Different Brand of Pellets

[bonnie_bunny]

Gizmo, as many of you know, is a one and a half year old, ~11 pound checkered giant bunny. He gets unlimited hay, one large salad in the morning and a small one at night, and a half cup of Oxbow Essential Adult Basics. I can get a 25lb bag of pellets off Chewy for about $35 which isn’t bad at all, but expensive for a college student. My mom, only wanting to help, mentioned that Tractor Supply has 25/50lb bags for under $20. I’ve been comparing the analyses, but nothing compared to the crude fiber in Oxbow. Does anyone have any suggestions? If Oxbow is the best he can get, I’ll keep him on that, but the draw of something cheaper is strong for a college student. I know to avoid corn, alfalfa, and any meat products. I’ve heard molasses isn’t great either, but it is in the Oxbow so it’s not a deal breaker.

[Bam]

I’d say it depends on how good he is at eating hay. If a bun eats lots of hay, the majority of dietary fiber will come from the hay and the fiber content in the pellets is less important. If the bun is reluctant to eat hay, the fiber content of the pellets is much more important. When I got my bun Vilde he was almost 6 years old and the pellets he had only had 13% fiber – which is too low to be good. But Vilde devours hay, he makes big, beautiful poopies of a lovely golden color. Pellets is the smallest part of his daily food intake. I’ve switched him over to my late rabbit Bam’s pellets since then, because I had those pellets already, but he still gets a little bit of his old pellets now and then as a treat.

My rabbit savvy vet says a good pellet should contain minimum 20% fiber. But she also says that hay (and grass) is the primary and most important source of fiber, and no amount of fiber in a pellet can really compensate for hay (and grass).

Oxbow pellets are very good though and it’s a company that I think can be trusted. They are always good at getting back to people that have questions or worries.

[DanaNM]

You’ll want to look for a pellet that has at least 18% fiber content, and grass hay has the first ingredient. Usually cheaper pellets (esp from feed stores) are alfalfa based, and formulated to put weight on young rabbits and breeding does… fast. So not good for adult maintenance. $35 for 25lbs is honestly a great price for Oxbow!

Honestly since such a small amount of pellets is fed, I don’t think it’s the best area to try to save money. I think the biggest savings are to be had in getting hay and pine pellets (which I use in the litter box) from horse supply shops. A 40 lb bag of pine pellets is about $9, and that lasts me several weeks. A bale of hay is so much more economical than buying small bags from pet shops, if you have space to store it. You can also think about where you get his veggies. At farmers markets, you can often ask the stalls for trimmed carrot tops, and other parts that they cannot sell, that are great for buns.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[bonnie_bunny]

Bam: A 25lb bag lasts me about 5 months, so it’s not bad. When not given any other choice, Gizmo devours his hay. I even have large pots with grass in them since it’s winter and he can’t go outside and he loves it! He’s a large, hungry bunny. I try very hard to stick to strict feeding times so he tends to be pretty good about it. The feed I was looking at had a crude analysis of 19% min/23% max of fiber and a 1.8% max in fat, which is pretty good, but not comparable to the 25%/29% Oxbow boasts. But at $16.99 for 50 lbs it was certainly tempting.

DanaNM: I’m honestly a little surprised! I buy 40lb bags of pine pellets for $6.59 and they last me about 4-5 weeks give or take a few days. $9 seems expensive! As for hay, I have trouble storing bales sometimes, but I usually spend $4 on second cut Timothy mixes whether I’m buying half a bale or a whole one and that lasts a good while.

I think what’s killing me cost wise is his greens. His poops are a little dark brown so we’re trying different mixtures and scaling back a little. But oftentimes I’m going and buying fresh veggies every 8-12 days and spending anywhere from a few dollars to almost $10 depending on if anything’s on sale. Even more if I buy the organic stuff from my local co-op. Anywhere I can save even a few bucks and not compromise his diet is very attractive.

[DarthVadar]

Pellets suited for house rabbits can be pretty hard to find because the rabbit pellet was invented to put weight on kits and keep breeding does lactating (for this they use an 18% protein pellet, which i consider way to high even for that). The lowest % i can get is 16%, and it works pretty well my pet bunnies. I can get 50 lbs for $16-18, depending on time of year. The thing with pellets is not always the % protein or fat, its the amount fed by the owner (unless its just an incredibly crappy pellet). Feed supplements (oats, barley, etc) could also help lower a feed bill and provide the bunny with higher quality nutrition.

[DarthVadar]

Pellets suited for house rabbits can be pretty hard to find because the rabbit pellet was invented to put weight on kits and keep breeding does lactating (for this they use an 18% protein pellet, which i consider way to high even for that). The lowest % i can get is 16%, and it works pretty well my pet bunnies. I can get 50 lbs for $16-18, depending on time of year. The thing with pellets is not always the % protein or fat, its the amount fed by the owner (unless its just an incredibly crappy pellet). Feed supplements (oats, barley, etc) could also help lower a feed bill and provide the bunny with higher quality nutrition.

