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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE Pellets…

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    • Hoppy Valentine
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        I know there are a ton of pellet topics out there but I can’t really find any like this as I looked at only the last 3 pages.  I want to know what brand pellets everyone uses, I can’t remember what pettets I have right now as I dump the bag in a container and forget what I have.  I am looking for the best brand basically.  I want to compare your responses and see who used the same pellets the most and I will go with those from now on.  Thanks


      • Tate
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          I’ve used everything- both Oxbows (young and adult), ZuPreem, feed store food with no label, Kaytee…
          Right now I’m switching from Oxbow Young Bunny food to Oxbow Organic. I think that the vast amount of people use Oxbow adult food, which is timothy based.


        • RabbitPam
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            I stick to Oxbow Bunny Basics-T for adult bunnies no matter what the age. They don’t have alfalfa, and from what I’ve learned it is only for baby bunnies, but not necessary if they have a nutritious adult pellet from the start. Kaytee is a good brand, too, but don’t give any pellets that contain anything: no seeds, nuts, treats, fruits, yogurt drops, etc. All are unhealthy.

            Up north I used Big Red Rabbit Food which was local to New England and Canada, but also very nutritious.


          • Sarita
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              Oxbow or American Pet Diner for my rabbits.


            • kamdynandsunshinesmom
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                I use oxbow timmy pellets and wont use anything else!


              • tobyluv
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                  I use Oxbow.


                • SugarbearNPepper
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                    Oxbow Bunny Basics for my buns!


                  • Kokaneeandkahlua
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                      I use Oxbow too


                    • lashkay
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                        Dustor takes Oxbow, the new Essentials which I understand is a slight change in formula from the Bunny Basics T. Petie still eats Kay-lor Sweet Harvest rabbit pellets.


                      • Monkeybun
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                          Oxbow here too Squirrel is on the baby rabbit alfalfa formula, the others are on the adult timmy pellets.


                        • Beka27
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                            I use a little-known brand called Oxbow. Lol…

                            Oxbow is tried and true. Someone (maybe Katnip?) made an important point about food manufacturers and how some (Kaytee for example) will have one GOOD food, and one kinda crappy food, to appeal to people of all size wallets. BUT, the issue with that is you don’t want to make your decision on feed based solely on price. Oxbow offers very limited choices (basically an adult diet and a junior diet), but all pellets meet their high standards. Their customer service is also top-notch, which is rare in this day and age.


                          • Deb'sBuns
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                              Oxbow.


                            • Elrohwen
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                                Put me on the Oxbow list!


                              • Malp_15
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                                  Oxbow

                                  I wouldn’t dream of switching from someone who makes such miracle thing like critical care


                                • Joyfull_music
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                                    Zupreem Natures Promise. What ever you use, just make sure to read the label, be sure it is timothy based with no additives like corn. And, make sure that it has the proper recommended amounts of fiber, protein, ect. I don’t have those numbers on hand, but someone here probably does. Also, when you open a bag of food, it should smell very fresh.

                                    I’ll admit, I am almost jealous of Momo, her food just smells so fresh and has this very very subtle sweet hint to it.


                                  • Tate
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                                      I’m in love with the smell of ZuPreem… So so good. Oxbow Organics smells wonderful too! Hehe.


                                    • Dee
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                                        Another one for Oxbow! When I got BunBun, I made the mistake of feeding him one of those fancy rabbit feeds with all the seeds/nuts/grains in them. I’m can’t remember the brand- I got it cuz they make Hazel Hamster Food, which is actually a good hamster food. So when I saw Russell Rabbit Food by the same brand, I got it. BunBun was thrilled with it, but ate way less of his hay than he does now- it may have contributed to some poopy butt too.
                                        Once I found this site and learned that when it comes to pellets, plain is best, I switched to Oxbow, even though my bunnies were pretty disapproving of my choice. I am curious about ZuPreem and American Pet Diner though, since Bun isn;t crazy about the Oxbow pellets and Nelli won’t even touch them.


                                      • Joyfull_music
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                                          We have had no problems with ZuPreem. My vet even recommended it, right up there with Oxbow. For me it is easier to find ZuPreem at a cheaper price and much more readily than Oxbow, which also contributes to why I use it. When I first got Momo (@ 3 months) she was getting a more alfalfa based diet with the pellets and hay, but at around 4 1/2 to 5 months we started the switch and she completely snubbed the alfalfa for timothy. Even the vet found that odd.

                                          @ Tate: I am glad I am not the only one out there sniffing my rabbit food, and drooling. LOL!


                                        • tobyluv
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                                            Along with Oxbow hay, I use Zupreem Hay.   I’ve thought about trying Zupreem Nature’s Promise pellets, but I saw that they contained corn, andI thought that it was best to stick with Oxbow pellets.  Has Zupreem changed the formula so that it no longer contains corn?  On Drs. Foster and Smith, ground corn is listed as an ingredient for Zupreem Nature’s Promise.

