Pellets Pellets for sale in Canada, what are good options other than Oxbow?

[betty]

Recently there have been a lot of treads about excess calcium in guinea pigs' urine and some think it may be related to Oxbow pellets.

I personally would like to try a different brand of pellets, that is available in Canada, since my pigs have these white stains on their fleece as well. My baby is only 6 weeks old so I am worried.

Canadians, what brand of pellets do you buy?

 

[ellisa]

I have only ever used Oxbow. That's pretty much the only choice in Canada if you don't want Kaytee or pure crap. There's also a brand called Martin Mills, I'm not sure if it's a Canadian or American brand. I'll post the ingredients and hopefully someone can weigh in on whether they are an ok alternative. I hope KMs starts shipping to Canada again soon

Martin Mills Little Friends Original Guinea Pig Food:
Dehydrated Alfalfa, Soybean Hulls, Wheat Shorts, Soybeans, Wheat Middlings, Soya Oil (preserved with Rosemary Extract, Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Brewers Yeast, Lignin Sulfonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Ascorbic Acid (a source of Vitamin C), DL-Methionine, Mannan OligoSaccharide, Choline Chloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rice Hulls, Iron Sulphate, Vitamin E, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Niacinamide, Mineral Oil, Copper Sulphate, Folic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12, Vitamin A, Biotin, Selenium, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Sulphate.

I know they are made with alfalfa, but maybe they are similar to Mazuri?

 

[ellisa]

I just looked again, and now they make a timothy brand. Also, they are a Canadian company.

Martin Mills Little Friends Timothy Adult Guinea Pig Food:
Soybean Hulls, Timothy Meal, Soybeans, Whole Ground Wheat, Wheat Shorts, Soybean Meal, Soya Oil (preserved with Rosemary Extract, Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Brewers Yeast, Lignin Sulfonate, Salt, Rice Hulls, Ascorbic Acid (a source of Vitamin C), DL-Methionine, Mannan OligoSaccharide, Choline Chloride, Iron Sulphate, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin E, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Niacinamide, Mineral Oil, Copper Sulphate, Folic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12, Vitamin A, Biotin, Selenium, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Sulphate

 

[betty]

Does anyone have any input on Martin Mills pellets? I am also wondering if the Vit. C is stabilized.

 

[betty]

Ellisa, is this it? (broken link removed)

 

[ellisa]

The website says the Vitamin C is stabilized. Hopefully someone will chip in soon as to whether they are an OK pellet to use.

(broken link removed)
The pellets in your link are the Original not the Timothy. So, those ones are made with alfalfa.

 

[petgal49]

I sometimes buy Carefresh (bought at petsmart) pellets and mix it with my Oxbow pellets so they get a mixture of the two because I have occassionally seen the white spots. I have not seen the white spots lately, not sure if that is a coincidence or not due to my mixing of the pellets or some other factors!

 

[allycat]

when I got my piggy from the shelter and she was on the martin mills. She had major bladder sludge and I switched her to the oxbow. She also poops better on the oxbow. So needless to say my vote is for the oxbow by far. I now how a healthier and happier pig. We are limited in Canada. To make up for this I make sure her pellets are not the main bulk of her diet with correct veggies and lots and lots of timothy hay.

 

[ellisa]

@allycat, thanks for letting us know!!
I've only ever used Oxbow, so I really have no idea about other pellet brands. I hope KMs starts shipping to Canada again!

 

[Delaine]

I have also been stressing over the pellet issue. Where I live in British Columbia we have a Buckerfileds and I have been buying Sun Seed Sunthing Special pellets for my girls (plain pellets). They are high in protein but low in calcium. They really like them but are they a good brand??? I was just at the vet's yesterday and she recommended Oxbow, so I am in the process of slowly changing them over to Oxbow Cuisine (my girls are 10 months old). Because pellets are a small part of most pigs diets, could it be the veggies causing the sludge? I have been having issues with one of my girls getting a dirty area around her bum, hence the visit to the vets. She couldn't find anything wrong with her, so I am thinking it is diet, because it was really bad when she was getting too many veggies and I notice it gets worse when she eats anything from the cruciferous family. Since I have been taking note of veggie choices the sludge I used to see on the fleece is no longer. I hope this helps. Good luck with your decisions.

 

[Delaine]

Are the Oxbow Pellets everyone is talking about here the Performance or the Cuisine?

 

[bpatters]

The only Sun Seed guinea pig pellets I can see online are alfalfa pellets, which are fine for pups and pregnant or nursing sows, but adult pigs need timothy pellets.

 

[ellisa]

Are the Oxbow Pellets everyone is talking about here the Performance or the Cuisine?

Performance for under 6 months, Cuisine for over 6 months.

 

[betty]

Thanks for the input everyone. Maybe we should all send emails to Kleenmana and request shipment to Canada. With alot of requests they may consider it. What do you think?

 

[Piglicious]

i saw on KM's website something say that if your ordering from canada to directly email them about your order...so they maybe able to ship to canada again