Thinking of changing pellets from A&P

I have had my buns on A&P since I got Zion which is 2 years ago now. I don't know what they have done to the pellets but my bunnies are really starting to go off them now. Zion never finishes his bowl in the morning which has only really started happening in the last month or so. Fia takes ages to eat anyway but she doesn't seem very keen and is skinny enough as it is with her bowel problems.

Winter is getting scrawnier (sp?) by the day. When I got him he was overweight and I gradually reduced him on Excel pellets on to A&P. Now he and Alice are on A&P fully and he is just getting skinnier and losing condition. As Alice is quite a big girl I put in 3 large handfuls of A&P for them and he eats it for about 3 minutes and then leaves it and moves onto the hay. I give him some Excel pellets as a treat every so often and he can't get enough. He has had a full vet check and has been given the all clear from my vet.

So I am wondering which pellet is best to GRADUALLY move them on to? Science Selective or Excel?

It is a pain as A&P is so cheap and supposed to be the best for fibre etc but I just don't think it is doing anything for my buns.

Thanks

mine are all (apart from one) on Dodson and Horrell Rabbit Plus Pellets one is on horse food mixed with Dengie grass lite.

There is no reason they should be losing weight by eating A & P..aslong as they are getting unlimited hay and veg aswell:?

If you do need you change I would say SS..

or just try adding some moistened porridge oats to their food each morning

ShivyRex said:

I have had my buns on A&P since I got Zion which is 2 years ago now. I don't know what they have done to the pellets but my bunnies are really starting to go off them now. Zion never finishes his bowl in the morning which has only really started happening in the last month or so. Fia takes ages to eat anyway but she doesn't seem very keen and is skinny enough as it is with her bowel problems.

Winter is getting scrawnier (sp?) by the day. When I got him he was overweight and I gradually reduced him on Excel pellets on to A&P. Now he and Alice are on A&P fully and he is just getting skinnier and losing condition. As Alice is quite a big girl I put in 3 large handfuls of A&P for them and he eats it for about 3 minutes and then leaves it and moves onto the hay. I give him some Excel pellets as a treat every so often and he can't get enough. He has had a full vet check and has been given the all clear from my vet.

So I am wondering which pellet is best to GRADUALLY move them on to? Science Selective or Excel?

It is a pain as A&P is so cheap and supposed to be the best for fibre etc but I just don't think it is doing anything for my buns.

Thanks

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From what I read on these forums most prefer SS over Excel, some say Excel produces extra of one of the types of poo (that I can't spell).

A lot of people had good things to say about wagg optimum also:
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=134696
Which is a lot cheaper than SS.

A&P failed the taste test with my buns and they're on SS. I'm not going to force the issue following the Vets advice, Spike needs access to a lot of pellets as he has no front teeth and his back ones are misaligned.
Excel has given my buns pooey bums when tried with that.
So, if I were in your shoes, I'd also be concerned and would gradually switch to SS.

Hope their condition improves -good luck

honeybunny said:

There is no reason they should be losing weight by eating A & P..aslong as they are getting unlimited hay and veg aswell:?

If you do need you change I would say SS..

or just try adding some moistened porridge oats to their food each morning

Click to expand...

I don't think the problem is the nutritional value of the pellets. Its the fact that the buns just don't seem to like them anymore and so they aren't eating them. I think they do eat them throughout the day but in the case of Winter and Alice I think its Alice who eats the pellets and Winter just munches on hay and gets his veg at night.

They all get unlimited hay and veggies (a spring green leaf & celeary with occassional treats of carrot) every day.

I put a bowl of pellets in for Fia about 2 hours ago. She eats her oats and leaves most of the pellets. I do separate her and Zion as he is a greedy git but even he isn't eating them. There is easily a handful left in the bowl at the moment which has been there for 2 hours. Not sure how much is left in Zion's bowl.

Ordinarily they would have cleared their bowls in 15mins. Now they're just not fussed.

Ok SS. I will buy a small bag and start mixing it in with the A&P altho I bet they won't eat the A&P at all now :roll:

I'd also vary their veg a bit..and if your buns are losing weight you can up the amount of carrot as it will help.
try fresh herbs such as flat parsley and coriander (Asda sell these in large bunches @ 2 for a £1)
Also parsnip, dandelions, a slice of apple, savoy cabbage...and of course fresh grass...your buns may like a change now and then

Someone else said their Bun was losing condition on A+P.....Lea-Anne I think it was :?

Certainly my Buns lost a bit of weight when I changed them from SS onto A+P and I do supplement any frail Buns I have with some Wagg Pellets aswell as A+P.

A+P also do a Breeder/Grower pellet which has a higher protein content and may be more palatable ?

Janex

I am currently moving Evo from A&P to Oxbow, only reason being is that we never get through anywhere a whole sack of A&P before it goes out of date. Evo seems to be loving the Oxbow A LOT though, which is weird, as he wouldn't eat it when I tried to change him to it from Excel years and years ago!!! I don't give him very much - barely enough to cover the bottom of the bowl (to encourage hay eating), and it takes him about 2 hours to eat it all.

I can't recommend Excel, it caused the bunnies I had to produce too many soft poos, and it makes them smell in an unpleasant way. Science Selective has been popular with all my bunnies and fosters.

If you leave the bowl, do they finish their pellets during the day or are they still there in the evening? Sometimes bunnies eat less when it is warmer. Mine need longer to eat all their pellets at the moment, but they eat lots of hay.

Our own 2 buns have A&P and we have only seen an improvement in them compared to when they had Excel. Poos area lot better, glossy healthy fur and skin and lovely bright eyes. Ours wolf it down.

all of my buns are on a&p. the ones that came from the rspca were on excel with a bit of russel rabbit mixed in and as soon as they were on a&p with me, their coats and eyes have improved in shine and brightness. some of mine wolf it down in seconds and others tend to go back and forth to the bowl during the day. i must say that a couple of mine are eating a lot less now its warmer. whatever you decide to do, i hope it goes well and your buns enjoy the new diet! x

Thanks guys.

Sorry will just clear up the veggie thing. They do get a variant of veggies - I was running out the door so didn't have a chance to write the whole list. They get Spring greens and celery every day. Other stuff they have but not every day is broccoli, Cauliflower, basil, coriander, carrots, parsnips (usually a sunday), and peppers. Good deal on the herbs at Asda but I don't have an Asda near me They all love thei veg, especially Winter, and there is never a problem with them polishing them off.

The pellets are usually gone by the time I get home. Problem with that though is knowing who ate most of the pellets. This is especially important for Zion & Fia as I have to separate them as Fia needs more food than him but I can't keep them apart all day!

I have never seen a change in the amount or speed that they eat their pellets before so I am not convinced with the weather theory, especially seeing it hasn't actually been that warm here for the past 2 weeks at least!

I must say Winter had a mucky bum when he came her on the Excel and so I def will not be feeding that. He definately got a glossier coat and feels much softer but its just the weight thing.

I have only just bought a new sack of A&P as I thought maybe the last lot had gone slighlty out of date & that is why they went off them but there has been no difference between sacks. I will mix SS with the remaining A&P pellets and see how we go. That may be the best way of dealing with it in the future.

Thanks guys