What do you think of these pellets?

[Yield]

[align=center]I'm thinking of changing pellets so I can save a bit of money, and maybe find pellets that are better for my buns health wise... but I don't want to lower the nutrition they are getting or whatever and I want them to like it.

I was looking at the pellets I feed my buns and I found some stuff that seem kinda bad, like the corn in it? My buns seem fine though, and are perfectly healthy, not overweight...

I dunno, I wanna get some opinions. =]

It's ZuPreem Nature's Promise Timothy Pellets for Rabbits.
Got the info in blue below from Petsmart's website..

(Made from long strand, high-fiber, premium Western Timothy Hay with fresh ground vegetables for a fresh aroma and taste your pet rabbit will love. Pellet shape promotes better chewing. Added vitamins and minerals with no soy or wheat to cause your pet digestive upset. Made in USA.

Consistent, balanced nutrition in every pellet also features:

Pesticide free
No soy, no wheat to cause digestive upset
Pellet shape and texture promote better chewing
High fiber for good digestive healthy
Made with high-quality Timothy Hay grown in fertile Idaho valleys.

Ingredients: Sun-cured Timothy Grass Hay, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Corn, Dried Beet Pulp, Dicalcium Phosphate, Dextrose, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Flaxseed Meal, Brewer's Dried Yeast, Ground Vegetables (carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress and spinach), Ascorbic Acid, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Natural Mixed Tocopherols, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Cobalt Carbonate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, and Vitamin B12 Supplement.

Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein (min.) 18.0%, Crude Fat (min.) 1.0%, Crude Fiber (max.) 22.0%, Moisture (max.) 12.0%.)


I currently feed my bonded pair (Solara 5lb, Sabriel 4lb) 1.5 cups of pellets and 5 cups of veggies at night and unlimited timothy hay.

I feed my 11 lb bun, Silas, unlimited pellets pretty much (he doesn't eat them if he's not hungry, he's been like this since I adopted him), unlimited timothy hay, and 4 cups of veggies at night.

 

[Maureen Las]

I was surprised that the protein level was as high as it is. otherwise it looks good but an adult rabbit doesn't need that high a % of protein

 

[Flash Gordon]

yea when i think of high protein levels i think 16% ..ive never seen 18% ..i feed 16% protein pellets but they are alflafa based.but i feed 1/4 cup to my adults ....what is in this to make the protein levels so high for a timothy based pellets it what i wanna know.

with that much veggies im thinkin u could prob cut back on the amount of pellets.

 

[Happi Bun]

What about Purina? It's a good brand and cost effective. I went to a feed store that had 50lbs for under $10. All of their pellets are Alfalfa based, however, I'm a believer that when you are feeding a small limited amount to rabbits without previous calcium issues then it doesn't really make a difference. Purina Rabbit Chow Complete is a good one. I'm currently feeding Oxbow Timothy right now, but thinking of switching.

 

[Yield]

[align=center]@angieluv: Is too much protein bad for them? anic: I thought rabbits were supposed to have at least 16% so I figured 18% would be good, just to be safe :huh...

@Lisa: My buns seem the perfect weight and everything... would lessening up the pellets make them lose weight/go hungry? I've always given them this much.. :? (they don't really eat during the day, they save the pellets for nighttime, when they get their veggies... and my bonded pair won't eat their pellets unless they have veggies at night..)

 

[Flash Gordon]

are u having any extra cecos laying around uneaten .?..how old are the bonded pair?.do they eat very much hay?

 

[Yield]

Happi Bun wrote:

What about Purina? It's a good brand and cost effective. I went to a feed store that had 50lbs for under $10. All of their pellets are Alfalfa based, however, I'm a believer that when you are feeding a small limited amount to rabbits without previous calcium issues then it doesn't really make a difference. Purina Rabbit Chow Complete is a good one. I'm currently feeding Oxbow Timothy right now, but thinking of switching.

[align=center]
Is Purina Rabbit Chow Complete hard to find?
We for some reason always pick things that are hard to find (like the dogs' food)...
I've never really heard of alfalfa based, do you know how most people feel on that?
I've only really heard about oxbow and timothy based until this thread I made..:lookaround
I thought alfalfa was only for youngbuns, or are pellets an exception? :?

 

[Yield]

Flash Gordon wrote:

are u having any extra cecos laying around uneaten .?..how old are the bonded pair?.do they eat very much hay?

[align=center]I get ceco's laying around sometimes with the flemie, Silas, but not too often, and less often lately.

I haven't really seen ANY laying around with my bonded pair lately, just marking poops =P.

