Pellets Calcium in KMS pellets

pigger123 · Aug 11, 2015

I was looking at the guaranteed analysis of KMS pellets and noticed that the Timothy Choice and the Alfalfa Complete have the exact same min/max of calcium: .41/.54 %. The only differences are that the AC has higher protein, slightly higher fat and vitamin A, and lower fiber. Oxbow alfalfa pellets do have a lot more calcium than their timothy ones, but for some reason KMS seem to be the same.

bpatters · Aug 11, 2015

Why don't you write KMS and ask them? Maybe it's a misprint on the label.

Alston54 · Aug 12, 2015

So I know the KMS pellets are geared towards guinea pigs with the extra vitamin c and all but can rabbits have them? The fiber, protein, calcium, and fat content is perfectly fine and in the FAQ section it says lots of rabbit owners feed the pellets to their rabbits but I just wanna be absolutely sure before I order them for Bun Bun.

pigger123 · Aug 12, 2015

spy9doc said:
The amount of calcium isn't the problem with Oxbow.........it's the source of the calcium. Take a look at my post on this thread for a breakdown of ingredients:

(broken link removed)

KMS timothy and alfalfa complete both list the calcium content as: Calcium (min) 0.7

I didn't say anything about the amount of calcium in Oxbow compared to KMS pellets, I was saying that Oxbow's timothy pellets have significantly less calcium than Oxbow alfalfa pellets, as opposed to KMS which claims that both types have the same amount of calcium. Just clarifying that. The alfalfa and timothy pellets are listed as having a minimum of .41% and a maximum of .54% calcium on the KMS website: (broken link removed)

pigger123 · Aug 12, 2015

Alston54 said:
So I know the KMS pellets are geared towards guinea pigs with the extra vitamin c and all but can rabbits have them? The fiber, protein, calcium, and fat content is perfectly fine and in the FAQ section it says lots of rabbit owners feed the pellets to their rabbits but I just wanna be absolutely sure before I order them for Bun Bun.

If the ingredients and nutrition are all good, I don't see why not.

gwennifer · Aug 12, 2015

I think it's a good question. From what I've researched, the whole point of feeding young guinea pigs the alfalfa based diet instead of the timothy based diet, is that alfalfa is higher in the calcium that young guinea pigs need and adults do not. So then why do the KMS pellets have the same calcium content, regardless of whether made with alfalfa or timothy? Pigger123, have you written to KMS already to ask them? I will if you have not. If you have, please share their response here. I was about to place an order, but would like to see the answer to this first.

pigger123 · Aug 12, 2015

I sent them a message but they haven't written back yet. I'll post when they do.

gwennifer · Aug 12, 2015

pigger123 said:
I sent them a message but they haven't written back yet. I'll post when they do.

Thank you. I didn't want to pester them if they'd already been asked because I didn't want them to feel that they'd been maligned and needed to be defensive. I'm genuinely just curious.

pinky · Aug 12, 2015

I think the real issue is that most pellets get their calcium from calcium carbonate which is implicated in the formation of stones. KM pellets don't contain calcium carbonate.

pigger123 · Aug 12, 2015

@pinky I'm not concerned about the amount of calcium in KMS pellets, I'm just confused as to how alfalfa based pellets could have the same calcium content as timothy based pellets.

pinky · Aug 13, 2015

pigger123 said:
@pinky I'm not concerned about the amount of calcium in KMS pellets, I'm just confused as to how alfalfa based pellets could have the same calcium content as timothy based pellets.

They both contain d-Calcium pantothenate and the amount might be adjusted so that both have approx. the same amount of calcium that's needed for guinea pigs. Guinea pigs need a ratio of calcium to phosphorus for bone health so the goal isn't to eliminate all the calcium in their diet. If they have too much phosphorus and too little calcium, their body will deplete calcium from their bones.

gwennifer · Aug 14, 2015

pinky said:
They both contain d-Calcium pantothenate and the amount might be adjusted so that both have approx. the same amount of calcium that's needed for guinea pigs. Guinea pigs need a ratio of calcium to phosphorus for bone health so the goal isn't to eliminate all the calcium in their diet. If they have too much phosphorus and too little calcium, their body will deplete calcium from their bones.

I agree the amount must be adjusted but I think the question still remains as to why. Are you saying that baby guinea pigs do not need more calcium than adult guinea pigs? Because like I said earlier, I thought that was the whole point of feeding an alfalfa based pellet to the young ones... Is that incorrect? Of course I know there are plenty of other ways to get them extra calcium rather than from their pellets. Yet as piggie123 pointed out in the OP, the Oxbow brand does make a point of their juvenile feed having more calcium than their adult feed. I'm just curious if I'm misunderstanding something. Of course, I can't see that KMS Hayloft is advertising their alfalfa pellets as being for juveniles, so maybe it's a simple as that.

BTW I noticed on the KMS Hayloft site they've had a family emergency and won't be resuming shipping until Monday the 17th, so likely that explains why they haven't responded to the query.

pinky · Aug 14, 2015

gwennifer said:
I agree the amount must be adjusted but I think the question still remains as to why. Are you saying that baby guinea pigs do not need more calcium than adult guinea pigs? Because like I said earlier, I thought that was the whole point of feeding an alfalfa based pellet to the young ones... Is that incorrect? Of course I know there are plenty of other ways to get them extra calcium rather than from their pellets. Yet as piggie123 pointed out in the OP, the Oxbow brand does make a point of their juvenile feed having more calcium than their adult feed. I'm just curious if I'm misunderstanding something. Of course, I can't see that KMS Hayloft is advertising their alfalfa pellets as being for juveniles, so maybe it's a simple as that.

BTW I noticed on the KMS Hayloft site they've had a family emergency and won't be resuming shipping until Monday the 17th, so likely that explains why they haven't responded to the query.

Personally, I've never relied on pellets as the extra calcium source for pups. I think offering alfalfa hay or vegetables high in calcium is a more natural way for them to get it.

pigger123 · Aug 15, 2015

She just wrote back and said that they do both have the same calcium content. They add less calcium to the alfalfa ones, as Pinky suggested.

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