Orange pieces in food – okay to eat?

[Caroline22]

Today I ran out of food and last week I ordered a 10lb bag of Oxbow online for a really great discounted price, but it won’t be here until Friday. Anyways, I had to go to Petco to get new food, and after looking around at the labels and percentages, I bought a bag of Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Food. I thought it was just all pellets, but when I opened the bag, it has these little orange pieces in there too. They aren’t dried fruit or seeds, so I was wondering if they’re okay to feed Lucy? So far I’ve just been picking them out. 

Here’s a picture of what they look like:

[NewBunnyOwner123]

If you have a Petsmart nearby I would return that bag and get a small bag of Oxbow. I know our petsmart here carry Oxbow products now. If not, I would be on the safe side and continue to remove those pieces. Since it’s a new brand of food, be observant and make sure the sudden change doesn’t upset her tummy. Does it say what those are? Like are they extra nutrient packed pieces or something?

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I’m reading up on the ingredients. It has ground corn in it! And alfalfa meal instead of the timothy so just keep an eye on her poos and such while feeding because there is quite a difference in diet when comparing the two foods.

 

Edit: actually after looking further I realize that there are two different kinds under the same name. So I could be looking at the wrong one. Sorry! :/ 

[Caroline22]

The Petsmart closest to me is still kinda far away and I don’t have time to go over there these next few days. So in my desperation I had to go to Petco, because it’s down the street from my house. I think there are three different kinds, this is the one I got: http://www.kaytee.com/products/kaytee-fortidiet-pro-health-rabbit-adult.php

Yeah, I’m definitely going to be picking them out until her new food comes in! I feel bad that I’m giving her crappier food.

[Beka27]

Honestly, I wouldn’t give those pellets at all. Give some extra veggies around pellet time instead. She’ll be fine without pellets for a few days. Return those pellets to the store.

[Sarita]

I agree but those pellets are really okay. It’s been a long time since I’ve given Kaytee but they used to make a formula of pellets that were just extruded differently than most pellets – basically they weren’t made in a pelleted form but in those forms and it was a good pellet for certain rabbits and many rabbit owners used those pellets.

[BinkyBuster]

I wouldn’t give any sort of funny-looking pellets, personally.

Sorry to kind of hijack your thread, but is Kaytee not a good product to give? I have never seen any Oxbow around here, so I’ve been giving Buster it for almost a year now… This is the product:
http://www.kaytee.com/products/kaytee-timothy-complete-rabbit.php

[Sarita]

Kaytee is fine – I’ve given those pellets before and it’s not a problem at all.

It’s funny though how we are brainwashed into thinking that a pellet should look a certain way when the truth is, the way pellets are made are so bad for our rabbit’s teeth because they are so soft there is basically no chewing. The truth is with those funny shaped orange pellets (which are pellets – its the seeds and such that are bad) are better for chewing since they are harder and rabbits actually have to chew them. Rabbit pellet shapes are probably never going to change though (and in truth, it’s what’s put into the pellet, not the shape that is most important) – we just expect them to look a certain way.

[BinkyBuster]

It’s funny you say that Sarita… I went to a new vet (moved away to school) and the first thing he said was “what do you feed him?” So I said veggies, hay, and pellets… he said don’t feed pellets. And I said why is he overweight? And he just said “no he looks fine, but they don’t get them out in the wild so they shouldn’t eat them.” I didn’t listen to him because EVERYWHERE online says to feed pellets but I thought it was interesting.

[MoveDiagonally]

I think a lot of people just have a negative opinion of Kaytee in general. Their Timothy Complete (what you linked) is fine and it’s actually pretty close to Oxbow (which is considered the standard). If I was had to pick Oxbow or Kaytee T.C. I would go with the Oxbow but if I didn’t have it available Kaytee T.C. isn’t a bad option.

[Deleted User]

I just wanted to chime in here. For future reference really if anyone tries searching for this. I have fed my buns both the Kaytee and the Oxbow brand. When I fed my bun the Kaytee brand I did not give her the orange pieces as a regular part of her diet. I used them as treats. I noticed more of a freshness difference between the two brands. Oxbow had greener, fresher looking pellets while Kaytee had dull, dark green pellets. The Oxbow pellets were even more fragrant than the Kaytee pellets.

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