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Forum DIET & CARE Sherwood Forest pellets

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    • Nicolelouise86
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        I’m just curious if anyone uses this brand. From what I’ve seen, the reviews are really good. My bunny is 11 weeks old. I’m giving her Oxbow and alfalfa hay currently. I would switch in another week or 2 as Sherwood Forest’s website suggests. I would still continue with alfalfa hay until I switch her to timothy hay. Any input would be greatly appreciated


      • Eepster
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          It’s kind of early to switch to adult food.

          I am not familiar with that brand, but a look at the ingredients and nutritional info will tell you a lot. I wouldn’t trust reviews for this, many people are happy with a food as long as their bunny enjoys it, and don’t realize that bunnies will enjoy junk food just as much as humans do. Candy should only be an occasional treat for humans, same goes for bunnies, but many brands of rabbit food are filled with the bunny equivalent of candy.


        • tanlover14
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            Sherwood Forest is an excellent brand. If you search around their website, they give you a lot of good info on why they use the ingredients they use. And the owners will speak with your directly. I was concerned b/c they support free-feeding (even as adults) & ALL their food is made w/ alfalfa, not timothy. They called my vet directly w/ the questions she had. She was okay with the food although she did not think it would be any better/worse than Oxbow! So if you want to switch, there is no harm switching now since it is alfalfa based. I know a lot of rescue friends who use it & believe it has helped with GI stasis in their rabbits (to decrease their episodes) and they also have not had a problem w/ weight gain or urinary or calcium issues despite the alfalfa for adults either. I would speak with your vet before switching. And provide your vet with their number if your vet is concerned!


          • Nicolelouise86
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              Thanks for the info!


            • tobyluv
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                Sherwood Forest has 2 kinds of adult pellets. One kind contains alfalfa hay and the other contains both alfalfa and timothy hay.

                There is another thread mentioning these pellets and company info regarding the fact that they use alfalfa in adult pellets.
                https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/139500/Default.aspx

                In that thread, I also added some info from the Lucile Moore book on rabbit nutrition, where she says that alfalfa is not necessarily bad for adult rabbits, and that some brands of timothy based pellets actually have more calcium than some alfalfa based pellets. The key is to read nutrition labels.


              • tanlover14
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                  A ton of my friends who own rescues said not to use the timothy/alfalfa mix but I cannot for the life of me remember why? Any idea, tobyluv??


                • tobyluv
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                    I wouldn’t know why the rabbit rescue people said not to use timothy/alfalfa mix. Were they referring just to Sherwood Forest or any brand that might have both in the pellets? I know that Sweet Meadow Farm has a rabbit pellet with a timothy/alfalfa mix that they say is fine for adult rabbits. They also have all timothy pellets.

                    I have never used Sherwood Forest pellets. I only know what I have read here, and on their website, as well as what I’ve read in Lucile Moore’s rabbit nutrition book about alfalfa pellets for adult rabbits.


                  • Nibbler2012
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                      I’ve ordered some of both types of the adult pellets and plan on mixing them together before feeding.

                      I didn’t see anything on Sherwood Forests website about free-feeding, I saw instructions on feeding 1/8 cup alfalfa only pellets per 3 pounds of bun. I would suspect free feeding referred to grass hay?

                      I ordered this after discovering D3 in the Martin brand adult pellets. I’ll let you know how I like them in a couple days when I pick them up from my nyaddress.com


                    • tobyluv
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                        Free feeding usually only applies to young rabbits, who are less than 6 or 8 months old. After they reach adulthood, their pellets should be measured and limited.

                        Here is one amount chart that was given by a rabbit savvy vet:

                        Weight   Daily Pellets
                        2 – 4 lbs   1/8 cup
                        5 – 7 lbs   1/4 cup
                        8-10 lbs   1/2 cup
                        11-15 lbs  3/4 cup

                        I hope that you and your bunny like the Sherwood Forest pellets. From what I’ve read about them, they sound good, but it will be nice to have the opionion of a BB member.


                      • Nibbler2012
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                          I admit, I wasn’t thinking about younger rabbits that can eat as much as they want, lucky kids.


