Homemade Rabbit Pellets

[JackWabbit13]

Hi y’all, me again.

So, I’ve been opened up to the world of homemade pet foods. I heard that there are tons of benefits to a homemade pet food. Same thing with humans, better for us not to eat processed crap. Plus, pet food is STUPID expensive.

I already give Jumping Jack her greens, I know that. But for her pellets, I want her to stop eating processed junk. I don’t know if these pellets are just big businesses’ trash, like dog or cat food, but I’d imagine they are. So I want to get rid of it.

And have you seen the price of Purina Rabbit Chow? It’s not too cheap. Plus, the feed store in Belgrade switched from Purina to Payback feed, and I don’t know if they did that with rabbit feed as well or not, so I don’t want to deal with that huge swap.

So, can I make my own rabbit pellets or good substitute to them? Do I need some fancy kitchen machine with some high falutin’ name? (No worries if I do, my grandma runs the storage units and comes across abandoned units with kitchen stuff all the time. She gives away the junk she won’t use)

And the hard thing about homemade pet food is making sure that it’s balanced. So if you have a recipe, please make sure a serving has balanced nutrition for rabbits.

Thanks y’all!

[DanaNM]

While a lot of rabbit pellets used to be geared towards breeding and did not have great ingredients, there are a lot of brands now that are tailored to house rabbits and use high quality ingredients. Since most of these brands only recommend feeding a small amount to the rabbit, the pellet is actually one of the cheapest parts of my rabbit’s diet. I tend to think of the pellets as a multivitamin that helps make sure there are no nutrient deficiencies in their diet, especially good for when people live in parts of the world where they don’t have access to a good variety of greens.

Rabbit pellets are made by compressing, so I can’t imagine how you would make something like that at home, nor have I every heard of any one doing it.

But if you can’t access a brand you like, rather than make pellets, if you really wanted to you can just feed a pellet free diet. For adult rabbits, it is relatively easy to go pellet free, as long as you can access a variety of greens in your area and your vet is OK with it. Giving a variety of hays is also good if you go pellet free.

. . . 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.  

[LBJ10]

I agree with Dana. There are several great pellets out there now, including “fewer ingredients” varieties. The pellets have vitamins and minerals to make sure bunny is getting everything they need.

If you are able, you can go pellet-free. But you have to be able to provide a WIDE variety of veggies and hay. Otherwise, your bunny may not be getting all of the nutrients she needs.

A lot of the DIY rabbit feeds I’ve heard mention of included things like grains and seeds because they are meant to “fatten them up”. This isn’t an appropriate diet for a house bunny, so keep that in mind in your Google searches.

[pinkiemarie]

Do you make it in to Bozeman often? I believe the PetSmart there carries oxbow essentials which is kind of expensive, but since you’ll only feed like 1/4 cup per day it will last quite a while with one rabbit. I usually pay about $20 I think for a 10 lb bag and it lasts me over a month with 3 rabbits. If not you can order it or a variety of other quality pellets online.

[JackWabbit13]

I’ve done some research and I think I’ll stick with pellets, I’ll just get off of the farming brands since Jumping Jack is overweight as is. I don’t need her eating a ton of molasses and grains and whatnot for meat and breeding rabbits.

I think the PetSmart in Bozeman sells Oxbow Garden Select pellets. I hear good things and have done some research on them, and I think I’d buy them. But I don’t really know, seeming as they aren’t speaking from experience on them websites. What do you suggest? What pellets do you use?

[DanaNM]

I think a lot of folks like the Oxbow Garden Select if they are trying to stay away from certain ingredients. Oxbow adult essentials is very popular as well.

If you want to get into the weeds comparing brands, this chart shows most of the major brands and nutritional break down: http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp

Here’s another chart that also lists ingredients: http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Rabbit_pellets_comparison_charts

This page also discusses what the recommendations are for various nutrients in pellets: http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Pellets

It can be hard to find a pellet that is EXACTLY perfect, but a lot of the things that might be lacking can be made up for in the rest of the diet.

