Pellets — what to look for

[Anna Demas]

 So I have been feeding Marshmallow ZuPreem Natures Promise grain. I read however, that that is higher in sugar, and since Marshmallow got fixed about amonth ago I don’t want him turining into a chubby bunny. I got Oxbow Bunny food today and was going to start switching him over to that. The thing that just gets me really frustrated is the cost of all of this! I have horses, and quality grain costs 10 bucks for a 50lb bag! I was wondering if anyone had ever used the Blue Seal Feeds Show Hutch Delux grain. I wasn’t sure on the price or anything, but I know we used to feed Blue Seal to our horses and it was good for them… Is that a good bunny grain? What is important when checking for a good bunny grain?

Anyone know?

Thanks!

 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Haven’t used that brand, but I do buy bulk, in the horse section of a farm/pet store place. It’s 17$/55lbs so it’s great.

You want to look for plain pellets that are timothy based (should be the first ingredient). Take the analysis from oxbow (Which is pretty much the best food but defo expensive) and compare it with other brands. If you find something close that should be good!

[Beka27]

the binkybunny diet page…. https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Diet/tabid/60/Default.aspx has the nbutritional requirements for pellets. what you can find may not be the exact amounts recommended, but as long as it’s CLOSE and is not below the minimums or exceed the maximums, it should be okay.

from that page:

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

you can write these numbers down and take that to the store with you. i know i can never remember the exact amounta without a “cheat sheet”.

pellets should only be a small portion of the daily diet. foremost is hay and green, leafy veggies. it’s worth it to spend a little bit more for a good pellet. much of what the petstores sell is the junk food (with seeds, nuts, corn, and cereal pieces). those you want to avoid.

the oxbow is very good food. if you can purchase online, you might be able to get larger amounts and you can save that way and not have to purchase as frequently.
 

 

i looked up that Blue Seal food…  from their website  blueseal.com/smallanimal/

Analysis of Feeds

Product	Texture	Crude Protein Min. %	Crude Fat Min. %	Crude Fiber Max. %
Show Hutch Deluxe®	Extruded	17.0	3.0	18.0
Hutch Plus™ 18	Pelleted	18.0	3.0	15.0
Hutch Extra™ 17	Pelleted	17.0	2.5	18.0
Bunny 16	Pelleted	16.0	2.5	18.0
Rabbit 15	Pelleted	15.0	2.0	20.0
Guinea Pig Pels	Pelleted	20.0	4.0	16.0
Sunshine Plus™	Pelleted	30.0	3.0	6.0

 

the only one that looks like it would be appropriate for a house rabbit is the Rabbit 15.  the others are too high in protein and fat and lower in fiber (the more fiber the better.)  this is just based on what the website says.  you could also contact them and ask for further nutritional info.  i can’t see anywhere on the site that these foods are timothy based, so that’s another question you can ask them.

[Sarita]

I looked these up on line and I cannot tell if they are alfalfa or timothy based – you definitely want to avoid alfalfa though.

[Anna Demas]

Thanks for all of the info! I just realized that there was a post on the previous page talking about pellets that would have answered most of my questions… well thanks for those who answered me and sorry for asking the question before researching!!

Thanks!!!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Oh hey don’t worry about it! We’re here to answer questions regardless how much it’s been asked before, we’re always glad to help!

[Author]

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