Do you guys discriminate against different pellet brands…?

[SuperCheesetastic]

… Or hay brands?

 

I’ve read that certain brands of guinea-pig foods contain ingredients that cause health problems over time in guinea-pigs.

Most commercial cat foods contain fillers that will lead to heart disease, diabetes, obesity… When fed over a long period of time.

I’m wondering if there are much avoided brands of rabbit food (or hay) for the same reason.

[Beka27]

Absolutely. There are many brands/varieties of food that are not healthy for rabbits. You don’t want to use pellets that include corn, nuts, seeds, or cereal pieces. Young rabbits can have alfalfa pellets (up to about 6-12 months old). After that, the pellets should be timothy-based. Nutritional facts will help you determine the best pellets for your rabbit. You want high fiber, but low protein. Oxbow and American Pet Diner make very good pellets, and there are some other lesser known brands I’ve heard of as well. Generally, petstore pellets aren’t great, altho some stores are carrying Oxbow now.

[Sarita]

Well, I don’t discriminate but I have some preferred brands that I use that seem high quality and meet the requirements recommended by my vet and the House Rabbit Society.

I do have a few companies that I buy my hay from because I feel their hay is better quality. I cannot buy locally grown hay because they don’t grow timothy hay in Texas which is what I feed my rabbits so I have to order it on-line.

[Elrohwen]

I don’t discriminate, but I do look closely at ingredients, quality, and content of protein vs fiber vs fat. I would always recommend Oxbow products. There are other good pellets brands, but I don’t have experience with them.

For hay, I usually get Oxbow timothy, but I think my next batch will be a bale from a local farm.

[SuperCheesetastic]

I’ve been eyeing Zupreem on Petco’s website.
http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?sku=1120719&CoreCat=Related_Products
I don’t see Oxbow on their website.
I was wondering if this was decent. There’s a guy I know who hangs out at a hopping plaza near the Petco, so I’d like to go visit him and the Petco.

[Sarita]

Petsmart sells Oxbow if you have a Petsmart near you.

[SuperCheesetastic]

Yeah, we have the Petsmart and Pet Supplies Plus, as well.

[Sarita]

If you go on-line at Oxbow you can search by your zipcode for stores or vets that carry their supplies.

[tobyluv]

I like Zupreem Timothy hay, but I’ve never used their pellets. I like Oxbow for pellets.

[kamdynandsunshinesmom]

I do discriminate there are certain brands that I will not feed to my buns and brand that my buns don’t like or don’t do well with. I have always fed oxbow and I wont feed anything else pellets or hay. I have tried other brands of pellets and my bunny didn’t do well on them. I have also tried other brands of hay my rabbits did eat it. My opinion is it doesn’t compare to oxbow so my personal opinion I wont feed anything else!

[Quantum]

After reading the House Rabbit Society and Binky Bunny sites reccommendations, I used Oxbow. Most other brands (Purina and the like) are meant to encourage fast growth and weight-gain for meat rabbits–not something I want for my pet!

[LoveChaCha]

I use American Pet Diner, as it is the only hay that my rabbit is not picky about. It is pricey, and I have to buy it online, but it makes her happy.

There are some hay brands that are very dusty and the pieces are not very good.

[KytKattin]

I do look down on some brands, and mostly avoid them altogether. Sometimes it seems odd that I won’t buy a brush from Hartz, but they used to have a cat flea medication that nearly killed my cat and left her with a permanent heart murmur.Though it is more limited with rabbit supplies than it is with dog food. I think most dry dog foods are disgustingly deceptive about what they can offer your pet.

[Beka27]

I have issues with some brands because of the low quality foods they make for all kinds of small animals, not just rabbits. Sure, brands like Kaytee make a higher quality food, but they also make “junk” foods. Oxbow, for example, ONLY offers high quality food, one in a junior formula and one in an adult formula, not to mention organic options as well.

[peppypoo]

Absolutely! If you have trouble getting your hands on Oxbow, you need to make sure what whatever brand of food you decide to purchase is timothy-based and at least meets certain nutritional standards (look on the back of the bag). From the “bunny info” link up top:

Fiber 18% minimum (20 -25% best)
Fat 1 – 2% max,
Protein 12 – 14% max (long-haired breeds,angoras, need higher)
Calcium 1% max

And of course, like everybody else has said, the best kinds of pellets are the ones that don’t have any fillers like seeds, nuts, or colorful pieces. Some people are wary of Purina, though my local rabbit rescue sells it, so I’m assuming that they have at least one line of food that is of decent quality. Kaytee also has a decent pellet, though they sell multiple types, most of which are filled with bunny junk food. Basically, you don’t HAVE to get Oxbow if you have a difficult time finding it (though it is very much recommended), but if you know what to look for you can make sure that your bunny is getting a healthy pellet .

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I put a lot of research into what I feed/give my bunnies, yes

[LittlePuffyTail]

I feed Oxbow Adult. I used to feed Martin’s, which my buns loved, but once I got a bag that Bindi would not touch, and he is a total pellet pig so I threw it out and then when I opened a brand new bag that had green mold on the pellets, I switched to Oxbow. Moldy pellets are dangerous so always go with a high quality pellet.

[SuperCheesetastic]

I’m sorta trying to boycott petsmart so i’ve been trying to avoid that store although they have some of the most affordable prices.

[Author]

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