Pellets Oxbow pellets

[Yumi1091]

Hi, my guinea pigs are running out of pellets fast and the only oxbow supplier confirms that they and all the other stores they supply to are currently out of stock and their new shipment arrives in 2 weeks (which mine won't last till then), instead they offered me to take the Natural Science rabbit food which they still got a couple on hand. I looked up the ingredient lists of both, they seemed very similar (and the rabbit ver. doesn't have vit. C analysis listed although it is present in the ingredient list). I just switched their diet from Cavy Cuisine to Natural Science about 3 months ago, and they accepted it quite well and got used to it. I can change back to CC temporary but I'll be leaving for vacation in a week or so and my GPs will be going to boarding house so I'm a little worried that the new environment + new food might stress them out. As for the rabbit food, I'm not sure is it nutritionally complete/suitable for GP despite the similar ingredients (but the similar ingredients might make it more acceptable during their stay at the boarding house), some states that it is best to avoid rabbit food for GP cause they might contain antibiotics in rabbit foods, but I'm not sure about Natural Science.
In need of some opinions.

I originally posted this on Oxbow's fb yesterday, still no reply till now and I need to make my decision soon as they might last tonight.

Also, oxbow is currently the best option available in my country since we have a very limited amount of choices. Other brands include Harringtons, Burgess and such, which I think is not as good as Oxbow's, so switching brands is not a very good option.

 

[bpatters]

Rabbit food will be ok for a while, but they'll need supplemental vitamin C. If they eat bell peppers (capsicum), you could double up on that. Or get a plain vitamin C tablet (children's chewables often work well because they're flavored), crush it, and either sprinkle it on their food or dissolve it in a little water and syringe it to them. You could ask the boarding house which they prefer, and then you've got several days to get your pigs used to it.

Actually, there are quite a few people who think the Cavy Cuisine is better than the Natural Science. The max calcium is high at .8%, and it uses calcium carbonate as the calcium source. As I understand it, Oxbow is taking the calcium carbonate out of Cavy Cuisine, but I haven't heard whether they're doing the same for Natural Science.

 

[pigmommy89]

I personally prefer the Cavy Cuisine, not only for the calcium content, but also because I can buy it in bulk (25 lb bags) and get it much cheaper than the Natural Science. The ingredients are very similar, if I remember correctly, but it has been almost two years since I got back into guinea pigs, so it's been a while since I did the research.

 

[Yumi1091]

Thank you and here's a quick comparison for Oxbow's.


NATURAL SCIENCE - ADULT GUINEA PIG FOOD

Ingredients
Timothy Grass, Orchard Grass, Oat Grass, Oat Hulls, Canola Meal, Whole Yellow Pea, Whole Barley, Tomato Pomace (dehydrated), Cane Molasses, Flax Seed, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Sodium Bentonite, Lignin Sulfonate, Yeast Culture, Dried Rosemary, Dried Thyme, L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate (Vitamin C), Inulin, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein (min) 12.00%
Crude Fat (min) 3.00%
Crude Fiber (min) 22.00%
Crude Fiber (max) 26.00%
Moisture (max) 10.00%
Calcium (min) 0.40%
Calcium (max) 0.80%
Phosphorus (min) 0.35%
Copper (min) 35 mg/kg
Vitamin A (min) 19,000 IU/kg (min)
Vitamin D (min) 900 IU/kg (min)
Vitamin E (min) 190 IU/kg (min)
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) (min) 400 mg/kg
Omega 3 Fatty Acid (min) 0.45%
Omega 6 Fatty Acid (min) 0.90%


NATURAL SCIENCE - ADULT RABBIT FOOD

Ingredients
Timothy Grass, Orchard Grass, Oat Grass, Oat Hulls, Canola Meal, Whole Yellow Pea, Whole Barley, Tomato Pomace (dehydrated), Cane Molasses, Flax Seed, Yeast Culture (dehydrated), Sodium Bentonite, Salt, Lignin Sulfonate, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Rosemary, Dried Thyme, L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate (Vitamin C), Inulin, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein (min) 12.00%
Crude Fat (min) 3.00%
Crude Fiber (min) 22.00%
Crude Fiber (max) 26.00%
Moisture (max) 10.00%
Calcium (min) 0.40%
Calcium (max) 0.80%
Phosphorus (min) 0.35%
Copper (min) 35 mg/kg
Vitamin A (min) 19,000 IU/kg (min)
Vitamin D (min) 900 IU/kg (min)
Vitamin E (min) 190 IU/kg (min)
Omega 3 Fatty Acid (min) 0.45%
Omega 6 Fatty Acid (min) 0.90%
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The only difference shown in ingredients is selenium yeast and hydrolyzed yeast. L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate (Vitamin C) is actually on the same level so I assume they are of the same amount, kind of surprising while vit.C isn't even present in their Essentials Rabbit food. I provide mine with 4-6 veggies/day so I'm not that worried about vit.C.
My 2 gets a little less pellets than the recommended amount, so they take 3-4 months to finish a 5lb (which is why bigger bags are not too ideal for mine). I can even consider taking out pellets from their diet but they absolutely love the pellets, so I'm letting them enjoy it.
But, I don't know if there's any added but unstated antibiotics in the Natural Science rabbit food, which is my biggest concern.
_____

ESSENTIALS - ADULT GUINEA PIG FOOD

Ingredients
Timothy Grass Meal, Soybean Hulls, Wheat Middlings, Soybean Meal, Cane Molasses, Sodium Bentonite, Soybean Oil, Salt, Lignin Sulfonate, Limestone, Yeast Culture (dehydrated), L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate (Vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein (min) 14.00%
Crude Fat (min) 2.00%
Crude Fiber (min) 25.00%
Crude Fiber (max) 28.00%
Moisture (max) 10.00%
Calcium (min) 0.35%
Calcium (max) 0.85%
Phosphorus (min) 0.25%
Copper (min) 30 ppm
Vitamin A (min) 19,000 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vit C.) (min) 400 mg/kg
Vitamin D (min) 900 IU/kg
Vitamin E (min) 190 IU/kg
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Personally I prefer Natural Science which is why I made the change. More variety of grass, no soy and wheat. Both contains calcium carbonate/limestone, I've heard they're taking out too but apparently not with Natural Science, Natural Science have 0.05% less in max calcium compared to CC, yet also higher in min calcium.