[bonnie_bunny]

DarthVadar: I’m finding that very true. I checked out the Kent Nutiritional Group brand at the recommendation of the sanctuary he came from, as well as the Standlee Timothy’s Hay horse pellet, and the Purina Rabbit Chow Complete which, surprisingly, a rabbit rescue in the area recommended. All of them have alfafa as the first ingredient and they all have corn of some kind. While I don’t believe corn is the enemy when it comes to breeding and showing (while i do neither i know people who do and they need the extra carbs), it’s not ideal for house rabbits. I will most likely keep him on the Oxbow after doing a lot of looking around. He gets 1/2 cup a day, but I’ve thought about cutting back a bit to either 1/3 or 1/4 cup. I’m pretty sure he’s gained about a half a pound in the last three months, but he definitely isn’t overweight. My other issue is he *loves* oat hay. It’s usually a treat, a handful of it every other day, but that boosts his protein intake quite a bit.

[DarthVadar]

Posted By BonnieBunny on 1/03/2019 3:41 PM

DarthVadar: I’m finding that very true. I checked out the Kent Nutiritional Group brand at the recommendation of the sanctuary he came from, as well as the Standlee Timothy’s Hay horse pellet, and the Purina Rabbit Chow Complete which, surprisingly, a rabbit rescue in the area recommended. All of them have alfafa as the first ingredient and they all have corn of some kind. While I don’t believe corn is the enemy when it comes to breeding and showing (while i do neither i know people who do and they need the extra carbs), it’s not ideal for house rabbits. I will most likely keep him on the Oxbow after doing a lot of looking around. He gets 1/2 cup a day, but I’ve thought about cutting back a bit to either 1/3 or 1/4 cup. I’m pretty sure he’s gained about a half a pound in the last three months, but he definitely isn’t overweight. My other issue is he *loves* oat hay. It’s usually a treat, a handful of it every other day, but that boosts his protein intake quite a bit.

Finding good quality pellets that don’t cost an arm and a leg is the bane of the pet rabbit world. I live in a very rural area, so low protein % and timothy based pellets are not even available. To get that, I’d be buying the 5 lb bags of bunny food from petsmart. Tangent: when i first got bunnies, i bought everything from petsmart, and the only bunny food there was bags of that stuff with pellets and other crap in it. Why does no one realize how awful that is for bunnies? Anyway. 

I’ve heard 1/2 cup of pellets per 6 lb of bunny, but that seems like way too much. That would have yours eating almost a cup a day. 

[bonnie_bunny]

Oxbow recommends 3/4 of a cup a day for bunnies 10 lbs and over. I’m actually feeding him at the top of their 8-10lb range where they recommend 1/3-1/2 of a cup per day. I can’t imagine feeding him more than that. He’s a big bunny, but he doesn’t need any more weight to him.

[DanaNM]

Yeah my girl is 9 lbs and I still give her 1/4 cup per day, and her weight is stable, so I feel ya on that! I tend to think of the pellets as a multivitamin, just to make sure there aren’t any deficiencies.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LittlePuffyTail]

Same as Dana. My girl is 9lbs and I give her 1/4 daily. Vet said at her checkup last night that she’s a good, solid weight but she’d rather not see her get any bigger. A past bunny I had was about 10lbs and I still only gave him 1/4 which kept him at a healthy weight.

[FlemishDad]

Yeah, greens are expensive unless you have a garden or farm. Cabbage is a cheap green you could try. Some people say it gives their bun gas but it is cheap and nutritious.

If you cook veggies or live with somebody who does you could try to give him peels and stalks. Rabbit can eat and love a lot of stuff we find unappealing or even inedible.

[DarthVadar]

Posted By FlemishDad on 1/06/2019 10:29 PM

Yeah, greens are expensive unless you have a garden or farm. Cabbage is a cheap green you could try. Some people say it gives their bun gas but it is cheap and nutritious.

If you cook veggies or live with somebody who does you could try to give him peels and stalks. Rabbit can eat and love a lot of stuff we find unappealing or even inedible.

I would not recommend feeding cabbage. In rabbits, gas is a huge deal. A bad case of gas can kill a rabbit unless a vet intervenes, and rabbits are great actors; you might not know a bunny is sick until it dies. But rabbits can have romaine, carrot tops, parsley, and celery, as far as table scraps go. 

[bonnie_bunny]

After reading what DanaNM and LittlePuffyTail said, Gizmo is definitely going to be scaling back on the pellets, but i did just buy another big bag of Oxbow, so we’re sticking with that for now. I noticed recently that at a half cup he was devouring most of what was in his bowl but leaving 1-2 tbsp for later. I think we’ll start by going back to 1/3 of a cup and see how he does.

FlemishDad: my significant other has a huge garden and I often take scraps and tops for him. Even the local farmer’s market has stuff. Unfortunately, I’m a college student and don’t have many options when I’m at school. Walmart tends to be my only choice.

DarthVadar: my previous bunny, Bonnie, died of an unknown GI issue, so believe me when I say I already know Gizmo’s normal gut behavior inside and out. He’s been getting green leaf lettuce, turnip greens, dandelion greens, and collard greens either rotated weekly or a mix. He gets parsley and cilantro, and green or red bell peppers. While people have mentioned parsley and collard greens can cause rabbits to be gassy, I haven’t noticed that problem. The one time he’s had an issue was when I made the rookie mistake of giving him a little too much banana one day. I was always told high in vitamin A and low in oxalates (is that how you spell that?) was the way to go. And what bunny could go without the occasional banana wheel (or raspberry or pear or peach, if it’s not a blueberry, Gizmo goes wild for it).

[DarthVadar]

I feed mine a ton of parsley in the summer, and I haven’t had any problems either.

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