them. No matter what brand. They sit in front of the bowl with a really do me a favour look and a look of disdain. If looks could kill there's would do the job nicely

 

[Specials]

They just wont touch them. No matter what brand. They sit in front of the bowl with a really do me a favour look and a look of disdain. If looks could kill there's would do the job nicelyView attachment 37440

This is what my new zealands does day one of a switch then its back to normal for him. My mix seems to be happy just to have pellets dont matter what kind. And my flemish all he sees is FOOD!!!!!! Nom nom nom