Pellets Protein percentage in pellets

[ibeabluedevil]

My Uncle told me that they sell Guinea pig and rabbit pellets at the farm supply store that he buys his chicken feed at. He told me that I can get a 50lb bag of Gpig pellets for only $7. That's a really good deal, but I told him that I was worried that it might not have the correct ingredients or amounts as the pellets I feed them now, I feed them oxbow pellets. So, he told me to give him a copy of the exact ingredients and percentage amounts that are included in the ones I currently feed them and that the next time he went back to get more chicken feed he would ask the person there to compare the 2 to see if they have the same stuff. The only difference between the Oxbow and the one at the farm store is that Oxbow contains 14% protein and the kind at the farm store has 18% protein.

So, I'm wondering is the 4% difference in protein something that I should worry about? Would it affect the health of my pigs in any way? If it is an issue then I will just stick with feeding them the Oxbow, though $7 for 50lbs would be a great deal and save lots of money and 50lbs would really go a long way. However, my pigs come first, they are the most important little dudes in my life and I don't care how much more expensive the Oxbow is, their health and well being come first.

 

[bpatters]

I wouldn't worry about the protein, but I would worry a lot about the calcium. Most pellets have calcium carbonate (limestone) as their calcium source, and can be waaay high in calcium. Even Oxbow uses it, though they try to keep the calcium levels down. But I wouldn't feed even Oxbow to mine.

The only pellet available in the US that doesn't use limestone is KMS Hayloft. They usually work out to be about the same cost as Oxbow.

I've personally known two people who lost their pigs to urinary tract stones pretty young that used feed store pellets. If you're going to consider them, you need to check not only the list of ingredients, but the nutritional value.

 

[aqh88]

The same ingredients might be there but not in the same amounts and did he check for extra filler ingredients? There's a reason such pellets are cheaper. In some cases you might be able to make up for it and balance the diet around the pellets as a vitamin/mineral supplement but that takes a fair amount of nutrition knowledge and some legwork. Oxbow and KMs pellets we know are for the most part balanced. There have been more problems with the calcium in oxbow so not even that is perfect for every guinea pig.

Extra protein is not a real problem in healthy adult animals but it is rather annoying. Improperly balanced protein, not high protein but any imbalance, growing up can risk development disorders. All the excess protein has to be excreted in urine. They will drink more, pee more, and their pee will smell more. Stand by any horse fed on too much alfalfa hay and high protein pelleted feed and you will never feed excessive protein again. For healthy animals it may just be annoying but for animals prone to any urinary tract problems it could stress things too much and cause symptoms. For the most part grazing herbivores do best on about 12% protein. Pellets may be a little higher because guinea pigs specifically do slightly better at that amount or it may just be in order to balance a diet that includes hay (10-12% for common grasses) and vegetables. Personally I would not give 18% to herbivorous pets if there is another feasible option. Those pellets are likely aimed at breeding animals where 16-18% protein is preferred or working livestock. There are exceptions such as in the case of taking on rescues short term or having some financial troubles I think they would be better off on high protein pellets, if they are balanced, in order to keep them in a good home.

 

[ibeabluedevil]

Thanks for your help and advice. I think I will pass on the feed store pellets, though they may be cheaper, it's a risk I'm not willing to take with the health of my piggies.

I checked out the KMS pellets and they seem to be a good product, however the shipping for them costs way more than the actual pellets, and I can't see paying more for the shipping than the actual product itself.

What about Small Pet Select, are their pellets better than Oxbow and comparable to KMS? If not, then I will just stick with the Oxbow. Two of my pigs don't really eat a lot of pellets anymore anyway, they eat some just not as much as when they were younger, and the others they still like their pellets, but their are some days when they still have leftovers in their bowls.

 

[bpatters]

You're paying for shipping wherever you buy pellets, unless you can walk into the mill and purchase them where they're produced. It's just that stores add the shipping into the price and only charge you one price, whereas most online places charge for the item and the shipping is extra.

Did you notice the difference between the price of the KMS pellets and those you can get locally? KMS is way cheaper. Depending on where you live, the shipping may mean that they're more than what you'd pay in a local store, but it has to be pretty far. I live over 2,000 miles from KMS, and the cost of the pellets is within a dime per pound of Oxbow at the big pet store a mile from me. Sometimes one is more, sometimes another, but always within 10 cents a pound.

The ONLY way you can compare costs is to figure out the cost per pound. Otherwise, you're comparing apples and oranges.

 

[poop_patrol]

I understand the rationale to charge only for actual shipping costs, but it would be better for the business (and therefore better for pigs who might otherwise get a lesser pellet!) if KMS raised the price of the pellets, advertised free shipping, and then simply charged a shipping surcharge for those ordering from long distance. Folks would FEEL like they are getting a better deal.

I recently ordered 10 lb of timothy pellets from KMS and paid $12 + about $18 for shipping. It's not logical...but people would rather pay

"$30 with free shipping"
-than -
"$12 + $18 shipping".

