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Forum DIET & CARE Bad pellets and changing brands

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    • Silly Sungura
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        When Drs. Foster and Smith had Hodari’s brand of pellets on sale recently I ordered two bags. Yesterday she finished the bag she’d been on when I ordered from F and S, so tonight I opened a new one, and was struck immediately by a bad, sour smell. I opened the second bag and it, too, smelled very sour. Hodari wanted nothing to do with them; I let her sniff them, just to see what she thought. She kept expecting me to give her her usual yummy pellets and all I had was stinky ones. So, my question is, Should I go out tomorrow and buy another bag of her brand of pellets, or would it be okay to get her some different ones?   Hodari generally does not have problems with food at all; she seems to tolerate everything very well. Would it be okay to just switch brands on her suddenly? What are your thoughts? I’m just really leery of her usual brand now…


      • Stickerbunny
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          Probably the pellets were in the warehouse too long when they shipped them to you, or they somehow got wet and molded. How long did you have them before you opened the bag? Nutrients do degrade over time in pellets, so it isn’t really recommended to keep them over 2 months anyway.

          It’s best to gradually switch them so as to not shock their system, if you want to switch brands maybe buy a small bag of the normal brand and a larger bag of the new brand (Oxbow is good ) and mix them until the smaller bag is gone.


        • Silly Sungura
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            I appreciate your advice. The date on both bags said they would be best if used by August of 2012. The smallest bags I can buy are 5 lbs and they last Hodari for more than three months. If I switch her gradually it will be a long process, at that rate. Should I do it anyway?


          • Beka27
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              Not related to your question on switching, but did you contact the company with info from the bags? If there is something wrong with the batch they should be made aware. They may also offer to reimburse your cost or send new bags.


            • KatnipCrzy
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                I agree- you do NOT want to do a sudden switch. And you should contact either DFS or the pellet manufacturer.


              • Silly Sungura
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                  Okay, guys. Thanks. I will contact Drs Fand S today. I think the pellets must have gotten wet when they were still at the manufacturer. After I opened them they seemed like they were over full, and the bags wouldn’t close. They must have been exposed to moisture at some point and then they expanded. I’ll go ahead and buy her usual pellets again. I was hoping not to have to.


                • mocha200
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                    What brand do you use right now?


                  • Silly Sungura
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                      They are Zupreem. I usually order them, but I started getting them because they are the only decent pellet that is also available locally. I wish I’d just gone with Oxbow in the first place; I know they’re good because that’s the brand we fed our guinea pig and we never had an issue with them. Anyway, Drs F and S are sending two new bags of Zupreem. Hopefully it’s okay to wait until they get here? Otherwise I will have too many bags of pellets on my hands!


                    • RabbitPam
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                        If you have any left from your bag before you opened the new one, you could buy a small bag of Oxbow and mix it in for half and half. You can wean a bunny onto a new brand by mixing. Not the bad ones, though. If you do this with the new, fresh pellets being sent, as long as they are good, she will get a tast for oxbow and you can continue with a half/half mix until you use up the Zupreem. Eventually if you still don’t want to use it, you can lessen the mix until it’s entirely oxbow.


                      • Silly Sungura
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                          Thank you. I probably will get some of the Oxbow food and start gradually switching her over like you suggest. She didn’t have any pellets at all tonight because all of the good ones are gone. Poor little bunny was looking at me like: “Mommy, I think you forgot something!” It usually takes three to four business days for shipments to get here from Wisconsin. I am assuming that since Hodari eats a big variety of veggies along with her hay, that she will be okay without pellets until then?

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                      Forum DIET & CARE Bad pellets and changing brands