Not keen on Burgess Pellets all of a sudden

[RT]

I noticed when I opened a new bag of the Burgess Excel (green packet) a couple of weeks ago that the pellet size was different.

Over the last week or so, our house rabbit (Gerrard) has become a lot less excited about them (he gets very excited about all of his food) and then on Monday night he refused to eat his pellets. However, he seemed fine and was eating plenty of veg and lots of hay.

The situation was still the same last night (he had left most of his morning pellets) so I tried a different pack of pellets and also a few of the free sample of some pellets the vet suggested. Gerrard did in the end decide to eat the pellets I gave him but then this morning wasn't interested in them but continued to ask for food even though he had plenty of hay and had eaten lots of veg.

I remember a few years ago this happened but was resolved by buying a different packet of pellets with a different best before date and when I complained to Burgess they did analyse the pellets and sent lots of vouchers.

The vet nurse didn't seem to think it was worth stressing him out and carting him to the vet for an inspection as he is eating plenty of other stuff.

What should I do if this continues? The pellets are definately different so is it worth trying another feed? Gerrard has had a teeth inspection and MOT within the last month and all was fine and he seems himself other than this issue.

Many thanks

Ruth

[Vegan_Bunny]

My bunny, Fiver decided to refuse his pellets one morning and it turned out he needed a dental. He was eating everything else apart from the pellets so obviously something about them hurt him. Best to get his teeth checked to make sure.

I hope it's just the food. x

[RT]

Thanks for the reply.

I had wondered about getting his teeth checked if the situation was no different today. However, we got home to find he had cleared his pellets and then proceeded to demolish a proper helping without hesitation .

If he goes off them again then I will take him to the vets for a check up.

[LittleFurryFriend]

Hiya, really worried about my bunny Scooby

Hes lost tons of weight and his bones are very noticable. At first I thought it was due to Dora sneeking his food as well as her own. So I seperated them during meal times.
But Scooby no longer seems interested in eating his pellets. He eats a few and then leaves them. He's fine eating vegetables and hay (which is great!) but he just wont eat the pellets Ive put infront of him. Gonna ring the vet tomorrow and get him seen. Hoping it isnt a teeth problem. Hes never had one before and I dont earn much money (only being 15/16) so Im scared of the vet fees and if he loses anymore weight.

P.s. The bunnies pellets are the Adult Burgess Excel Pellets too.. May have to ring them up too...

[JemimaH]

Hiya, really worried about my bunny Scooby

Hes lost tons of weight and his bones are very noticable. At first I thought it was due to Dora sneeking his food as well as her own. So I seperated them during meal times.
But Scooby no longer seems interested in eating his pellets. He eats a few and then leaves them. He's fine eating vegetables and hay (which is great!) but he just wont eat the pellets Ive put infront of him. Gonna ring the vet tomorrow and get him seen. Hoping it isnt a teeth problem. Hes never had one before and I dont earn much money (only being 15/16) so Im scared of the vet fees and if he loses anymore weight.

P.s. The bunnies pellets are the Adult Burgess Excel Pellets too.. May have to ring them up too...

It'd be better to start a new thread about this, would get noticed more

[Summer&Skye]

I had the same prob and I emailed burgess who told me that the recipe hadn't changed, just the pellet size I'm not convinced but switched to pets at home pellets (which my 2 previously refused) and they r eating them fine now, especially since I discovered how little I needed to be feeding them!! Nowhere near as much as it tells u on the pack! I actually thought I was under feeding them as a full bowl was less than what it said they should have each day

[Terri_louise177]

I'm a but worried now, are Burgess still a decent pellet to give my buns, or is a different one more recommended?

[lovemybuns]

I don't think bunnies not eating many pellets is such a big deal. Some of my bunnies will leave their pellets in preference to hay or straw.
I strongly recommend Allen & Page Natural rabbit pellets. They have the highest crude fibre content I have researched and I've done a lot!
I started off on burgess excell adult pellets and have also used junior/dwarf. Neither of which had a good enough crude fibre content though it is one of the best commercial pet shop brands.

Allen & Page comes in 20kg bags for around £9 but it contains no preservatives so goes out of date quickly. Even if I only had two rabbits I would use it and accet the wastage as the price is still very competitive, especially in comparison to burgess.

My buns were not keen on it at first but they nom it down now.
Pellets are a small part of a bunnies diet and are really there for our convenience and certainly are not a must to a healthy rabbits diet if the correct nutrition is supplied through a variety of fresh and dried herbs, veg and occasional fruits.

A couple of my rabbits have 50g of pellets just a couple of times a week and sustain themselves on mostly Timothy and meadow hay, oat/barley straw, grass, weeds and herbs. They are all at ideal weight and always get great reports from mot vet checks.

If your rabbit is losing condition or behaving differently then yes there is concern but just leaving pellets and snacking down on lots of hay is a good thing. If your worried you can always add some vitamins to drinking water.

Of course if your bun is losing weight, you should seek veterinary advice.
Pops my 7 yr old nethie has stayed the same weight for two years on a varied diet with just occasional pellets. He has statis when he came to me and since I'm very strict on a super high fibre diet which has worked wonders on him and two other buns that also came to me with statis or lack of caeotrophy.

Every now and again in warmer months all my bunnies have reduced portions to no pellets for a few days then gradual reintroduction. It seems to do them great, a good digestive detox in a way I guess.

Ems xx