Which Hay and pellets are best?

I've been feeding the Burgess excell pellets to Mitzy (because that's what she'd been eating previously) but just read on here that they could cause a problem??

Which pellets are best and how do I wean her off the excell ones?

Also, I was thinking of buying hay by the bale from a local 'pet and country store' instead of the current 95p a bag stuff she has from the local pet shop (she arrived with me with it and I've not yet managed to get her to eat the other stuff but will persevere if its better for her).

Would Timothy hay from P@H (with dandelions & marigolds) be better than a hay bale??

Thanks, Jo

Hi,
Some people do say that excel nuggets can cause excess cecotrophs (and i know thats probably spelt wrong lol) but you would know if this is happening as you would see them in their litter tray area. My two are on it and are fine. if you do have a problem of the escess cecomabobs then the other good make is science selective, you would need to gradually start adding it a little at a time over about 10 days to wean them off excel though if that is what you choose to do.

I can't imagine a 95p a bag hay is much cop tbh, Pets at Home own make hay is pretty lousy too, I get the Excel Supaforage barn dried grass from there, they did like the camomile one but the last couple of bags i bought of it were really dry and crunchy and they wouldn't touch it.

other people recommend the Oxbow range which i keep meaning to get round to ordering from the hay experts website..they do selection packs too so you can see which hay your bun prefers without committing to buying big bags only for it to go in the bin.

If i had somewhere to store it i would definitely look into getting hay by the bale from a farm as it is supposed to be loads cheaper.

Thanks, that's really helpful ........ how many cecomabobs (love that technical term) is excessive??

I figured the 95p stuff wasn't very good for that price too but then the hay bale is only £4.99 so I wasn't sure what quality that would be either and wondered if I was better ordering some top quality stuff from the hay experts.

Do they eat the cecomabobs straight away or do they often save some for later? I've noticed one or two in Mitzy's litter tray but wondered if she just hadn't got round to having them yet!?! (Now wondering if these are excessive ones).

Thanks, Jo (& Mitzy)

lol yes thats the proper veterinary term for them :lol: well you shouldn't really see any of them as they're supposed to eat them directly from their bottoms (nice) Jess went through a fad of leaving excess ones when she was on unlimited nuggets but when i severely restricted them to a small handful each once a day to encourage more hay eating the problem stopped altogether

I've been told that you should never see any ceocomajiggs at all as they eat them straight from their behinds!! If they are leaving them they might be getting too many pellets. My mini lops get about 30g per day each.

Hay wise I get the burges with the marigold in it and oxbow timothy hay. They also get bedding hay that they are supposed to lie in but they seem to like eating that the most!! :roll:

Ooh I think I must be giving Mitzy too much commercial food .......... I'll try and cut it down!

Am I best cutting it down over a few day - rather than making her go cold turkey?

As far as I know she's a normal sized lop (I'm just looking after her for a while), should I be giving her a couple of handfuls of pellets a day? (Currently she gets a bowl full! ooops) She has access to unlimited hay and I also give her some greens every day.

Thanks, Jo

I have to say that since changing Lola and Lucy to Science Selective - they had done so well.

My rabbits are on Burgess Excel and have never had any problems, I think it probally just depends on your buns tummy. Mine are bedded on Meadow Hay from our local garden centre which sell big bales of it much cheaper than pet shop hay. They also have Burgess Super Forage and the Burgess one with dandilion and marigold, they seem to prefere the forage though:?

I am thinking about getting the Oxbow hay because of all the good 'reviews' on here