NAT GEO brand food

[HoldenCaufield]

hey everyone just wondering your opinions on the National Geographic “Rabbit Entree”. 

personally, i really like it and so does my nigel but i really don’t know what exactly to look for as far as the nutrition label, i just know it looks like a lot of healthy stuff for him, but the info page on this site said to avoid pellets with fruits and nuts as additives. i thought those were part of the appeal?

we use Nat Geo brand almost everything (hay, treats, and food), but he eats a lot of fresh veggies and fruit too. 

just wondering what your opinions on this particular brand were.

thanks!

[{Alli}]

If you looked at the ingredients list, I guess there could be some good aspects of it? But the majority is unhealthy like flaked peas, corns, alfalfa meal, corn meal, etc. There’s even algae meal?! I like the variety of leaves it provides but algae meal, really? I wouldn’t personally buy it but if you buy it because of the safe aspects like raspberry leaves, just pick those out.

[LongEaredLions]

According to the PetSmart website, here are the facts on the food. I have highlighted the potentially dangerous ingredients in red and questionable ingredients in blue.

Ground Timothy Grass Hay, Soybean Hulls, Wheat Middlings, Dehydrated Alfalfa
Meal, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Flaked Peas, Flaked Wheat, Ground Corn, Chopped
Timothy Grass Hay, Corn Gluten Meal, Dried Leeks, Ground Flaxseed, Yeast
Culture, Cane Molasses, Dehydrated Carrots, Dried Rose Hips, Dehydrated Savoy
Cabbage, Corn Distiller’s Dried Grain with Solubles, Dried Dandelions,
Dehydrated Apple, Dried Bay Leaves, Dried Chamomile Flowers, Dried Parsley,
Ground Wheat, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Lignin Sulfonate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate,
Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vegetable Oil, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus
Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Dried
Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Bifidum
Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Product, Torula
Dried Yeast, Fructooligosaccharide, Algae Meal, Ground Rolled Oats, Ground
Dandelion Leaf, Ground Peppermint Leaf, Ground Raspberry Leaf, L-Lysine,
Potassium Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Magnesium Oxide, Vitamin
A Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ground Papaya,
DL-Methionine, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement,
D-Calcium Pantothenate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Biotin, Folic Acid,
Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Zinc
Sulfate, Zinc Methionine Complex, Manganese Methionine Complex, Copper Lysine
Complex, Cobalt Glucoheptonate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper
Sulfate, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Cobalt Sulfate and Sodium
Selenite

Something that really concerns me about this food is the appearance of leeks, especially so high in the ingredient list. Rabbits should not be fed any members of the onion family, so this could be potentially dangerous.

Alfalfa is not recommended in the diet of an adult rabbit because it is very rich and can lead to weight issues. Peas, oats, and Beet pulp are fillers and provide almost no nutrition, but are very starchy and can lead to intestinal problems. Salt and Molasses are unnecessary taste additives which could be dangerous in large amounts.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min) 15.0%
Crude Fat (min)
2.5%
Crude Fiber (max) 22.0%
Moisture (max) 12.0%
Calcium (min)
0.4%
Phosphorus (min) 0.3%
Vitamin A (min) 18,000 IU/kg
Vitamin D3
(min) 1,600 IU/kg
Vitamin E (min) 75 IU/kg
Omega-3 Fatty Acids (min)
0.4%
Docosahexaenoic Acid (min) 0.04%
Total Microorganisms (min) (L.
Acidophilus, L. Casei, E. Faecium, B. Bifidum, A. Oryzae) 40,000 CFU/g

As far as the analysis, this food is ok. The fiber is nice and high (although this is the minimum so there could be less. The protein might be a tad bit high.

Just like you stated in your post, feeding rabbits on Muesli-type mixes is not generally recommended because often rabbits will pick out their favorite parts which will lead to an unbalanced diet. Many of these mixes also contain unnecessary sugary bits to make the food more appetizing to your rabbit and visually. Another danger of this food is the potential chocking hazard on the inconsistent sized pieces.

Overall, while this food is definitely one of the better mueslis on the market, I would recommend you switch to a pellet. Here, we generally recommend any of the Oxbow rabbit pellet line.

[Author]

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