                        • tanlover14
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                            The free feeding is what is done with the Adult Complete — Per website:
                            “Feeding Directions: This hay-based grain/soy-free food is a balanced, fortified and complete food containing correct amounts of long-strand fiber. It can be fed free-choice as a daily diet because it is balanced, low in calories and provides additional Timothy grass hay. As a result your bunny will regulate its own food intake. It will help overweight rabbits shed excess body fat and help underweight rabbits gain healthy weight and improved muscle tone by supplying essential nutrients needed for optimal health.”
                            The timothy is added to use as a substitute for hay, that is why many rescues do not recommend using it. It is made to be free-fed (as much as they want) but there is no hay given. It allows the rabbit to each as many pellets but the timothy hay addictive is a substitute for hay intake. This is mainly only used by rescues, or bunny parents, that have rabbits that eat very little hay.

                            The supplement is the one that is supposed to be used if you are feeding pellets limited. Per website:
                            “Feeding Directions: This is a concentrated food designed to be limited and fed with hay to adult pet rabbits. Start by feeding ¼ ounce per pound of body weight or about 1/8 cup per 3 pounds of rabbit and adjust amount as needed. This food contains higher concentrations of key nutrients that supplement and balance the nutrients already found in hay. This ensures that your rabbit will get the nutrition it needs to promote and maintain optimal health when feeding a primarily hay-based diet.”

                            There is a science to how their pellets are formuated so I would only feed one or the other — based on your rabbits hay intake. It’s a much more advanced pellet but you have to know the differences or your rabbits weight will suffer whether up or down!


                          • tobyluv
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                              Thanks for providing Sherwood Forest’s feeding directions and descriptions of their products, tanlover14. I didn’t read all the info when I checked out their website. I wonder if the Adult Complete really works like they say it does, regarding food intake, weight loss or gain and improved muscle tone?

                              I can see why rescues wouldn’t like the Adult Complete since no hay is to be given with it. Does Sherwood Forest not know that hay is required not only for nutritional and intestinal mobility reasons, but that it is very important in keeping the teeth worn down? And it’s kind of hard to believe that the hay in the pellets would provide the same fiber and motility benefits that long strand hay would have. It would probably be a good pellet if you had a rabbit that absolutely refused to eat hay, or ate only minuscule amounts of hay no matter how many different kinds and brands you tried, but are there that many rabbits that don’t eat hay at all? It seems like people would stop trying to get their rabbits to eat hay, if they thought these pellets provided a totally complete diet, and that doesn’t seem like a good thing. A lot of rabbits do come around and start eating hay if you get one that they really like. I wonder if you could give a limited amount of the Adult Complete along with hay?

                              They certainly have a lot of rave reviews on their website, although you can’t always go by reviews or believe everything in them. I assume that the company has done a lot of research to come up with these pellets that seem so different from other brands. Their concept is definitely interesting,


                            • tanlover14
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                                They are really amazing & definitely willing to work with you on discussing their pellets and the science behind how they have constructed their pellets. My understanding — it’s the fiber in the hay that helps with motility. Since the complete has timothy (the fiber), it’s okay. But like you said, I would be really worried about other issues. For example, teeth! Wearing them down like necessary seems impossible without hay!

                                I do know some rescuers who use that formula for the ones who are old & just set in their ways with hay. My friend Erin has had great results with free-feeding her older buns that refuse hay. But I would be scared about doing it for any rabbit that likes and enjoys hay! It seems like it just kind of puts a positive spin on a bad habit that you should be trying to correct??

                                I would say do the Complete limited — but my concern with that would be knowing how much of each pellet actually has the amounts of vitamins/nutrients necessary. I know a lot of people who have had really good results with Sherwood. But I know they all use the supplement b/c they can monitor the amount of nutrients. My understanding — it takes a lot more of the Complete to reach the amount you would expect to be receiving from a pellet. If that makes sense. There is really no point to feeding a pellet that is mostly hay.


                              • LBJ10
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                                  I thought the whole argument behind hay and fiber is because strands of hay have long strands of fiber. Rabbits need these long strands of fiber and pellets cannot provide that since the hay that goes into them is ground up.


                                • tanlover14
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                                    Long stem fiber is actually really small. Long stem fiber is anything as small as 1.7mm. Which is like insanely small.   The reason most typical pellets cannot make up for hay is b/c the portion of hay in the pellet is diluted down so much.  Sherwood accounts for that and takes out things like soy so the pellet and long stem fiber isn’t being diluted. 