With the latter, you feel like you are paying $30 for a $12 product. With the former, you feel like you are getting a higher quality $30 product and a deal on free shipping. Amazon has conditioned folks to expect free shipping. Folks see the Oxbow on Amazon for $27 and think they are getting a better quality pellet because they are conditioned to think the shipping/storage/handling/advertising etc is not already baked into that $27 cost.

Sorry to go off topic.

 

[bpatters]

I think the consumer needs to take the responsibility for figuring out which is the better deal between two products.

 

[poop_patrol]

Totally agree with you. But time and again I read about folks passing on kms pellets because they don't want to pay shipping. In the end it's the pigs that are hurt. I know the lady behind kms knows what she is doing so I don't want to second guess too much.

 

[ibeabluedevil]

I don't really mind paying for the shipping if it costs a little bit more than the actual product. For example like [MENTION=13820]bpatters[/MENTION] said, if the pellets were $12 and the shipping was $18, I would have no problem with that. But I was gonna order the pellets that cost $39 and then the shipping itself was an additional $54, that in my opinion is a little too much.

I don't normally buy my pellets at my local big chain pet stores, unless it's an emergency and I run completely out before what I ordered comes in, (and that's only happened to me once so far, but the shipment was delayed due to winter weather so I couldn't help that). I was ordering them from Dr. Fosters and Smith, but the they joined with Petco and I'm not really too thrilled about that. I will say though, they sell their pellets way cheaper than at my local pet stores, and I get more for the money. It's just that when my Uncle told me about the farm supply store he shops at selling guinea pig and rabbit feed, I felt it was something to consider and look into and when I wasn't too sure about it being safe for my pigs, I came on here for advice and information.

I'm not conditioned to expect free shipping, nothing in life is free, not even when it says free shipping. I know that all the shipping/storage/handling, etc is really all baked in there whether people want to believe it or not. And it is my responsibility to figure out the better deal and the better pellet, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to ask questions and seek some advice from those who may know more about the specific topic than I do. I am also sure that the lady who runs/owns KMS knows what she's doing too and I'm not second guessing her either, and by me possibly passing on the KMS pellets doesn't mean that my pigs will suffer. They are well taken care of and I have sacrificed my own potential health many times to see that they have any and everything that they need to live long happy lives.

 

[bpatters]

But that's 50 pounds of KMS pellets, at a cost of $1.86 per pound. The Petsmart near me sells 5 pounds of Oxbow for $16.49, which is $3.30 per pound. Drs. Foster and Smith sell 25 pounds of pellets for $34.99 (they do have occasional sales), for $1.40 per pound, but they also add on shipping. I can't figure out how much without going through the whole checkout process, but I'd bet it would add quite a bit to the per-pound price.

So which is cheaper?

 

[yubie]

Hello, I am a newbie and this is my first post, but I had the same question as "ibeabluedevil" I went to the Feed Store, 30 miles away, and most of there products were for horses, chicken, goats, dogs, and rabbit. Spend about an hour and a half there asking questions of people that came in the store as well as the staff before purchasing. They had limited items for guinea pigs so I was not impressed. There guinea pig pellet were a lot cheaper ($12 for a fifty pound bag) that was Timothy based, but it also contain alfalfa so I passed. I ended up purchasing the Standlee compact Timothy hay from them and Equine pelletized bedding that is made from pine. The pellet is supposed to be biodegradable, very absorbent and chemical free. A large portion of their customers were purchasing it for their rabbits and guinea pigs and I thought that I would give it a try. I mainly use Fleece so it will only be in their litter box and the box that is under their hay in those cages. For my blind piggy I will mix it in with his paper pellets bedding. Getting back to the gp pellets I chose not to purchase it. Vet bills for 7 guinea pigs will definitely outweigh the price difference, lol
I generally get my products from Small Select and it is delivered to my door. I notice no one answer the question about Small Select product. Their protein is in the upper range of 14.0, the Calcium is low at .4 My grown babies love it and I go thorough fifteen pounds in a month at $29/10lb. I am just finding that I am feeding them too much of everything ( veggies and pellets) except hay which is unlimited. So this bring me around to the unanswered question of "What is anyone opinion of Small Select products, especially their pellets? I will now be getting my timothy hay from the feed store at $16 a compact bale, the Stanlee brand. I am leaning towards switching up to the KMS pellets if I can find it.

Do anyone use Small Select?

 

[bpatters]

Fifteen pounds of pellets per month is way too much for seven guinea pigs, IMO. They should get only 1/8 cup pellets per pig per day, at most. You could weigh your pellets to see how much 7/8 of a cup weighs, and judge by that how long the pellets should last. I have two guinea pigs, and when I fed pellets, 12.5 pounds would last me 6-7 months.

Are you talking about Small Pet Select? Their hay is very good, but the pellets say not less than .4% calcium, and they use calcium carbonate as a source. I'd go for the KMS pellets if I were you.

The equine pine pellets are good if they don't have a strong pine odor. If they do, you can air them out, or throw a layer of fleece over them, as the pellets will act as the absorbent layer.