Pellet Confusion!

[TwoOfaKind]

Hi Everyone! I am confused about Pellets. I feed both my bunny rabbit and my GP's "Nutriphase"; Molly - my bunny, gets Nutriphase for rabbits, and the piggies get the GP formula, fortified w/Vitamin C. There are no seeds or blend mixed in with the food (as i know that is not healthy or safe to feed)

I used to feed Oxbow to my rabbit, but it was really expensive and I could no longer afford it.

So, I switched to Nutriphase. And then when I got my GP's I put them on Nutriphase also.

I never really thought about pellets before, other then I knew they should be timothy based.

So my question is, is Nutriphase a good food to feed?

I am going to start shopping online for my pets I think, and am changing things up a bit (switched to fleece from bedding, etc.) Anyways, before I place my online order, I thought I'd come here and post .

Thanks

 

[AmberEyedPiggy]

I had the same problem, and the guys here said some great information about the pellets!! If you can, please post the ingredients and the chart where the fats and everything is written.

 

[John4216]

If you are considering switching things up and ordering from an online source I would recommend Oxbow Cavy Cuisine pellets. They are among the best pellets on the market for GP's.

(broken link removed)

You can order direct from them or you can check to see if there is an oxbow dealer near you that carries them.

 

[TwoOfaKind]

This is what the nutritional info is for the Nutriphase GP forumula - enhanced with Vitamin C

*************

Guarenteed Analysis:

Crude Protein (min.) 18.0%
Crude Fat (min.) 3.5%
Crude Fiber (max.) 14.0%
Moisture (max.) 12.0%
Ascorbic Acid (min.) 75mg/LB

Ingredients

Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, ground corn, dehulled soybean meal, ground oats, ground wheat, wheat middlings, dicalcium phosphate, dried cane molasses, corn oil, salt, calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, potassium chloride, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate, DL-methionine, vitamin A suppliment, choline chloride, yucca, schidigera extract, ferrous carbonate, riboflavin suppliment, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, vitamin b12 suppliment, vitamin E suppliment, ethoxyquin, copper oxide, niacin, menadione sodium, bisulfite complex (source of vitamin k activity), cholecalciferol (source of vitamin d3), calcium panthothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine, mononitrate, biotin, folic acid, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite, artificial color


*******

That mine as well be german to me, LoL

So based on that do you think the pellets are good or not ??

 

[AmberEyedPiggy]

but when I click on the fortified feeds, cavy cuisine, it still brings up hay. Are they pellets, or is it hay? By the way, how much does cavy cuisine pellets cost for 5 lbs.? 7,25$, right? Or is that hay? I'm confused...

 

[TwoOfaKind]

They are pellets - this is a link to what the bag looks like

(broken link removed)

 

[daftscotslass]

Ethoxyquin is a preservative known to be (broken link removed) so I would steer clear of it.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Nutriphase is formulated especially for PetNotSoSmart. They contain a lot of fillers, corn & corn products, beet products and other things cavies don't need in pellets. Overall, they aren't good to feed.

KM's pellets are top of the line ((broken link removed)) and so are Oxbow pellets (www.oxbowhay.com).

 

[Piggersrule]

Nutriphase brand anything is junk!! How old is your pig? Piggies over the age of 6 months should be fed a timothy hay based pellet, not alfelfa. I have 11 females pigs and everyone of them love the Oxbow cavy cuisine. You are much better off feeding Oxbow or KM pellets.

 

[Guinea_Piggin]

If/when you switch them to Kleen Mamas or Oxbow pellets, make sure you mix in little bits at a time to their old food. This will help keep them from stopping eating entirely. I tried just switching in new food with my first pig, and he refused to eat until I brought his old pellets back. Kaytee Fiesta, if you're curious, which is also crap food I found out.

Good luck with the switch! My boys both love their Oxbow and refuse to eat anything else.