 

. . . 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.  

[Bam]

You could feed only a little bit of pellets, especially if your bun is on the plump side. 1 -2 tablespoons per day would be enough for a 4 pound bun, if she is willing to eat a good amount of hay.

Many of us use pellets as a “bunny multi vitamin tablet”, we only give enough to ensure the buns get everything they need. The best rabbit food is grass hay. It can feel a bit unglamorous though, but hay actually has quite a bit of protein and vitamins and minerals. As an example: Straw seems like much the same thing as hay to us humans – but it isnt. Straw is not nutritious enough to sustain a rabbit long term.

If you live in a place where you can forage for leaves and weeds during the warmer seasons, you can gather plants when they are in season and dry the surplus for use as a hay topper or side dish during winter. I do quite a bit of that and its highly appreciated by my bun.

[JackWabbit13]

In fall, we normally gather leaves and grass for our little critters. They do appreciate it!

How much would you suggest for a 5 pound bunny?

[Bam]

I have never measured how much I forage for my buns. I pick leaves (apple, willow and hazel mostly), dandelion, goutweed, chickweed, yarrow, wild growing chicory etc and dry them on a food dehydrator. I dry them thoroughly, or else they will spoil. I store the dried leaves in plastic bags.

ETA silly omission of the word never!

In short, I pick many leaves when I find excellent quality leaves. In my hemisphere that occurs mainly in the spring, before any pests (fungus, insects) have started to do their destructive work. 🙂

 

[kanin]

I and the buns love and highly recommend the Oxbow garden select pellets! There’s no molasses and soy fillers in them and the multiple types of grass hays as well as rosemary and thyme make them a healthy and appealing choice. I think they’re a little more expensive than other Oxbow options but it’s well worth it in my opinion.

[Susanne]

I may try the Garden Select next time I need to buy pellets, the ingredients do look better. I kinda want to take them off pellets, but they love them and I have one rabbit who won’t eat greens.  I only give them 1/4 cup to split each day (they are both ~5lbs) but one eats much faster so I think he is getting most of that.  I give the slow eater who doesn’t like veggies another ~teaspoon or so as an afternoon snack while the other gets his salad.  Anyway, It’s hard to even cut back when the two eat at such different speeds so hopefully all those ingredients aren’t too bad for them when getting the small amount.

[JackWabbit13]

I love the stuff for rabbits. It works great and Jumping Jack likes it (despite her being an incredibly slow eater. She needs to eat whatever throughout the day)

[JackWabbit13]

Alright, I ordered some Garden Select for my rabbit and the Garden Select for chinchillas for my Pedro.

Only to find out that chinchillas can’t have Garden Select.

Does Chewy do returns?

[kanin]

Why can’t chinchillas have it?

If the product hasn’t shipped you can cancel it, but they do returns too. You have to message them I think.

[LBJ10]

Oxbow Garden Select chinchilla food is not alfalfa-based. That’s why you’ll see websites not recommending it. The Oxbow Essentials is perfectly fine for chinchillas. I had chinchillas many years ago and I used Mazuri.

[JackWabbit13]

Yeah, I was considering Oxbow Essentials or Mazuri. I actually have been dealing with the garden select and trying to make my parents let me buy some new food. I have tried getting my chinchilla not like it so my parents will see that he won’t eat it and get something healthier. They won’t change it again unless he has a bad health reaction (don’t want to let that happen) or won’t eat it.

 

Edited by LBJ

[LBJ10]

Will a single bag have long lasting health effects? Probably not. I’m not sure what difference it makes if you switch to a new food after you’ve finished the Garden Select. As long as you leave enough to make the transition. The prices between products is pretty similar. Mazuri is only slightly more and the Oxbow Essentials is actually cheaper.

[JackWabbit13]

The only problem is that I bought the 20 pound bag and feed my chinchilla 2 tablespoons of pellets a day. I’m guessing the bag will last me about a year.

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