I doubt a timothy hay allergy would be triggered by pellets.

Those Science Select pellets are actually fine. You just need to keep in mind that they are more protein and calcium dense due to the alfalfa, so be extra attentive to how much you are feeding.

You can see here for a comparison chart and what parameters one recommends for rabbit pellets: http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp

Timothy-based pellets are unlikely to trigger allergies.

Any grass hay is fine for rabbits. Rabbits in Australia cant have timothy hay, because timothy won’t grow in warm climates. As you probably know, wild  rabbits are considered a pest in Australia – they thrive a lot more than desired even though they never ever come across any timothy grass.

Grass hay is important  though. It has the perfect nutritional profile for rabbits. Lots of fiber, low in protein and carbs, virtually no fat. There are many types of grass hay. In general, any grass hay that’s good for horses is good for rabbits. I myself am allergic to timothy (many people are), but I dont react to orchard or oat hay.

Alfalfa is not recommended for adult buns due to its high content of protein and calcium. When alfalfa is a component of pellets, however, its balanced by the other ingredients so that the nutritent content stays consistent with the nutrient content claim on the the package.

Science selective is considered a premium rabbit food. I have used it for my buns. I like that the pellets are big, because bigger pellets means less risk of a (greedy) bun choking on a pellet.

The Oxbow is better, less fillers, but Oxbow Garden Select is even better.

I don’t know about your local tractor supply, but ours is completely unreliable about what they have in stock at any given time.  I use Chewy for rabbit supplies.

I just wanted to reiterate that it’s important for them to have grass hay in actual hay form, not just in their pellets. Straight hay is important for the fiber it provides, as well as for the amount of time the rabbit spends chewing (good for the teeth and actually is enriching). I’ve heard the rule of thumb is a rabbit should spend around 4 hours per day chewing hay. And I agree that timothy pellets are very unlikely to be triggering allergies, it’s usually the hay itself that does that. Orchard grass is often much better for people with timothy allergies.

I’ve fed both Oxbow adult essentials and Sherwood Forest Timothy Adult. My rabbits have done very well on both.

This article shows what to look for in the nutritional info for rabbit pellets: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Pellets

👆 I took a screenshot of the nutrient values in the Non-GMO, soy-free pellets.

In my opinion, the fibrr content is too low (should be at least 20%) and the protein is a little high (should be around 13%) for adult rabbits.

Since at least 80% of a bun’s diet should be hay, and adult rabbits only should get a very limited amount of pellets, the somewhat low fiber content might not matter much.

I know a lot of members who want a pellet with fewer ingredients go with the Oxbow Garden Select Formula. I’ve been feeding the Sherwood Adult Timothy for the last year or two and my bunnies are doing really well on it.

I don’t think any high quality rabbit pellets contain berries or fruits at all.

Oh interesting. Unless she is extremely sensitive to them, I doubt they would be present in an amount that would cause tummy upset. Just a quick look at the ingredients shows blueberry and cranberry way down on the list, after salt and with the vitamin supplements, so there is likely just a tiny amount (just enough to claim them for advertising purposes lol).

In any case, the Sherwood food doesn’t have any berries!

Awww yeah, better safe than sorry!

I think the blueberry and cranberry may be added for “antioxidants”… as per the advertisement on the front of the bag. I agree with Dana, it would be such a tiny amount. But if your bunny had problems before, then it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Another thought, if you are unsure what an ingredient really is….wheat middlings is a scary one…Google it.

Research and education on your part will go a long way on your piece of mind.

I’m gonna nit pick here, not trying to start a fight…

%s don’t necessarily mean much if the food is full of junk.

Ol’Roy dog food looks ok percentage wise, but one look at the ingredients (and the awful poops) will tell you there is no real, useable food in there.

So, just saying that quality ingredients, less fillers, is far more important than sticking to strict “rabbits MUST have such and such percentage of this and that.”

I think it’s important to look at both the percentages AND the ingredient list. Without looking at percentages, you don’t know anything about the proportions of the various ingredients.

Every bunny has a slightly different gut biome, so finding one that your bunny does well on can take some time if you have a particularly sensitive bunny. Some bunnies do best with no pellets at all.

In the past, rabbit pellet formulations were created for getting rabbits to grow quickly and put on weight, not for a healthy long life as a pet. Current house rabbit formulas are in general much better, but that doesn’t mean they are all good.

If you find that your bun doesn’t seem to be thriving on pellets, then you can talk to your vet about going pellet-free.

Since we are on a deep-dive discussion into rabbit nutrition, I thought I would share this talk by a professor of nutritional sciences from the HRS conference a few years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91mSv1PqyY4&ab_channel=HouseRabbitSociety

It’s pretty long, but she goes over the vitamins and minerals that are important in rabbit diets, how to read an ingredient list, nutrition myths, etc.

@DanaNM, great video! Thank you!

@Cinnimon&Ollie, do watch the video! I watched it earlier today and I loved it 😃

The lecturer doesnt advocate a pellet free diet, because a good pellet ensures that the bun actually gets all the nutrients it needs. She says a bun needs 12% protein per day. Since hay should be the bulk of the bun’s diet and hay is lower in protein, the pellet can have a little bit more protein than 12%. A good pellet should have 3% fat, at least 20% fiber and not under 0.6 calcium, for a healthy adult bun that’s not pregnant or lactating or very old. Long-haired breeds, especially angora, need more protein, because hair consists of protein.

There have been a few threads on going pellet-free over the years. The key is to providing a wide variety of veggies and really doing your homework on the nutrients contributed by each one. I’ve heard anywhere between 10-17 as the minimum of different greens and herbs per day, and a variety of grass hays, which is hard for many people to provide daily year round (depending on where you are and what’s available). I imagine it could also get very expensive! Hence why a pellet can be really helpful. I tend to think of pellets as a multivitamin for the buns, just to ensure they aren’t lacking in something really important. Plus pellets can be treated like a treat and used for training, etc. I only give mine a tablespoon each per day, and they have all been maintaining a healthy weight and good hay consumption. Plus the pellets are crucial for getting everyone back in their pens at bedtime. LOL

Here are a couple of older threads where pellet-free diets are discussed in more detail:

Pellet Free Diet?

no pellet diet

Pellet-less diet?

Yes, you can give them less. Especially if they are getting greens every day.