best rabbit food?

[hayley411]

What are the best rabbit pellets? I am thinking about changing food because I have been feeding a food with seeds, dried fruit, and a bunch of other stuff. Someone told me I should only be feeding pellets? Is that true?

 

[Jenni_Feathers]

Yes it is true that they need plain pellets but I do not know the est brand, though I do believe it may be Oxbow or Kleenmama's

 

[pigsforlife]

Oxbow does make pellets for rabbits. If your rabbit is an adult he/she should be fed (broken link removed) , if he/she is a young rabbit he/she should be fed (broken link removed) .

I think KMs Hayloft only produce products for guinea pigs.

 

[SkinnyPiggys]

Take a look here: (broken link removed)

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

I feed Oxbow pellets. You need to find a plain pellet and limited as most rabbits will overeat them. You should be feeding primarily hay then veggies, and limited pellets.

 

[luvmyzoocrew]

i use Oxbow for my rabbits, with plenty of veggies and all they hay they want. I think Oxbow is one of the best pellets out there, just a plain pellet nothing with the seeds, dried things, or the puff things in it. i defintely agree with rabbitsncavyluv that limited pellets for the buns, because they will over eat them.

 

[Solebomber]

Purina or Manna Pro 16% with Plenty of Timothy hay is what I feed mine.

 

[naturestee]

Yes, pellets with treats in them are very bad for them. Since she is nursing babies she should be on a good 16% protein pellet and the babies will need that type of pellet too until they are full grown. Ask local feed/farm stores what they have and try to get as high of fiber as possible. Except for Oxbow, which has lower protein, I have not seen any worth while alfalfa pellets in pet stores. Brands I've heard good things about are PenPals (I buy this for the shelter rabbits), Purina, Blue Seal, Manna Pro, and Purina High Fiber.

When the babies are weaned, the mom should be switched to a food meant for adult rabbits, preferably timothy pellets. I love Oxbow Bunny Basics/T and can't recommend it enough. Kaytee and Zupreem also make timothy pellets that should be decent and fairly easy to find in pet stores.

Nursing and growing rabbits need a lot more energy. You can free-feed them pellets as long as they still eat plenty of grass hay. If they are ignoring the hay then cut the pellets back until they eat a decent amount of it. Adult rabbits always need limited pellets. About 1/4 cup per 5 lbs weight, although some rabbits will need more or less to maintain an appropriate body weight.

 

[hayley411]

I have started to switch feeds gradually and she does not like the plain pellets at all she digs in the bowl to find the bits of her old food and is making quite a mess of the cage. She acts like a child told to eat their veggies when all they want is junk food oh well she is just going to have to deal with it. Also I was wondering does the color of the pellet show any indication as to how good it is? The new food has a much darker pellet than her old one.

 

[Frodo&Gandalf]

Here is a wonderful article on how to feed rabbits. Hope it helps.
(broken link removed)

 

[Silverbeat]

Oxbow is the best brand of rabbit food pellet available. Purina is actually really bad for rabbits, it is an alfalfa-based pellet and is like the "mystery meat" of rabbit food pellets. Mazura is pretty bad as well.
You want a good timothy-based pellet. Some rabbit people prefer not to feed pellets at all. If you wish to go this route you should talk with your vet about it.
If you feed pellets only you'll end up with a very sick and malnourished bunny. Rabbits need plenty of green leafy veggies, a constant, unlimited supply of Orchard hay, Brome hay, Oat hay or Timothy hay, a very small amount of pellets and a few ounces of fruit [a small strawberry, a couple of grapes, etc] daily.

 

[shari313]

Lol, that sounds like everything I've heard about bunnies. They're like toddlers, and will eat the junk to the exclusion of the healthy food.

 

[Cavy Carnage]

I also started mixing in the new pellets with the old food both my rescue rabbits were being fed, all the happened was they ate the old stuff so I just did a full change to the new pellets. I also had no clue which pellets to opt for and even though I knew Oxbow and KM pellets are best they are rather expensive especially if you have to get it shipped. I use Purina Rabbit Chow, most people call it Purina green bag. It is debated which is best but I joined a great rabbit group where people have an amazing knowledge and vast experience of rabbits and many use it. The group is a yahoo group called etherbun, it is very informative and they also have great answers to questions.