Nutrena?

[Sam and Lady's Human]

 Does anyone use this? It’s what they used at the pet store, so I either can keep using it or need to start weaning her onto another food? Thanks!

[Michelle&Lolli]

I’ve never used that before.  But as long as it’s made with timothy hay and meets the dietary requirements here on the site, they should be fine.  If they are made with alfalfa hay/meal, they should be switched.  However, if your bunny is still a baby (8 months and under) you can still feed him/her the alfalfa pellets.  Or you can choose to switch at any time as the alfalfa just has a higher fat content and helps to put weight on babies.  If you decide to switch, you will have to mix the old with the new and gradually reduce the old.  Here is the link for the diet guidelines:

https://www.binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Diet/tabid/60/Default.aspx

 

[Beka27]

I’ve never heard of it. Can you copy and paste the nutritional facts?

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I can’t find the nutritional facts online. It’s not a bag, it’s like those clear plastic bags where you just pour how much you want. It does have the nutritional facts on the canister there though, so maybe I just need to stop in.

[Beka27]

I see. I have copy/pasted the requirements from the link Michelle posted… write these down and take with you to the store. You want them to be as close as possible to these numbers. Does your store not carry bagged food?

Recommended Nutrional Value: (Compare these against yours)

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

[Sam and Lady's Human]

It’s a local pet supply (support local businesses!), they do have bag food as well, I just didn’t buy the bag. No reason other than the gal who works there walked me over to the dispenser and said “This is what they are eating now”, and when I called today to find out the name she said it was Nutrena and that they have 10lb bags as well.

Thanks so much for the C&P, I took a pic with my phone, LOL. I’ll check it out tomorrow.

[tobyluv]

I’ve never heard of Nutrena. I see from their website that they have two formulas, Naturewise Premium Rabbit Pellets and Naturewise Performance Rabbit Formula. Both of these seem geared to show rabbits and breeding of rabbits. They mention that the pellets provide miaximum coat quality, support milk production, and support high conception rates leading to big litters of strong rabbits, etc. They also say that no hay is necessary, but later states that you can feed hay such as alfalfa, clover, sweet clover, lespedeza, soybean and peanut hay. I’ve never heard of most of those hays, and alfalfa is only for very young rabbits. Another thing they say is to keep the rabbit hutches clean. They are clearly catering to the breeders and not to house rabbits. This doesn’t sound like a company that knows anything about rabbits as companion animals, and I wouldn’t think that their pellets would be suitable, for adult rabbits especially–unless your pet supply store has a completely different formula. But I only saw the two varieties on that website.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

All right, I found this –

crude Protein: Min 17%
crude fat: Min 2.5
crude fiber: min 16% Max 18%
Calcium: min .75% Max 1.25%
Phosphorus: Min .6%
salt Min .5% Max 1%
sodium Min .2% Max .4%
Vit A Min 9,000IU/LB

Further research looks like I should switch to purina?

[peppypoo]

I looked at the Purina pellets, and there seems to be a several varieties with varying nutritional values. As long as the pellet meets the nutritional requirements that people have discussed above, and doesn’t have a bunch of stuff mixed in, it should be fine. Oxbow is a popular/highly recommended pellet by many vets and rabbit rescue organizations, so that’s always a good option. I think Kaytee also has a line of decent quality pellets, though they also sell a lot of not-so-good mixes. Again, just look carefully at what’s in the ingredients and you should be good .

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Are there different guidelines for pet bunnies and show bunnies?

[Tate]

I would assume it’s similar to a weight lifter’s diet compared to someone who is moderately active. Weight lifter = excess. Likewise, if you’re feeding a pellet that’s really geared towards expectant/lactating mommy bunnies, there’s probably a whole lotta extra calories.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Ahh good point! I didn’t think of that.

[peppypoo]

Yup, agreed with Tate. I would expect that the feeds used to raise rabbits for agricultural reasons (show and meat rabbits) are higher in protein and fat, so that the rabbits grow faster and can deal better with higher-stress environments. Ultimately, this kind of diet isn’t the best for a rabbit’s health and longetivity, but sadly the goal of agricultural rabbit raising isn’t exactly to have a happy healthy long-lived bunny. The weight lifter example is great…imagine if we ate like Olympic athletes every day!

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