Silas is ALWAYS eating hay (though he prefers it ALL over the bottom of his cage so he can eat it off the floor to in a basket XD)

And my bonded pair are hay fanatics. We have the hay in a basket attached to the pen and they're always digging in it and eating it. They're lil piggies =3 They don't eat all I put out in one day though, it takes longer for them to eat it (more so lately).

The bonded pair are both 1 year old, Solara is like two weeks older than Sabriel.

 

[Flash Gordon]

if it aint broke then dont fix it...if u start seeing extra cecos then u can just cut back on their pellets a little bit.

 

[Yield]

Flash Gordon wrote:

if it aint broke then dont fix it...if u start seeing extra cecos then u can just cut back on their pellets a little bit.

[align=center]Alrighty! Thank you =]

What do you think about the Purina Rabbit Chow Complete? Have you heard anything about it?

I think I'm gunna post a thread and see what people think about it. Cause the cost of a 50 lb bag of that is the same as the cost of a 20 lb bag of what I'm using currently....

 

[Flash Gordon]

what do u use now?

 

[Yield]

Flash Gordon wrote:

what do u use now?

[align=center]The pellets from the original post.. XD ZuPreem Nature's Promise Timothy Pellets for Rabbits.

 

[fuzz16]

corn is non digestible by human or animal, you should try to avoid feeding foods with corn in it to any pet. its a filler and since its the second and third ingredient has at least 40% corn in this feed, and the gluten is a suger to hold it together. so they poop more (lol) because they pull less nutrients out of the food.

purina makes a good alfalfa based afforable food. ive always done show formula but i do mainly hay and very little pellets

 

[Yield]

[align=center]So... I could be feeding better pellets, Brenda?

My rabbits are so used to the amount of pellets I give them, I'm afraid they'd go hungry and not eat more hay if I lessened it...

Do you think I should switch the pellets I give cause of the corn and gluten?

 

[Happi Bun]

Personally, yes I would switch from Zupreem. The protein level is very high and it has a lot of corn.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Wow! That's a high protein percentage for a timothy pellet! I agree with everyone else, try finding about 16%.

I think most feeds have some small amount of corn in them which can be okay but this seems to have a LOT.

 

[Maureen Las]

fuzz16 wrote:

corn is non digestible by human or animal, you should try to avoid feeding foods with corn in it to any pet. its a filler and since its the second and third ingredient has at least 40% corn in this feed, and the gluten is a suger to hold it together. so they poop more (lol) because they pull less nutrients out of the food.

purina makes a good alfalfa based afforable food. ive always done show formula but i do mainly hay and very little pellets

Shame on me !!! fuzz 16
I totally missed the corn which is not good at all

 

[Flick]

I have a bag of Zupreem's Nature's Promise sitting on the computer table beside me, it shows a protein level of (min) 14%. and the fiber at (max) 28%. I find this discrepancy curious. I'll certainly check the bags when I need to buy it again. I don't trust them to not change the ingredients without warning. I'm not thrilled about the corn in it, but it's the only Timothy Hay based pellet that all my rabbits will eat.

 

[fuzz16]

[align=left]Yield wrote: [/align]

[align=center]So... I could be feeding better pellets, Brenda?

My rabbits are so used to the amount of pellets I give them, I'm afraid they'd go hungry and not eat more hay if I lessened it...

Do you think I should switch the pellets I give cause of the corn and gluten?[/align]

[align=left]
purina changed their formule recently to take out corn and so either pet or show is good. i findi like show more, my rabbits look better. [/align]
[align=left]im a huge corn nazi with pet foods. i hate things with corn in it, and gluten. people dont understand that this is a way for the company to make something really cheap...so ya i would change it, as long as it agrees with your bunnies[/align]

 

[Yield]

fuzz16 wrote:

[align=left]Yield wrote: [/align]

[align=center]So... I could be feeding better pellets, Brenda?

My rabbits are so used to the amount of pellets I give them, I'm afraid they'd go hungry and not eat more hay if I lessened it...

Do you think I should switch the pellets I give cause of the corn and gluten?[/align]

[align=left]
purina changed their formule recently to take out corn and so either pet or show is good. i findi like show more, my rabbits look better. [/align]

[align=left]im a huge corn nazi with pet foods. i hate things with corn in it, and gluten. people dont understand that this is a way for the company to make something really cheap...so ya i would change it, as long as it agrees with your bunnies[/align]

Have you heard of PEN PALS Rabbit food? I need to find a good rabbit pellet.. obviously a new one. But I'm afraid to try Purina because I have heard of so many rabbits dying from all kinds!!