Nutritionally Better ???

[Carolyn]

I have a food question. My Friend’s bunny  passed away this week. He brought in to us his left over food and Hay. The Food he gave us is not the same as what we normally feed the rabbits but we thought it would not hurt to use 1/4 mixture in 3/4 of ours to get the food used up there is nothing wrong with it the bag was not even open yet.  We noticed our bunnies have picked out the new stuff before eatting the old, So they like the new stuff over the old, or they are like kids in a candy store….lol… it’s only been one day…

 

So the question is which food is better for our bunnies nutritionally speaking ???

A) old stuff, nutritional info is

Protien – 16%

oils and fats -2.0%

Fiber – 16%

Moisture – 12%

Ash -7%

Manganese( as mamganous oxide) -140mg/kg

Zinic (as Zinic oxide)  –  120mg/kg

Copper(as cupric) – 20 mg/kg

Vitamin A 12,000iu/kg

Vitamin D3 – 1,200 iu/kg

vitamin E – 24 iu/kg

 

B – new food, give to us.

Crude Protein – min- 16%,

Crude Fat – min – 3.5%

Crude Fibre -min 15%, Max 18%

Moisture -max 10%

Calcium – 0.8%

Phosphorous – 0.5 %

Soduim 0.2%

Vitamin A 17,600iu/kg

Vitamin D3 – 2,200 iu/kg

vitamin E – 55 iu/kg

 

 

 

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

What you want is a food that is high in fiber and low in fat and calcium. From the information that you posted, there doesnt seem to be much difference in the two types of pellets. What are the first 3 ingredients in the two types of pellets? That usually tells you a lot.

 

Here’s a link to a good website about rabbit diets:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html

[BinkyBunny]

Digmexnow gave you a great link! That’s what I was going to offer.  What kind of bunny do you have?  I know that longer haired breeds like Angoras do need higher in protein, but otherwise the levels below is what is recommended by the house rabbit society for adult bunnies (over 7 months), younger bunnies are okay with Alfalfa based which is a bit higher in fat. 

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

As far as the the vitamins A, D3 and E go, I really am not sure about the ideal quantity, and this is something I am very interested in finding out more about.  I research that aspect and get back to you, and if anyone else has some definite info about those vitamins, that would be great.

I can tell you that my Oxbow Timothy based pellets which is one of the brands that is highly recommended for rabbits has this nutritional value:

• Protein (min) 14%
• Fat (min) 1.5%
• Fiber 25% – 29%
• Calcium 0.35% – 0.85%
• Phosphorus (min)0.25%
• Vitamin A, IU/Kg. 20,000
• Vit D, IU/kg. 880
• Vit E   IU/kg. 140

[Author]

Messages