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Forum DIET & CARE Does anyone use Burgess Excel Adult Rabbit pellets?

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    • Theodorusrex
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        Does anyone use these pellets?

        When we adopted Theo he came with a bag of changeover food – he had been being fed Pets at Home adult nuggets – from what I can tell not bad nutrition-wise but too low in fibre. 

        We continued to feed him that as he was doing well for a few weeks until he settled and then we decided we wanted to switch him to a higher quality, higher nutrition pellet. We chose Burgess Excel Adult Rabbit Pellets with mint based on a few recommendations and this link:

        http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp

        Which lists it as one of the options which ticks all the boxes nutritionally. He seems to really like them – wolfs them down for the most part – he gets 1/8 cup pellets per day and weighs 4.5lbs. 

        My question really is, does anyone have any opinions on the nutrition etc in these pellets? I only ever hear people on BB talking about feeding their rabbits sherwood or selective science. If there’s a better option out there I want Theo to have the best but I don’t want to mess with his diet unnecessarily.

        Thanks 


      • Azerane
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          I switched Bandit to Burgess (the exact same that you have bought) from Oxbow. In my opinion it is the best pellet available in Australia, both from my own research, and also based on that table you linked to (which is an amazing chart that I have used many times). My main reason for switching was that on Oxbow, Bandit seemed to get the occasional soft poop, and after eating, he didn’t seem to have much energy. When I switched to Burgess, all that changed. He also loved the Burgess more than the Oxbow as well. When I started transitioning him, he would always pick out the Oxbow pellets first (even the first time I fed them) and eat the Oxbow last.

          So they definitely get positive feedback from me and I happily recommend them to everyone I can’t comment on Sherwood or Selective Science as we have neither in this country.


        • Gina.Jenny
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            I used to use Burgess, and they were fine, but after trying the Supreme Science Select, my bunnies made it clear they enjoy crunching them up, so we’ve stayed with them. I also use Harrington’s Optimum rabbit pellets. Given pellets are only meant to be a small proportion (5%?) of a bunny’s diet, I would think any of the better quality ones will be fine nutritionally. You could always get a small bag of the SSS, to try, and give your bunny some Burgess, and some SSS, and see which he likes, or he may enjoy having two varieties?

            If you are in the UK, you can can a small bag of SSS as an Amazon add on, which is what I did, then got more, after seeing how much the buns enjoy crunching them  

            https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003A8OIWK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


          • Brambino
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              I use Burgess Excel.

              On Excel Junior & Dwarf, Bramble had soft poop problems. I tried to switch her to Oxbow. She hated Oxbow Natural Science and would rather eat hay and, given Bramble’s disgust, maybe even starve!

              I paid a lot for the Oxbow and now it’s just sat at home. If there’s someone in the UK who wants my bag of Oxbow Natural Science to try let me know!

              I tried the Excel adult and she loves it! Gobbles it up and no poop problems I think ill be sticking with Excel now as it’s readily available in the UK and relatively cheap.


            • Theodorusrex
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                Thanks for the replies everyone – glad to hear there are others who have found it to be a good feed. Azerane, I’m a bit the same as yourself in the UK. Although I have seen selective science in the store I buy Theo’s food from I’ve never seen Sherwood anywhere. Burgess seems to be popular here. I’m sure I could find Sherwood online but I prefer to be able to find these things in a store rather than online. One thing I’m confused about is people always say that pellets should be Timothy based and I don’t believe Burgess are. Theo does get really good quality Timothy Hay from Alfalfa King though which has lovely thick pieces and green colour/fresh smell. Does this make up for the fact his pellets aren’t timothy based?

                As an aside, how much pellets do you all feed your buns for their weight? I’d read online 1/8th cup for 5lbs of rabbit which is what Theo gets but the Burgess packaging recommends feeding a rabbit of Theo’s size 50-60g which is almost 3x as much! When we visit my Mum’s we often take Theo and she complains at me that we’re underfeeding him but he hasn’t lost any weight or anything and gets a heap of veggies/unlimited hay (albeit he’s not a big hay eater). The advice just seems so mixed!


              • Azerane
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                  The first ingredient of the Burgess Pellet with Mint is Grass Meal, which is perfectly fine. Grass meal is just ground up hay. Rabbit pellets don’t need to be timothy hay based, they simply need to be grass hay based as opposed to legume based (alfalfa, clover etc).

                  Bandit weighed 7 pounds, he got two tablespoons of pellets daily. One in the morning, one in the evening. Every time he had a weigh-in at the vet, he was consistently the same weight. I personally wouldn’t feed more than 1/4 cup per 5 pounds daily.


                • jerseygirl
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                    Ugh, I just wrote out a reply and it disappeared.

                    As an aside, how much pellets do you all feed your buns for their weight? I’d read online 1/8th cup for 5lbs of rabbit which is what Theo gets but the Burgess packaging recommends feeding a rabbit of Theo’s size 50-60g which is almost 3x as much! 

                    Packs will often suggest larger portions then what is really required. Remember, the more you use, the more frequently you have to buy more product…
                    The package guidelines can also be more for rabbits kept outdoors. They burn up more calories in the winter time.
                    I always used the HRS (and BB) as a guideline for how many pellets to give. I often see UK rabbit owner refer to an eggcup full. Would that be 1/8 – 1/4 cup??

                    When we visit my Mum’s we often take Theo and she complains at me that we’re underfeeding him but he hasn’t lost any weight or anything and gets a heap of veggies/unlimited hay (albeit he’s not a big hay eater).

                    Haha. And rabbits are masters at making us feel like they’re starving too, right?!
                    As long as your Mum understand the pellets are more of a supplement then his primary diet. Pellets can cause more harm then good if over fed.


                  • Theodorusrex
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                      Ah, azerane it is reassuring to know that they are still hay based – that was something I had always wondered when I heard of people with their timothy pellets. We’re feeding him probably just on the generous side of 1/8 cup so I will keep doing what I’m doing

                      Anyone could be forgiven for thinking we starve theo, jersey girl, by the way he acts when we feed him! It’s like he’s never seen food in his life! Mum’s always like ‘would you give that wee one some more food he’s starving!’ even when he’s just ate a tower of greens. So frustrating.

                      It’s good to know we can continue with what we’re doing for Theo He was being fed a massive bowl of pellets when we adopted him so he’s taken some adjustment!


                    • Kyrkogrimr
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                        Hi Theodorusrex, we feed Sidhe (Puck only has them very very occasionally because he puts on loads of weight and then can’t shift it if he has pellets) Burgess Excel pellets, the same variety you have and I’ve had no problems; they were recommended by our vet and they’ve gone down well. I wouldn’t worry about “not feeding him enough” when it comes to pellets as long as he’s healthy and not losing weight; two rabbits of the same size, breed and weight won’t necessarily need the same quantity; Puck is a mini lop and is bigger than Sidhe but he pretty much can’t have any or he pudges. Sidhe is a small girl but she’s on an egg cup full at the minute while we try to get her weight back up (she was a little under) and we’ll adjust from there. At the end of the day, pellets are meant to suppliment their diet, not be a huge portion of it; I would think it’s better for them to have more fresh veggies and less pellets.

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                    Forum DIET & CARE Does anyone use Burgess Excel Adult Rabbit pellets?