                                  • Nibbler2012
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                                      So I got my Sherwood Forest pellets, both kinds as mentioned. Nibbler was a little heavy last time we were at the vet, so this is why I’m not concerned about using the mixture and measuring for the supplement. She still gets veggies and hay. The vet said her teeth were great, but then again she’s always been a good hay eater and she loves the willow huts/pretzel sticks/nibblers and such you can get on amazon.

                                      I’m always surprised how strong she is when I hold the willow stick and play tug o war. Not to mention how Nibbler is less skiddish than the cat, he gets teased for that.

                                      I’d like to point out it was the awesome informative response I received from David Sherwood and the fact the Sherwood Forest pellets do NOT have D3 from animal sources that sold me on this brand, and the bun loves them.


                                    • tanlover14
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                                        They really are super helpful when you message them! Ive never waited longer than 24 hours for a response either!

                                        Nibbler, just to be on the safe side…I would message them and ask about using the pellets the way you are! Although she was a little overweight last time, I would be worried the more “diluted” (Complete) pellet would be limiting her amount of vitamins and nutrients that is the main reason she should be getting the pellet.

                                        If you message them regarding the situation, could you let me know what they say? I am curious. I know if you used the Complete WITHOUT hay, they would get the necessary vitamins/nutrients b/c they would be eating bigger quantities but I’m not sure about if you are using it as a pellet that is liimted — I’m not sure if she will be getting enough of the necessary vitamins. Does this make sense? It’s really late here and I’m on the verge of falling asleep.


                                      • LBJ10
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                                          Tanlover – Are you talking about fiber length standards (I guess you would call them) for livestock feed? I was talking about actual strands of hay. Are we talking about the same thing?


                                        • tanlover14
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                                            It is not the actual strands of hay that help motility — it’s the long-strand fiber which can be as small as the 1.7mm before it becomes not effective. It’s not the actual strand that is the fiber, it’s the fiber that is in the strands of hay that help motility. Not sure if that makes sense. So if you take the same long-strand fiber found in hay and ensure that the strand isn’t any smaller than the 1.7mm, it is still just as effective. Kind of like if you took a bunch of hay and cut it into really tiny pieces. It would still be just as effective as a longer strand of hay. It’s not the strand of hay that matters, it’s the long-strand fiber which is present in the hay. Does that make sense?


                                          • JackRabbit
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                                              I’ll give this a try — correct me if I’m wrong please!

                                              The hay we give our bunnies provides both a source for wearing down teeth (chewing the hay) as well as the long strand fiber (bulk) that helps their digestive systems continue to function properly. The long strand fiber can come from the hay we all feed our bunnies or from hay that has been processed/condensed as long as the bun ingests the appropriate amount of that fiber — the processed/condensed just doesn’t provide for wearing down teeth (front teeth wear down from biting long pieces of hay into smaller pieces and molars wear down during the chewing process).

                                              If you want to *kindof* compare to humans, we can get our required fiber from vegetables and fruits or we can get it from fiber supplements like powdered metamucil. Both ways give us fiber that helps maintain our digestion and keeps things moving, although one option also gives us additional benefits.


                                            • tanlover14
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                                                Almost exactly, JR! The only thing you have to be careful about is buying a pellet that has GROUND the hay. I’m not sure which part of the process of a “typical pellet” is where the fiber is lost — but Sherwood doesn’t grind it so the long-strand fiber is able to be maintained in it’s entirety. It’s cut down significantly but it still maintains the long-strand fiber size of 1.7mm or greater. So it able to what eating hay does digestively. Of course, this is where my main concern lies with their pellets, the teeth! I personally would never find the convienence worth the issue of my bun potentially having problems – whether it be fiber or tooth. With a stack of hay, I am able to KNOW with certainty my bun is getting what they need. With a pellet, I am relying on someone to assure me. I dont like that. And I just think telling any rabbit owner that a pellet can be used in the place of hay is just bad form. It encourages (in my opinion) poor dieting habits & someone not knowledgable about their rabbits diet may not realize that this is perhaps not the best option. Although it’s a great idea, I think they should formulate that formula to be for rabbits who refuse to eat hay only.


                                              • Nibbler2012
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                                                  Did you get my pm?

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                                              Forum DIET & CARE Sherwood Forest pellets