                                             

                                             


                                          • Joyfull_music
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                                              Wow I am an idiot! I just took a good look at my package and yup, it has corn. How in the heck did I miss that one? Should I consider a change? Now I am confused. 


                                            • tobyluv
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                                                I have always read that corn is not good for rabbits, but I know that there are other pellets besides Zupreem that contain corn. You said in a previous post that your vet recommends Zupreem pellets, so they must be thought of as highly rated pellets. Corn is listed as one of the first few ingredients in Zupreem, but I don’t know how much of a percentage of corn there is.

                                                I just checked to see what Dana Krempels writes about pellets and corn. In her page on diet, she has a whole paragraph devoted to the dangers of corn. She doesn’t say that it’s pellets with corn that are so dangerous, and she may be speaking of feeding actual corn kernels to rabbits, but she definitely says that corn isn’t safe, and I’ve read that in other websites and books too.

                                                A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT CORN AND OTHER SEEDS
                                                Some types of seeds (especially things like “Canadian peas” and corn kernels) have hulls that are indigestible to a rabbit, and can cause life-threatening intestinal impactions/blockages.
                                                Corn, fresh or dried, is NOT safe for rabbits. The hull of corn kernels is composed of a complex polysaccharide (not cellulose and pectin, of which plant cell walls are more commonly composed, and which a rabbit can digest) which rabbits cannot digest. We know of more than one rabbit who suffered intestinal impactions because of the indigestible corn hulls. After emergency medical treatment, when the poor rabbits finally passed the corn, their fecal pellets were nearly solid corn hulls! Those rabbits were lucky.

                                                http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

                                                If your rabbit is staying healthy with the Zupreem pellets, it may be that they are fine for her. Sometimes it’s very difficult to know what to do in regards to rabbit care and diet. There can be conflicting advice and new studies that show food that was once thought to be bad, might not be so bad after all. Lucile Moore’s new book on nutrition had some surprises for me.


                                              • Hoppy Valentine
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                                                  I guess Oxbow will be the stuff I get next, after these pellets are gone that I have. I think the bag I just bought about 2 weeks ago was only like $7 per bag don’t remember the weight though. I will get the oxbow and go from there. I need another hay though, he doesn’t seem to like the Kaytee timothy hay so I need to get something different but the oxbow stuff makes my allergies go nuts. I need something that really doesn’t smell like hay. Maybe there is a different oxbow one that you guys can refer me to that smells like the kaytee stuff I already have that is fine for my allergies since he hates the kaytee stuff? Thanks for all your replies for this topic, I think it really helped me in makeing a decision to change the pellets to Oxbow stuff…


                                                • cactuspancake
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                                                    I use oxbow and sweet meadow farms because I live next to it and they make their own hay and I’ve visited the farm Sweet meadow farms is like 30 bucks for a 50lb bag, and they ship for $13, or if you live in MA, you can pick it up. Oxbow is hands down the best though… it’s the only pellet that smells really strongly of hay still and smells fresh.


                                                  • brittbritt
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                                                      I bought a cheaper pet store kind the day I was given Gabby. I brought her home before I could prepare and buy her the good kind. After getting her here I ordered on this site the Oxbox for adult buns and she loves it so much. She really seems to like the taste of it better than the cheaper store brand.


                                                    • Beka27
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                                                        The Zupreem pellets are not bad pellets. If unable to obtain Oxbow at a local store (and if you can’t order items online), those are usually the ones we’d recommend next. I am assuming Momo is getting them in a very limited amount?


                                                      • brittbritt
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                                                          When my guinea pigs have run out of the special brand I order and have shipped to me I feed them Zupreem while waiting for it to get here. It’s the only other brand I would feed my boys.


                                                        • Tate
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                                                            Whole corn kernels aren’t good for rabbits, but ground corn should be fine. Corn is indigestible… but so is hay.


                                                          • tobyluv
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                                                              I wasn’t trying to dissuade you from using Zupreem pellets because they contain corn. As I said, your vet recommended them and there are other brands that also contain corn. Hopefully, that means that whatever form the corn is in is okay for rabbits. The Zupreem description says that it is formulated by vets and animal nutritionists.

                                                              Timothy hay is usually the hay that causes the most allergies. It seems like the Kaytee Timothy would bother you too. Orchard grass is usually the hay to cause the least allergies. I don’t care too much for Kaytee hay. I use Oxbow or Zupreem hay. Zupreem only makes Timothy, but Oxbow has orchard grass,organic meadow hay and oat hay. The Binky Bunny store has several different kinds of hay. I have some of theirs right now too. American Pet Diner and Sweet Meadow are good too.

                                                              A few months ago, I ordered a large bag (5 or 10 pounds) of Timothy hay from bunnybytes.com. No name brand, it’s just what they sell, which is grown locally,  and it was nice. You can get a free 1/2 pound hay sampler from them, even the shipping is free.


                                                            • MissBunns
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                                                                I’ll be another to vote for Oxbow! And I’m sure Jack and Bunny would too.

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                                                            Forum DIET & CARE Pellets…