Do bunny pellets go bad?

[Cardi Bunny]

I have oxbow pellets for young rabbits and I’ve had a bag of them for about 2 or 3 months, I stopped giving them to my bun after she has an upset tummy from veggies. I started to re-introduce her to them last week and she’s like choked on them twice now. She used to eat them fine before and it scared the crap out of me seeing her trying to get it out of her mouth. So I wonder if bad/ expired pellets can be a choking hazard? I know for human babies old baby puffs and things like that can be dangerous after their experation date, so I wonder if it’s the same for bunny food. I’m going to try a new bag and see if it’s that but I’m kind of scared to try again.

[Nichole]

Not that I’ve ever found, and I usually buy the biggest bag I can get to prevent having to buy them all the time. I believe the shelf life is around six months after opening. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong. I’m not sure why she would be choking. I hope you get some answers soon.

[kurottabun]

I don’t think bad pellets are the reason for choking. She’s probably choking because she loves the pellets and is chomping it down too fast. Kurotta used to do that when I put his pellets in the bowl all at once. Try scattering the pellets instead or using treat balls. You can make a simple treat ball with a toilet paper tube and put the pellets inside so she has to slowly work her way to it. Example: https://www.instagram.com/p/BicAesNlXPg/?hl=en&taken-by=kurotta.bun

I personally have experienced pellets going bad though. I bought the biggest bag of Oxbow Adult pellets (it was more worth the value), thinking of feeding it over a year. Initially I took the pellets straight from the bag, but about a month in of constantly forgetting to seal it back, I decided to store a portion in a separate sealed container and just kept the main bag sealed until it’s time for a refill.

Another 2 months go by and I found small reddish-brown bugs (they looked like beetles) in the sealed container. I opened the main bag and to my horror it was INFESTED with the same bugs. Ended up throwing the whole bag away – there was about half a bag left and it hadn’t even reached the expiry date yet. Now I just buy the smaller bag lol.

[Nichole]

That is so creepy! I usually dump mine into a separate container that I feed from daily and keep the original bag sealed until I need to refill the other container. We also don’t really have a lot of bugs where I live. What a horrid experience. 

[Wick & Fable]

After buying a bag, I recommend doing a look and feel inside for anything glaring, like pre existing bugs and/or moisture. Moisture is a source of lots of bad, so if all is well when you purchase it, it should not go bad as long as you store it properly and keep it as a dry good, similar to hay.

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.

[Cardi Bunny]

Thank you guys, I’ll try to scatter them and check for moisture !

[Author]

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