Pellet debate

Hi guys,

I recently got two diddy mini lops, Ralph and Penelope!
I had a bunny before and always had him on excel rabbit pellets, he lived until he was 12 and never had any issues with his food!
However I know things with pellets have changed since then, my two little fur babies were on A&P grower pellets with the breeder which they enjoyed and was fine, I started to introduce the excel junior pellets and Penelope LOVED them, Ralph on the other hand wasn’t going near them so we quickly figured Penny was eating all of the new pellets, making her poop tiny and dark leaving Ralph to hoover up the A&P food.
After not being able to buy any A&P soon enough I’ve started to mix Haygates Rabbits Choice into their diet really slowly with a little leftover A&P Breeder Pellets, their poop seems okay and they’re both eating with plenty of fresh hay & water!

But I wanted some reassurance that this is the best thing I could be doing or if anyone had any other suggestions?
Should they still be on A&P or will Haygates be good enough for them?

What do you guys know about A&P and Haygates?


Thanks so much for your help in advance!

Ralph, Penelope
& Soph

I got my girls just befor Christmas and they were on haygates which when I looked up was not nutritionally brilliant so I swapped them to oxbow junior pellets.

This chart may help you with choosing the best pellets for Ralph and Penelope

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp

Yeah I’d been looking at this chart but a lady at our local pet store said she’s always used Haygates and never had issues but I got a little worried because I could find much nutritional info on it bar fibre and protein percentages!

I think I might get them back on A&P..
how long do you plan to keep your little bunnies on junior food Lisa?
I keep reading different things!

its a tricky one, but I think I would always urge people to do their own research and listen to the 'facts' rather than via word and mouth. the reality is is that experiences are very individual. the facts don't change from person to person, and by facts in this sense, I mean the nutritional content on the packet. its best to go for one that is good quality, high in fibre and ticks all the boxes. even if somebody else has had healthy rabbits on it, it doesn't mean that there isn't something better out there, or that its 'okay'.

to me, its somewhat the same principle as "well I've smoked and never got lung issues!". the reality is is that the facts are there that it is dangerous, and you probably got lucky lol.

ofc not saying that haygates is awful and will cause lung cancer - but that being said its not the best food out there and somebody that has used it without issues is somewhat irrelevant, when theres better food out there if that makes sense

the chart Lisa gave is incredibly helpful, it can even help you decipher foods that aren't on that list should you need too.

altho heygates isn't on there, the first thing that strikes me when I go to their website is that it looks to be a muesli? not sure tho. I would never ever recommend feeding a muesli as there's suggestions that point to rabbits selective feeding, thus not getting the proper nutritional food they should. pellet as far better as they can't pick and choose. most rabbits will pick and choose all the sweet things and leave what they hate. there's also been evidence of dental issues too. yes some people feed pellet and have had fine rabbits, but they've either been extremely lucky, or they have the type of rabbit that eats everything (rare). pellet is just safer all around, it allows the rabbit to have a balanced diet and removes selective eating.
the next thing that strikes me is that protein is way to high, and it doesn't state its for junior rabbits anywhere but maybe I'm missing something lol. adult rabbits should have between 12-14% protein, young rabbits should have higher, around 17%. either way, 17% is a bit too high.
going on thatm theres no suggestion anywhere of a junior food, which is concerning. adults and young rabbits have different needs.
the fibre isn't great either. 16% isn't a whole lot. another one listed on there has 13% fibre :shock: with rabbit food, the higher fibre the better. the highest on the market right now is science selective.
its also a bit concerning as on the rabbits choice food, it suggests that it can be fed to other small rodents as well :? they will have entirely different nutritional needs, so somebody isn't going to be getting what they need....
and finally, the part that I find concerning, I can't find ANY ingredients list anywhere!! that makes me rather suspicious lol. theres no ingredients list, no vitamin content in there at all. I'd want to check what the first ingredients are, what the vitamins are, theres nothing. it seems like they're hiding something, to me at least.

so I would agree, I think you'd be better of switching them to another pellet that meets the requirements, is a pellet, and doesn't seem so hush hush about whats in their food

as for how long they should be on it, rabbits should be taken off of junior food at 6 months old. that's something that heygates gives misinformation about actually lol.

the only bone I can find to pick with allen and page is that their first ingredient (ingredients go via weight) is "straw"..which isn't the most nutritious lol. straw has no nutritional value what so ever, so you'd really want grass or hay. that being said, its not a bad pellet and ticks all the boxes really.

the link Lisa gave has a separate click at the top, suitability for youngsters. that might help you narrow it down, as youngsters have slightly different nutritional needs ofc.

I’m in the middle of swapping them over now to excel as it’s recomended to swap around 5 to 6months. But I think to be honest the A&P is better then the oxbow. We’ve had so many issues with fresh foods that I wasn’t willing to swap again when I realised it wasn’t quiet up to par.

The haygates I couldn’t find any infomation online either but only selling in 20kg bags in some places for as little £10 then compare it to excel, suprem and others I think the more you pay the better quality you get to be honest.

Thanks for your help!
Yeah I’m not keen on Haygates for the reasons you’ve specified too! I wasn’t happy that I couldn’t find any nutritional info when I got back but they are pellets, i wouldn’t use the musli! I have hardly given them any anyway!

I think I might introduce them to the SS junior pellets simply as I can get it today rather than wait for it to be delivered like the A&P grower pellets!

Is it okay to introduce them to a new pellet without the old stuff to help transition them to the new if I do it really slowly?

Always change food really slowly especially baby rabbits, I think it's over 10 days they (experts) recommend, starting with 90% usual food to 10% new food and increase the new food each day, if that makes sense.

Yeah that does thank you
I think we’ve managed to find the stuff they were on originally so fingers crossed we are able to get back to that without any issues for Ralph & Penny!
They’ve had very little Haygates mixed with their breeders choice of pellets so we are trying to get back to that to keep them healthy and happy!

I really like A&P Natural, my rabbits always had lovely big healthy poos on it. But it has terribly short dates on a bag and even when I had 16 bunnies I was wasting alot as I feed very minimal pellets.