Best Pellets?

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

 Hey

I recently posted on here about my Netherland Dwarf bun Smokey missing in her litterbox. I did up the size and now she’s doing great Although sometimes I do see little poos scattered here and there, but that’s not a big deal compared to pee haha

I was wondering what the best option for pellets are for her. Currently she’s been eating the LM Animal Farms “Classic” Pet Rabbit Food, which I get at a local Tractor Supply store. I was told by other bun owners not to get the “fancy” foods with corn and all of that in it because it will make them gain quite a lot of weight and is not healthy. So I get the plain pellets.

What I was wondering is what all you bun owners use and suggest is the best

She has quite a busy day Monday – Thursday every week as she is a Pre-K class pet in the private school I work at. She loves being there, loves the kids. So from 8:30am to 4:30pm she is a busy bun, so I want her food to be as healthy as it can

[LoveChaCha]

How old is she? If she is less than a year, the pellets should be okay. I looked up the ingredients for the one that you use and it is alfalfa. It is for growing bunnies. She will eventually need to be transitioned to timothy based pellets (slowly).

I would not suggest using rabbit food with bits of food/sweet stuff in it. It is really unneeded.

If she is an adult, she would only need about a tablespoon of pellets. She is a small dwarf, like mine, so they do not need mmuch. But if she is a baby, she can have unlimited pellets.

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

She is 3.1 lbs and will be 2 years old March 19h. What is the best type of Timothy based pellets, and where can I find them?

[LoveChaCha]

the binky bunny store has oxbow timothy based pellets and also american pet diner. both can be purchased online. petsmart carries oxbow. the one you want to look for is oxbow bunny basics t. i have not seen american pet diner in stores.

if you transition her, you want to slowly mix in the new pellets. bunny could have a sensitive tummy.

do you have any pictures of her? i wanna see her

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

 Thanks I’ll be sure to stop by Petsmart today since I live pretty close to one. I have transitioned her before from baby pellets given to me by the breeder I purchased her from, but I had no idea that the pellets I was getting from the farm supply store would be for growing rabbits. I’m glad I came here

Since there’s a limit on picture size and I am too lazy to resize, I’ll tinypic link : )

 

http://i56.tinypic.com/16atcvk.jpg

http://i54.tinypic.com/2i96ofk.jpg

http://i54.tinypic.com/fo116o.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/29uqbsh.jpg

 

And a video of her sliding down the ramp of her new condo. Note : She DOES know how to properly go up and down the ramp. But I caught her doing this several times in a row and decided to record it.

http://tinypic.com/r/10homkz/7

 

I love my Smokey to death : ) She is definitely like my kid, as silly as that is.

 

 

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

I just checked and neither Petsmart nor Petco offer it online. So maybe I’ll have more luck if I go to the physical store today.

[RabbitPam]

Oxbow Bunny Basics/T is the adult brand I have used and considered the best. But Petsmart has an outrageous markup of the price. So it’s there in a pinch, but I have always found at least one local vet that carries it in their office for about $5-10 less per bag. It’s worth getting from a vet and stocking up since they often will be happy to order it in for you if the have Oxbow products for sale. I know 2 vets who sold it years before the pet stores got it in.

Other thing is that if you’re in New Jersey you might be able to find a pellet called Big Red Rabbit Food. It was excellent, highly recommended, and a staple when I lived in New England. I just couldn’t get it down south after I moved. I think they’re based in upstate NY, VT or possibly Canada. Somewhere cold and East. Anyway, it’s good nutrition and a plain Timmy based pellet also. Used to come in huge bags – more affordable. I found it at horse hay and feed stores. (And a gardening nursery shop. Go figure.)

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

I checked and it said there were no stores around that carried that brand. There’s a farmer’s store near me where I’ve gotten bulk Timothy hay for her before for cheap, so maybe I should check in there. What should I look for if it’s not there and the Oxbow isn’t there?

And agreed, Petsmart/Petco up the price tremendously.

[jerseygirl]

She is definately a nethie! Very sweet with her siamese markings. : ) lol @ video, funny bun!

Out of interest, about how much do you pay for the current pellets at Tractor Supply. I did a search just withthe feed name and there was a listing; $24.49 for 5lbs. Tractor supply has them listed @ $3.49 for 5lbs.

You’ll want to stay away from pellets which do not have hay (hay/grass meal) as the 1st item on ingredients list. If a bag has nutritional info, aim for no less than 20% fibre, no more than 16% protein and 2-3% fat. Also check out the calcium and avoid ones with added calcium.

 

Other options: American Pet Diner, Zupreem Nature’s Promise, Kaytee Timothy Complete or Kaytee Forti Adult, Supreme Science Selective Mature Rabbit. Even Carefresh do a decent pellet now though it might have other stuff in a mix you’d want to pick out.

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

I absolutely adore her coloring. She is indeed very silly, and has quite the personality. She does binkies for her class of Pre-Kers because it makes them giggle She also loves sitting in their laps and digging at jeans (she loves doing that, for some reason, but never harms anyone).

