Ugh, you guys. I’m super annoyed by all this supplier drama happening in the bunscene(?) of Indonesia.
So,simply out, in the past, Oxbow were imported in smaller quantities by associations of home breeders and hobbyists. All was well. There were only Oxbow (and a bit of Vitakraft) available, but the supply of the stuff is steady, no significant price hikes, etc. It was the good old time.
Then the rabbit community grew bigger, and larger pet shop chains caught our scent. The owner of one of those chains went behind everyone’s back, went to Oxbow, and secured a monopoly right or something that essentially makes him the only distributor in the country. The breeders and hobbyist who attempted to import some in were suddenly turned down.
There was a biiiig shortage of oxbow products during this period, and the owner of that pet shop chain came in with an almost 60% price hike. Everything became really, seriously, expensive, and rare. The vitamins, for example, were about IDR 90.000, but after he took over the price rose to almost IDR 200.000. Hay and pellets were expensive, too.
It was really annoying for all bunny parents, so the breeders imported Burgess and Alfalfa King hay as an alternative. Almost everybody gradually turned to burgess and afk. The prices were more reasonable. But the supply aren’t steady, either. The burgess pellets can go out of stock for months. Some of us still buy oxbow vitamins and pellets and all.
And THEN
The chain shop realises oxbow is probably not generating as much income as they wanted and I’m hearing rumors that they will stop importing oxbow altogether. I thought this would mean the breeders and hobbyist can then take over, but no, the store won’t allow that EXCEPT if they give up Burgess and Alfalfa King..which they won’t because they’ve worked so hard to establish those brands in the community.
So now we’re just floating here, Chito and I. Scared about the day we’ll have to make the switch. I personally don’t like burgess pellets because I have read a lot of things with it being too rich, tummy upsets, far less crude fibers, smellier poops and pees…. Ugh
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