• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Rabbit Food Comparisons

I saw that before when I first got my girls & wanted to give them the best possible start in life as I was afraid they could be sickly after what I heard/saw at the breeder where they came from :cry: hence why they're on SS & my boys on excel. I was going to change the boys to SS, but after that choking thread, I daren't!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You're welcome to share it, I should put more of my stuff on facebook, I'm just getting the hang of it :)
 
this is interesting. i wonder why excel causes so many tummy issues? :? and even though science selective is well balanced, i would be so scared of using it after the choking incidents that have happened. :(

what happens if you feed one that isn't completely right. is there a way to use it and to also add extra in a way? i feed oxbow bunny basics which is slightly low in certain areas. :wave:
 
I use Purina Mills Complete. Not perfect, but we've used it all my life - in fact I think my parents used it for their bunny before I was even born! I actually started a thread about whether to switch a few years ago and ended up deciding not to, thinking 'don't fix what ain't broken'!

It's interestng to see exactly where it's lacking, I never actually knew what was wrong with it, just that it wasn't the best. And I'm surprised Oxbow isn't perfect, I had thought it was the best US brand!
 
I use Purina Mills Complete. Not perfect, but we've used it all my life - in fact I think my parents used it for their bunny before I was even born! I actually started a thread about whether to switch a few years ago and ended up deciding not to, thinking 'don't fix what ain't broken'!

It's interestng to see exactly where it's lacking, I never actually knew what was wrong with it, just that it wasn't the best. And I'm surprised Oxbow isn't perfect, I had thought it was the best US brand!

i thought oxbow was one of the best. it's only slightly low in some areas, but i'm still a bit disappointed as i worry bisc doesn't get what he needs as it is because he's not good with fresh food. mind you, he had a dodgy tum on excel so couldn't use that anyway.
 
I think that oxbow is a good rabbit food. I don't know that the lower level the chart is showing, is that much of an issue. In fact, the lower calcium level is one reason some people feed it to their rabbits, due to possible bladder sludge issues the rabbit may have.

With the calcium/phosphorus ratio, you would need to take into account that with most of the UK brand pellets, the packaging only lists one calcium percentage. With the oxbow, the packaging lists both the minimum and max percentage. So if you were to take the max calcium listing out of the equation, then the calcium/phosphorus would be a good ratio.

Not sure how much the slightly lower fat percentage matters.

You also have to take into consideration the ingredients used in each pellet, and any special digestive issues or health needs a particular rabbit may have. Some rabbits need grass hay based pellets with low calcium, some may need a pellet with less grains and carbs, some may have issues with one type of pellet and do better on a different kind. Essentially you want a pellet that has a good basic composition, but more importantly you want one that each individual rabbit does well on and maintains their best health.
 
I think that oxbow is a good rabbit food. I don't know that the lower level the chart is showing, is that much of an issue. In fact, the lower calcium level is one reason some people feed it to their rabbits, due to possible bladder sludge issues the rabbit may have.

With the calcium/phosphorus ratio, you would need to take into account that with most of the UK brand pellets, the packaging only lists one calcium percentage. With the oxbow, the packaging lists both the minimum and max percentage. So if you were to take the max calcium listing out of the equation, then the calcium/phosphorus would be a good ratio.

Not sure how much the slightly lower fat percentage matters.

You also have to take into consideration the ingredients used in each pellet, and any special digestive issues or health needs a particular rabbit may have. Some rabbits need grass hay based pellets with low calcium, some may need a pellet with less grains and carbs, some may have issues with one type of pellet and do better on a different kind. Essentially you want a pellet that has a good basic composition, but more importantly you want one that each individual rabbit does well on and maintains their best health.

thank you :wave: i wonder how much the fat part matters as bisc struggles with keeping his weight up to where it should be. not by a massive amount, but he does seem to need extra help for some reason.
 
Personally I've found SS the best, but I do break it up and watch him when he eats in case of choking.
 
I think that oxbow is a good rabbit food. I don't know that the lower level the chart is showing, is that much of an issue. In fact, the lower calcium level is one reason some people feed it to their rabbits, due to possible bladder sludge issues the rabbit may have.

With the calcium/phosphorus ratio, you would need to take into account that with most of the UK brand pellets, the packaging only lists one calcium percentage. With the oxbow, the packaging lists both the minimum and max percentage. So if you were to take the max calcium listing out of the equation, then the calcium/phosphorus would be a good ratio.

Not sure how much the slightly lower fat percentage matters.

You also have to take into consideration the ingredients used in each pellet, and any special digestive issues or health needs a particular rabbit may have. Some rabbits need grass hay based pellets with low calcium, some may need a pellet with less grains and carbs, some may have issues with one type of pellet and do better on a different kind. Essentially you want a pellet that has a good basic composition, but more importantly you want one that each individual rabbit does well on and maintains their best health.

This is basically why we still feed Excel. :wave:
We tried our four on SS...Tibbsy had three choking episodes in 3 days (despite breaking it down), and Maisey lost weight really quickly. For us, the compromise was feeding all four a slightly 'poorer' food, but being able to keep all of them pretty healthy overall.
With loads of hay, infequent treats, and herbs / forage, they've all done pretty well.

I still think it's good to aim for the 'best' pellet, but sometimes you have to go with what's right for your particular buns or situation.
 
Keep in mind when we talk about ideals for rabbit diets we are looking at their whole diet. So yes, if one pellet is slightly lower fibre you can balance that out by feeding less pellets and more hay. It helps a lot to start with a good dry food, but you'll still need to tweak for you individual rabbit because what they need is going to vary depending on things like neutered, age, exercise level, health, time of year etc.

There probably isn't much between the top few dry food brands, so pick what suits your rabbit. Hopefully the chart helps you work out which are pretty good and which you could do a lot better than :)
 
Keep in mind when we talk about ideals for rabbit diets we are looking at their whole diet. So yes, if one pellet is slightly lower fibre you can balance that out by feeding less pellets and more hay. It helps a lot to start with a good dry food, but you'll still need to tweak for you individual rabbit because what they need is going to vary depending on things like neutered, age, exercise level, health, time of year etc.

There probably isn't much between the top few dry food brands, so pick what suits your rabbit. Hopefully the chart helps you work out which are pretty good and which you could do a lot better than :)

thank you :wave: x
 
Back
Top