At the Tractor Supply Co. that I’ve been buying her pellets from, I purchased a 5lb bag for $4.99.

Thank you SO much for the nutritional information. I wrote it down and this will definitely come in handy.

Good thing is that I found some online stores that sell the Oxbow Bunny Basics T for about $10 with $4 shipping and it will be here tomorrow. I have enough food left over from her pellets now to slowly work it into her diet. I’m hoping this won’t upset her tummy. Nothing has so far, but how will I know if the Oxbow isn’t agreeing with her?

Also, every pellet chart is a bit different. What is the CORRECT amount of pellets to give her? She is 3.1lbs currently. I have been giving her 1/4 cup every day with unlimited Timothy hay, as that is what I was previously told. Is this the same for any adult pellets?

Thanks so much for your help! It’s greatly appreciated!

[jerseygirl]

I should amend the % I gave. It should be more like 12-14% protein and greater then 18% fibre. The BinkkyBunny diet page states this and is based on House Rabbit Society recommendations.

1/4 is probably the most you want to give for her size. 1/8 – 1/4 cup. She might turn her nose up at a tim pellet as they like the alfalfa but you never know. If she likes her tim hay she might transition well. : )

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

 She likes both types of hay, as well as orchard, but I’ve always tended to purchase timothy hay for her and she absolutely LOVES it. As I’m typing this, she’s munching away. Which I see her doing quite often during the day

I’ll be sure to add the %’s to the list I wrote down : )   I hope she transitions well I’ll find out this evening as her food will be delivered : )

[Beka27]

After transitioning her to the tim pellets, you can start reducing the amount to 1/8cup. For a small bun getting hay and veggies, she really doesn’t need more than that.

[LoveChaCha]

Oh my gosh.. SUCH A CUTIE!! I have a Nethie too.. except you won’t see her flopped on my blankets. She is more like playing in em.

I agree with Beka. Dwarfs don’t need a lot of pellets. My bunny gets one tablespoon a day. It may not seem much, but for their size, it is ideal. She just fills up on hay all day.

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

I’ve read 1/4 and I’ve read 1/8. She loves the pellets, so I wasn’t sure if hay was filling her up, despite having an unlimited supply of it.

I’ll be sure to keep buying her her favorite romaine lettuce and kale With these new pellets, it’s still okay to give her greens every day? Or should I do it every other day?

Yeah Smokey loves being on my bed with me and with usually lay with me after she runs all over my bed, and me. Recently since getting her new 2-story condo (which was in that last link of the video), she has preferred staying inside the cage as preferred to out

Her new food came today and I mixed a bit in with her pellets and she loves it! So far, so good : D

[jerseygirl]

Greens every day. Greens and hay are the staple of the diet. Pellets are supplements. That’s great she went for the new pellets. She sounds like an easy girl to please.

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

Yeah she’s pretty easy. She tries to eat the construction paper at school or posters. They learned the hard way to keep papers and posters away from her cage at school!

The only thing she snubs her nose at is carrots/celery. She will not even give them a second glance, whether she’s hungry or not. The breeder I purchased her from said carrots aren’t good for them to have every day like you can with lettuce anyway, so it’s no big deal she dislikes carrots

[RabbitPam]

Celery is not great for them, so I’d cut that out if she doesn’t like it. You can give carrot tops, which is a great green, and a washed piece of carrot from the bunch might taste better to her than the grocery store kind. Carrots got a bad rep a couple of years ago but further study showed they are indeed good for bunnies. Not every day is a good rule of thumb.

Construction paper only is risky due to the dye. A good source of safe shredding fun is a phone book, white or yellow pages. They are made with soy-based inks and that is safe for a bit of ingestion by bunnies.

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

we have soy-based construction paper since I work at a private preschool. And she doesn’t get a hold of it since they keep it away from her.

And nope, she snubs celery and carrots, no matter how I’ve given them to her ;(

GOOD NEWS! I took some of the new food in to work with us today and she ATE AT WORK. Which she NEVER does. I feel like this is a great sign : )

[LoveChaCha]

Good good

Yeah, your bunny isn’t the only bunny that snubs carrots, so I wouldn’t worry about it Mine is quite fine with her Romaine and Cilantro bunch. Rabbits don’t need to fill up on pellets, as too much and make them fat. I’ve noticed that bunnies will get fat if given too many pellets!

I am glad she likes her new pellets

[RabbitPam]

I was hoping you’d say you used soy based inks in the schools, too.
Sounds like it’s going well.

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

Yep our school is good : ) She’s safe and the teacher and aide in her class make sure she is well looked after while I’m in my class. She does get to hop around with the kids quite a lot and she loves it and so do they. They sit on the edge of the rug and know only to pet her when she comes to them. They’ve also built small block structures because she likes to be a trouble maker and knock them down : ) She is very spoiled : D

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