I believe the Purina might be alfalfa based – I’ve never used this particular one, I’ve used their high fiber ones and they are high quality. However eventually you will want to get Bella on timothy when she gets a little older so you might want to eventually switch them both to the Oxbow. That would be my opinion.

I’m not familiar with the PANR. You could compare their content from each bag, or go on line to each website for a listing of their content. Then see which is the healthiest for a bunny.

I think that PANR is the one for Show rabbits is that correct?

i use oxbow- it’s tried and true. timmy based, no corn or yucky stuff. it is more expensive, but i think it’s worth it. i buy a bag at the petstore i work at for 12.99.

I just checked on their web site:
http://rabbit.purinamills.com/OurProducts/Products/Overview/default.aspx
All are alfalfa based & what is – plant protein products, grain products. I’m not thrilled with those vague terms.
Oxbow is a way better food in my opinion.

OK, I see fancy way of hiding the fact that there is probably corn in it:

quoted from
http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/database/ingredients/166.plant_protein_product.htmlDescription

The ingredient “plant protein product” can be used for plant protein preparations containing at least 50% protein.

Plant sources include:

soya beans (see also figure of soya preparation), cereals such as wheat or maize, potatoes or peanuts

Appearently “grain products” can be any grain – I kinda like to know exactly what I’m feeding.

I have to be honest, reading ingredients on any of these rabbit foods doesn’t tell me exactly what I’m feeding. You have to be a scientist to decipher any of them.

Yes, Sarita, good point. I’ve yet to find a rabbit food that I’m truly happy with the ingedience & know what everything is. I have found an awesome company for dog & cat food – all human grade stuff, all vitamins from plants, no additives & chemicals.
I’m very aware of ingredience after that crap from China making all those pets sick so I try very hard to stick to organic non chemical foods.
I wish the bunny food industry would catch up.

Spockie’s favorite food was Banana.

Ingredients: banana

Someone once said it was the only food that came in it’s own color-coordinated carrier.

Once you consider that you will be feeding such a small amount per day once the bunnies are adults- my Mini Lops only get 2 Tablespoons of pellets per day each.  And I guess that I would be feeding Griffin twice that- so 4 Tablespoons a day.  Griffin is still on alfalfa pellets so I have not fed him any of the Oxbow Basics T yet.

But at feeding 4 Tablespoons a day- a 10lb bag lasts a really long time for me.

I think quite a few people/breeders that feed the (for lack of a better word) cheaper pellets do not give the daily veggies and unlimited hay like most house bunny owners do.  Breeding bunnies and bunnies kept outside (cold) can have different nutritional needs than pampered, accustomed to heating/AC, daily fresh salad eating house bunny.  Breeding/hormones and maintaining body temperature can take more calories.

I would have to compare the ingredients- but I would not be surprised if some of the 50lb bag only Purina pellets were BETTER and most likely HEALTHIER than some of the pet store colorful garbage that is not good for bunnies.  Since Purina is not attempting to appeal to consumers with bright colorful tidbits, seeds and fruit-  they are more likely on the mark for nutrition.  Though for an adult house bunny- most likely a perfomance or higher calorie diet would not be as ideal but I know there are bulk diets make that are lower protein, etc.  My English Lop breeder feeds Producers Pride pellets to avoid any overweight issues with her show stock.

Plus- I have not seen any scientific evidence to support this necessarily- but house bunnies SHOULD live longer with the risk of reproductive cancer, predators, illness not being noticed immediately, etc eliminated.  And the exotic vets/experts are leaning towards feeding limited Timothy pellets, daily “salad” and unlimited grass hay.  Nutrition is not an exact science and people in general are starting to look at rabbits more as a good house pet- so I can only imagine that advances and continued understanding of rabbits nutritional and medical needs will only improve.

furface, what kind of food do you feed your dog?

Orijen adult – cat gets the cat version
http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/about/
INGREDIENTS
Fresh deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, russet potato, fresh deboned pacific salmon (a natural source of DHA and EPA), herring meal, sweet potato, peas, fresh deboned lake whitefish, fresh deboned northern walleye, chicken fat (naturally preserved with vitamin E and citric acid), chicken liver, salmon meal, fresh deboned turkey, fresh whole eggs, fresh deboned herring, sun-cured alfalfa, salmon oil, chicory root, dehydrated organic kelp, pumpkin, carrots, spinach, turnip greens, apples, cranberries, saskatoon berries, black currants, choline chloride, psyllium, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile flowers, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, sea salt, vitamin supplements (vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, vitamin C, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12), mineral supplements (zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, selenium), dried Lactobacillus acidophilus, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.

They make Orijen & Acana – they do their own processing & they don’t process other companies foods in their plant so there is no cross contamination risk like what happened with Menu Foods in 2007.
All hormone free, human grade ingedience – it’s better than what I eat!

aw we don’t have that in texas

Posted By katiehedger on 09/12/2009 07:15 PM
aw we don’t have that in texas

http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/storeLocator/Texas.aspx

Haha score!!!!!! i will look into it i’m trying to get my doggie on a new food.

i would recommend doing 1/4 new stuff, 3/4 old stuff for 3 days. then 1/2 and 1/2 for three days and finally 1/4 old and 3/4 new for three days. on the 10th day, 100% new.

bunnymum – Oxbow does recommend that you take about three weeks to fully switch over. So though I’m sure it would be fine as Katie has recommended, if you want to follow Oxbow’s recommendations, they are usually on the bag itself (on the back right hand side):
Here what my bag says:

4 week Food transition:
Week 1: 1/4th Bunny Basics and 3/4th the existing pellet
Week 2: 1/2 and 1/2
Week 3 3/4 Bunny Basics and 1/4th existing pellet
Week 4: All Bunny Basics