Measuring Extruded vs. Pelleted food???

[Yoda Sr.]

Hey guys! I recently adopted a Holland Lop, Yoda, and he is about 2.5 months old today The other day, I went to the vet for a general checkup, and the vet (endorsed by HRS) recommended I give Yoda 1/8 cup of pellets every day. I feel comfortable following my vet’s advice, even if many sources suggest unlimited pellets at this stage. Yoda is currently 2.2 lb and very healthy, and I was told unlimited hay would prevent him from getting hungry. 

HOWEVER!! Yoda is currently eating Blue Seal Show Hutch Deluxe. I looked at the product details for the feed, and at the very bottom, it said the following: 

Important:

Be sure to weigh the feed properly. A standard measuring cup holds about 4 oz. of

Show Hutch

Deluxe®

. Extruded feeds weigh significantly less than pelleted feeds and should be fed by weight, not by volume.

Feeding by volume will result in severely underfed rabbits.

Important: Be sure to weight the feed properly. A standard measuring cup holds about 4 oz. of Show Hutch Deluxe. Extruded feeds weigh significantly less than pelleted feeds and should be fed by weight, not volume. Feeding by volume will result in severely underfed rabbits. 

So my question is, how do you convert pelleted feed measurements to extruded feed measurements?! As I am already limiting pellets, the last thing I want is for a growing boy to be “severely underfed”! It would be great if anyone has advice, or knows how many ounces 1/8 cup of pelleted feed weighs, so I can make the conversion. Thanks for the help! 

P.S. Here is a picture of Mr. Yoda! 

[Wick & Fable]

That seems like a pretty exclusive-show-bunny used feed, so majority of users on BB most likely won’t be familiar.

Ingredients:
Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Wheat Middlings, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Soybean Hulls, Wheat Flour, Oat Mill By-Product, Cane Molasses, Corn Gluten Meal, Papaya, Vegetable Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Yeast Culture, Salt, Monocalcium Phosphate, Magnesium Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Cobalt Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Brewers Dried Yeast, Dried Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract.

…. With pellet feedings, I don’t think you need to be too exact, especially with your rabbit’s age. Maybe bump it to 1/4 cup, or 1/8 cup plus a smidge. If he’s losing weight, then add more, and if he’s getting fatter unhealthily/peeing too much chalky pee (excess calcium), then back it off a bit.

Wick gets anywhere from 1/8c to 1/4c, depending on how cute his face looks that day, haha.

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]

I’m not familiar with the food you mention, but I do have both pelleted pellets and extruded pellets at home. So I weighed two tablespoons of each. The pelleted food weighs 22 grams (0.8 oz). The same volume of extruded pellets weighs 10 grams (0.35 oz). So the difference is considerable. From my experiment you could draw the conclusion that 2 tablespoons (=1/8 cup) of pelleted food equals a bit more than 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of extruded food.

But as Wick says, for a growing rabbit, the measuring doesn’t have to be exact. It’s important that he eats hay, so he shouldn’t be allowed to fill up on too much pellets. Weekly weighing is good. I weigh my bun in a kitchen bowl on digital kitchen scales and note down the weight in my wall calendar. For a young bun it can be worthwhile to make a weight curve.

[Yoda Sr.]

Wick and bam, thank you so much for your advice!  It’s reassuring to know that the measurements don’t have to be exact, and I’ll definitely start doing weekly weigh-ins to keep an eye on Yoda. Thank you especially, bam, for providing the measurements—I’m going to up his volume to 1/4 cup, and hopefully I can transition him to Oxbow feed in the near future to make comparisons easier. Thanks again for helping out a first-time bun parent; I love how helpful and friendly everyone is on here 

[Author]

Messages