Bad Food? I have a question! Help Please :)

[Wonderlandbunny78]

hey guys so I’m bringing home my 11(ish) week old Holland Lop on Thursday and I have a question about her food……OK so I planned on going to petco (the only pet store near me) and buying her alfalfa hay and kaytee junior pellets (or some brand of Junior pellets for baby bunny’s) and then I txted the breeder and asked her what brand of pellets she currently eats and she says Nurtina 18%…here’s a link to it….

 http://www.countrymax.com/Nutrena-NatureWise-18-Performance-Rabbit-Food-40-Pounds?gclid=CLSTvJq15rwCFU6CfgodfG4Ayw

and it looks like its adult food, is she supposed to be eating that? I though until they are 6 months they need baby pellets? I’m so worried she’ll get sick with the food I planed on getting, I don’t know what to do because petco here doesn’t carry that brand and I’m getting her in three days and cant order it and have it by then…..what do I do?? And the breeder wont include transition food with her because she doesn’t have very much right now (that’s annoying) I would have been prepared but I didn’t realize that petco didn’t carry it until tonight. What do I do as far as pellets go now? What Kind?

[MK]

The kaytee pellets sound fine (I feed that brand). She should NOT be eating adult food. But I am a fairly new bunny owner, so someone with more experience can hopefully comment and back me up

[Wonderlandbunny78]

Im really mad that she gave her that…I think it’s adult

[Wonderlandbunny78]

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/115138/Default.aspx

 I found this too…Im really confused  what do I do?! 

[MK]

I think the main thing is to feed alfalfa pellets and hay as long as she is a baby. You may want to look at this and around their website. http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/
In my opinion, kaytee seems absolutely fine, as long as it is alfalfa.

[Stickerbunny]

It is an adult food, but they can eat adult foods. It’s probably what her mom was eating. If you can’t get the food she is eating now for transition, just provide lots of hay and watch out for tummy upset. I had to switch Stickers over without any transition food when I got her because the foster only had a bowl of her old stuff and it was awful and cereal filled anyway. It’s the ideal to transition them slowly, but they are usually OK if you can’t.

Personally, I feed oxbow brand (they do have a young rabbit formula).

[MK]

The breeder really should have given you transition, but I think it should be OK.

[MK]

baby rabbits should really be given the food for their age, as the adult food doesn’t provide as much nutrition or protein. the babies at the shelter are fed young rabbit food and have alfalfa 24/7

[Beka27]

She will be fine if you continue with a quality adult, plain pellet if that is what she is currently getting. You can supplement the adult pellets and timothy hay with a handful or two of alfalfa hay each day. Switching her to the baby formula right now without transition may cause more stomach upset issues than just continuing with timothy pellets.

[Wonderlandbunny78]

ok well I feel kinda mean now…I txted her and asked her to include the food so I can ween her off it without her getting sick and she said she can give me the last amount she has left…..I feel bad but I dont want to deal with a sick bunny in the first few days I get her. PROBLEM SOLVED Im sherlock freakin holmes hahaha but heres the pellets I want her to eat

http://www.petco.com/product/108410/Kaytee-Forti-Diet-Pro-Health-Food-for-Juvenile-Rabbits.aspx?cm_mmc=CSEMGoogleAdExtProd-_-Small%20Animal-_-Small%20Animal%20Food%20-%20Low%20Price-_-1227203&gclid=CLHRgsHA5rwCFRSFfgodrwkABQ

 

is this ok? and what brand of hay do you guys recommend for her age? Something I can get at petco

[Beka27]

http://m.petco.com/product/122712/ZuPreem-Natures-Promise-Western-Timothy-Hay.aspx

This looks like the best hay on the petco website. I don’t shop there so I don’t know what other brands are available.

Those pellets are okay. There are better brands, but again not sure what is available at petco specifically.

You’ll find however that the petstores are very overpriced. If you can order pellets and hay online in larger amounts, you’ll save a lot of money over time.

[Wonderlandbunny78]

should it be timothy? or alfalfa hay?

[Beka27]

Timothy hay should always be available. If the bun is younger than 6-7 months, you can ALSO give alfalfa hay (like a handful a day), but it’s not necessary if you’re already planning on feeding an alfalfa pellet.

The feeding guidelines can be confusing. They don’t have to have BOTH alfalfa pellets AND alfalfa hay. And you want timothy hay to be introduced at a young age since this will be the bulk of his diet for his entire life.

[BlueMoods]

Relax, the Nutreena feed is fine. I feed Nutreena feeds. 16 % to adults and 18% to growing kits. I give grass hay (mixed grass here since that’s what I can get readily) but if you use alfalfa based pellets, then you don’t want alfalfa hay – too much protein)

It’s a feed store brand, so pretty common for breeders to use since they want 50 lb sacks of pellets for all the rabbits they feed.

[Wonderlandbunny78]

thanks guys! Ok well Blue-moods if that’s alright  then Ill stop worrying!! heres my diet plan….tell me if this works for her age (11 weeks) to 6 months or if it doesn’t make sense…

here’s the links to her diet plan…..(due to what’s available near me that I can buy her) 

• her pellets (Ill take out the orange pieces) http://www.petco.com/product/108410/Kaytee-Forti-Diet-Pro-Health-Food-for-Juvenile-Rabbits.aspx?Ntt=rabbit%20food&OneResultRedirect=1
• her transition off timothy hay (just a small bag to ween her off it) http://www.petco.com/product/122739/Kaytee-All-Natural-Timothy-Wafer-Cut-Hay-for-Rabbits-And-Small-Animals.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch
• and then the alfalfa hay that I need help finding at petco……..I dont know which one to buy

[Sarita]

Do you have a Petsmart near you? Petsmart carries Oxbow in their stores. Or is only Petco near you?

[Wonderlandbunny78]

Only petco so I dont have many options there!

[LBJ10]

I believe Petco carries Kaytee Timothy Complete, which would be better than the one you linked to.
Otherwise, yes, Petsmart carries Oxbow which is a better food.

[Wonderlandbunny78]

so I guess it comes down to her eating pellets(obviously) but what hay does she need at 11 weeks? I keep reading alfalfa only until 6 months, but then other people suggest timothy with small amounts of alfalfa mixed in…..reading so much doesn’t always help as everyone has different opinions of what’s best! I love all the help but I’m more confused now hahaha! I just am stuck on the hay question !

I’m already transitioning her current pellet mix to the one I bought and she currently eats timothy hay….

I feel silly posting this much about her diet but it’s really important!! again thanks so much everyone who has commented trying to help I seriously appreciate it

[Sarita]

I would go with timothy hay. She gets the alfalfa in her pellets and that’s enough.

[BlueMoods]

Those are alfalfa based pellets so, you don’t need alfalfa hay too. Too much protein if you did that. Grass hay is what you want. Since you only have Petco, I’d suggest either of these Both are Timothy and one has mint as well which is good for rabbits and, most like it.

http://www.petco.com/product/122739/Kaytee-All-Natural-Timothy-Wafer-Cut-Hay-for-Rabbits-And-Small-Animals.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

http://www.petco.com/product/117154/Kaytee-Timothy-Hay-Plus-Mint-For-Rabbits-And-Small-Animals.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

[LBJ10]

Oh those were alfalfa pellets you linked to? Sorry, I’m getting turned around.

If he is getting alfalfa pellets, then alfalfa hay isn’t necessary. You can certainly feed alfalfa pellets and timothy hay until she is 6 months old. Otherwise, if you need to use timothy pellets, then you can supplement with alfalfa hay. It is good that young bunnies have alfalfa coming from one source or the other. You don’t need to double them up though.

[Author]

Messages