 

[AmberEyedPiggy]

I got some information from here too... So for how much time would the 5lbs. Oxbow "Cavy Cuisine" pellets last for if you have two piggies? And if anyone uses them, is it good for 1year and 4month piggies? Or for small piggies I should get something else?

 

[evilnumberlady]

I can't imagine a 5 lb bag would last very long. But Cavy Cuisine is the right kind for pigs over a year old.

You might do better to buy the stuff in bulk (50lb at a time) if you are ordering off the website. It's the least expensive of all the options. Of course, you would need to store the pellets properly, which may or may not be an issue for you.

 

[AmberEyedPiggy]

so for how much time would 50lb bag last for 2 piggies? And if one piggy is 1year and 2 months old, and the other one is 4 months old, do they have to use separate pellets??

 

[Guinea_Piggin]

So for how much time would the 5lbs. Oxbow "Cavy Cuisine" pellets last for if you have two piggies?

A 5lb bag, at a 1/2 cup/day (1/4 cup per pig) will last a month with my two boys. However, I get the 10lb bag as I save $30 a year.

 

[evilnumberlady]

so for how much time would 50lb bag last for 2 piggies?

I'm not sure. I have 5 guinea pigs and a 50lb bag lasts me a little more than 3 months. I'm not sure if this applies to you (since you live overseas and the shipping prices are different), but I've found that the bigger the order you get from Oxbow the cheaper it is for each pound.

And if one piggy is 1year and 2 months old, and the other one is 4 months old, do they have to use separate pellets??

The 4 month old might be better off eating Cavy Performance, since he/she will have higher calcium needs. If they are living together you could just feed the Cavy Cuisine pellets and supplement the diet of the young one with calcium-rich veggies or alfalfa hay when you hold him/her.

 

[AmberEyedPiggy]

Yeah, they live together, I think I should get Cavy Cuisine, and feed some extra veggies for the little one...

 

[TwoOfaKind]

Hmm, so the nutriphase is no good, huh? Bleh - okay; I suppose I should switch my bunny as well. The pigs have plenty of food to slowly switch over to new food, but my bunny is practically out. I suppose I should buy another bag of the nutriphase and then switch her over as well. Thanks guys :cheerful:

 

[pigsforlife]

Oxbow or KMs pellets are better as you now know. When you make the swap do it gradually, each week slowly giving them more oxbow or km than nutriphase:
1st week: 75% Nutriphase - 25% Oxbow/KM
2nd week: 50% Nutriphase - 50% Oxbow/KM
3rd week: 25% Nutriphase - 75% Oxbow/KM
4th week: 0% Nutriphase - 100% Oxbow/KM

You probably don't have to do it that slowly but what I am trying to do is emphasize that it must be done slowly, any quick changes will result in diarrhea or loose stools.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

You probably don't have to do it that slowly but what I am trying to do is emphasize that it must be done slowly, any quick changes will result in diarrhea or loose stools.

Not really. A switch can be done from one pellet brand to another easily without mixing or gradually reducing the bad ones and introducing the new ones. I've always switched cold turkey. Usually pellet changes don't result in diarrhea or loose stools. Neither do hay changes. Sometimes though, you will find a picky pig who is used to eating one kind of pellet brand and you may have a hard time switching them over. Pellets are the least part of any pigs diet anyway so if they don't eat the new stuff right away, it's ok. Just keep offering and either they will eat it or not. As long as they have an unlimited supply of fresh hay and their daily veggies, they will be ok as far as Vitamin C and the other nutrients they need.

What can result in diarrhea regarding foods has more to do with veggies/fresh grass/forages than anything else.

 

[SkinnyPiggys]

I feed my guinea pigs Mazuri brand pellets. I buy a 40 pound bag from a local feed store for around $12.50.

I feed my rabbits Purina Rabbit Chow (green bag) for about the same price.

I get my hay from a local horse barn for free!

House Rabbits - Behavior, Care, Rescue, Adoption, Education | House Rabbit Society has lots of info on rabbit nutrition.