Help with pellets

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 7sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 1 month ago by kirstyol.

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- 04/05/2015 at 1:47 PM
  Midorisu
  Participant
  9 posts
  I have a 10 month old bun that is currently on burgess excel pellets which are good but I’d really like to switch him to a grain free pellets because I understand that these are better for bunnies? I’d have to order online because excel is basically the best food I can find locally in my country & I was looking at oxbow but to me it seems very similar to excel? It’s second listed ingredient is soybean husks but is that not kind of a waste product & doesn’t have much valuable nutrition for buns? Sorry if that’s really wrong I’ve read a lot of confusing, conflicting views
  
  On zooplus I found a food by JR-Farm (anyone heard of them?) & it looks pretty good but I’d love some opinions by people who maybe understand rabbits dietary needs a little better.
  
  Ingredients:
  Timothy grass, orchard grass, meadow grass, plantain, red clover, Meadow fescue, lady’s mantle, pea flakes, diced carrots & beans flakes, parsnip cubes, peppermint leaves, fennel, apple cubes, flax seed, dandelion leaves, beetroot cubes, nettle, chamomile flower, black cumin, vitamins.
  
  Additives:
  Vitamin A (10,000 IU), vitamin D3 (1,000 IU), vitamin C (250 mg), vitamin E (40 mg).
  Complete feed for dwarf rabbits.
  
  protein
  fat
  fibre
  ash
  calcium
  phosphorus
  11.1 %
  2.9 %
  21.5 %
  7.4 %
  0.5 %
  0.3 %
  
  Thanks for any & all help & don’t worry I know about unlimited hay & fresh veggies everyday too
- 04/05/2015 at 6:19 PM
  Megabunny
  Participant
  2041 posts
  Sorry. No idea. Where do you live? We are big fans of Oxbow on here, as you may have noticed. I’m not going to pretend to know much about their dietary requirements, so I’m going to opt out of an opinion. Just hoping to get this thread going for you
- 04/05/2015 at 8:32 PM
  MoveDiagonally
  Participant
  2361 posts
  Those pellets don’t look bad to me at all. They seem to match up with the general guidelines for an adult bunny pretty well. Maybe a bit high on the fat side but some bunnies handle that better than others. Pellets should be a small part of an overall diet so as long as you’re feeding hay and veggies there’s some wiggle room with pellets.
  
  Recommended Nutritional Value (Adult Rabbits)
  Fiber 18% minimum (20 -25% best)
  Fat 1 – 2% max
  Protein 12 – 14% max (long-haired breeds may need higher)
  Calcium 1% max
  (Source: BinkyBunny.com Diet Info Page)
- 04/05/2015 at 8:37 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  Soybean hulls are not added for their nutritional value, they are added to increase the fiber content. With rabbit food, you want to avoid stuff like corn. That isn’t good for bunnies. We generally recommend a plain, grass hay-based pellet because bunnies do not need all of the added extras. The food you listed does have some nice things in it (herbs and whatnot), but it also has fruit and veggies in it. Fruits and veggies are great for bunnies, but fresh is better and fruit should only be given in small quantities. You definitely want to avoid seeds because those are very fattening for bunnies. Hopefully that helps some.
  
  I personally like Oxbow, my bunnies love it and they do well on it. There are other decent pellets out there. You want to look for something that falls within the following parameters:
  
  Recommended Nutritional Value
  Fiber 18% minimum (20 -25% best)
  Fat 1 – 2% max
  Protein 12 – 14% max (long-haired breeds may need higher)
  Calcium 1% max
  
  Avoid pellets with nuts & dried fruit. That’s like putting M&M’sj on your salad everyday. Stick with pellets that are Timothy based. Some alfalfa based pellets do have a high fiber content, but most are too high in calories, protein, and calcium for many adult rabbits.
- 04/05/2015 at 8:39 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  LOL MD, we both had the same idea at the same time.
- 04/05/2015 at 8:51 PM
  MoveDiagonally
  Participant
  2361 posts
  Lol. We did!
  
  I missed that it had extra stuff in it. You definitely want a plain pellet. No extra fruit or veggies in them.
- 04/06/2015 at 8:43 AM
  Midorisu
  Participant
  9 posts
  Thanks for all the advice, maybe I’ll give the oxbow a chance if I can find it online
- 04/06/2015 at 4:09 PM
  kirstyol
  Participant
  580 posts
  Bramble eats Excel nuggets on the advice of my vet
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