Best pellets for giant baby buns

I am about to get a new baby bunny on Thursday. She is a 10 week old french lop. She is currently on a feed that the breeder mixes herself of Allen and Page natural pellets, flaked peas, barley rings and Readigrass.

She has agreed that I pay her extra to give me enough food for at least 2 weeks until I wean her over to another feed of my choice.

I have been looking up feeds on google as she is a giant and it says she is best on a growth feed. Has anyone experience of this? What feeds are good for frenchie babies please?

My other french lop had Allen and Page breeder and growth pellets but we got a huge sack for him of 20kgs and a lot was wasted. I am happy enough to get that again if it is the best feed but he was not particularly keen on it.

I've considered Science and Selective junior pellets but not sure that is a growth feed and would it suit a baby french lop? Or is there a feed anybody can recommend? Thank you

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I must admit I haven't come across the term 'growth feed' previously, but I assume it means a feed specially formulated for junior bunnies. I think all of the main rabbit food companies market a food for junior bunnies within their range, the difference being that it is higher in protein i.e. for a growing bunny.

I can't see that the requirements would be different for a giant than for any other breed of the same age, as long as you adjust the quantity. So, if it were me, I think I would select one of the junior pellets for her.

Actually, more protein rich food does makes some sense for big breeds. The digestion system didn't quite scale up when those breeds were created.

Preitler said:

Actually, more protein rich food does makes some sense for big breeds. The digestion system didn't quite scale up when those breeds were created.

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Yes that's what I read. Would a junior pellet do enough though? So best thing is look at the protein levels and select a higher one then.

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Could I maybe give her junior Science Selective and then a little alfafa aswell? I will be giving her Readigrass aswell as she is being fed that by seller plus it would be good for her growth.

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twistedtiggerz69 said:

Could I maybe give her junior Science Selective and then a little alfafa aswell? I will be giving her Readigrass aswell as she is being fed that by seller plus it would be good for her growth.

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I'd be careful with alfalfa, it's got loads of calcium in it, which rabbits can struggle with, can cause bladder sludge build ups. I think just any good junior pellet will be fine personally, but she shouldnt be on enough of them to matter much anyway I'd have thought personally.

In moderation alfalfa hays are fine for baby Rabbits. They need the protein and calcium.

Pellet feed. https://www.burgesspetcare.com/shop/rabbit-food/junior/excel-junior-dwarf-rabbit-nuggets-with-mint/

Not a fan of SS myself due to them causing choking in some Rabbits.

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ng-Rabbit&highlight=Science+selective+choking

But many people do feed them

https://supremepetfoods.com/products/science-selective-junior-rabbit-food/

Or you could stick with Allen + Page Breeder Grower Pellets, but you can only buy that in 20kg sacks

https://millbryhill.co.uk/products/...SIU5PS2Y3W0ovphZqY3hvNyl8wNdOf0MaAs-FEALw_wcB

InspectorMorse said:

In moderation alfalfa hays are fine for baby Rabbits. They need the protein and calcium.

Pellet feed. https://www.burgesspetcare.com/shop/rabbit-food/junior/excel-junior-dwarf-rabbit-nuggets-with-mint/

Not a fan of SS myself due to them causing choking in some Rabbits.

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ng-Rabbit&highlight=Science+selective+choking

But many people do feed them

https://supremepetfoods.com/products/science-selective-junior-rabbit-food/

Or you could stick with Allen + Page Breeder Grower Pellets, but you can only buy that in 20kg sacks

https://millbryhill.co.uk/products/...SIU5PS2Y3W0ovphZqY3hvNyl8wNdOf0MaAs-FEALw_wcB

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Yea I fed it in small amounts when the rexes were babies, they absolutely loved it, I found it detracted from other hay eating though which was a problem [emoji38]

I recently got a 7 month old Belgian Hare. She came with a large handover bag of Allen & Page, and I've gradually moved her over to Science Select. With her breed she is a woolfer, so with the small amount she has I always break and scatter them.

Graciee said:

I'd be careful with alfalfa, it's got loads of calcium in it, which rabbits can struggle with, can cause bladder sludge build ups. I think just any good junior pellet will be fine personally, but she shouldnt be on enough of them to matter much anyway I'd have thought personally.

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Ok on the alfafa. I didn't realise it would be unsuitable for baby buns. French lops do need to eat a lot and a lot of people have the view to feed them unlimited pellets. I'm trying to get expert view rather than just on google as it's very confusing. Each answer seems to conflict the other! [emoji38] x

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InspectorMorse said:

In moderation alfalfa hays are fine for baby Rabbits. They need the protein and calcium.

Pellet feed. https://www.burgesspetcare.com/shop/rabbit-food/junior/excel-junior-dwarf-rabbit-nuggets-with-mint/

Not a fan of SS myself due to them causing choking in some Rabbits.

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ng-Rabbit&highlight=Science+selective+choking

But many people do feed them

https://supremepetfoods.com/products/science-selective-junior-rabbit-food/

Or you could stick with Allen + Page Breeder Grower Pellets, but you can only buy that in 20kg sacks

https://millbryhill.co.uk/products/...SIU5PS2Y3W0ovphZqY3hvNyl8wNdOf0MaAs-FEALw_wcB

Click to expand...

I was going to give her either a tiny amount every day or a small handful 2-3 times a week. Depends how she likes her food but I never had an issue with any of my frenchies with appetite!

I fed my first 2 french lops junior Excel and they did fine on it. Mischief is on adult Excel at the moment. We tried the new house rabbit one (dandelion) and he isn't keen but I'm not too worried whether he eats pellets now as he is a fatty! It did cause loose stools with my past bunny though and with Mischief aswell until we cut the pellets down.

I didn't know that about Science Selective! [emoji44] I can't load up the link on it for some reason but I trust your word on it. That has put me off SS now!

Mischief was on Allen and Page until 18 months old (when frenchies stop growing) and he did really well on it. His coat was lovely. He was not keen on it after a while but as you say we had to get the 20kg bag so it could have lost it's freshness as we had no container big enough to store it.

I'm thinking I could put her on Allen and Page breeder and growth pellets. I can get it delivered from local horse feed shop literally round the corner the same day. Just means throwing out a half sack of feed again when it goes stale. I hate waste!

I was going to put Mischief on SS but I'm wondering if he should stay on Excel then as he eats such a small amount. I will get the mint one next time. He prefers it. I need to keep him on a small amount of pellets as when they are bonded it seems unfair to feed the baby pellets and him none.

I can't see any other way around it but seperate them to feed them pellets. Reader of Books suggested putting a puppy panel between them both so they still see each other. Means trying to buy single puppy panel somewhere though. The same goes for alfafa. A little twice a week sprinkled through hay wouldn't be so bad but he really can't eat much of that. I saw him grow outwards very quickly when gave him some for a few days as a treat and had to stop again thanks to your advice IM. It was amazing stuff when he was ill with chest infection though and got really skinny!

Would Readigrass be a no no for Mischief aswell at the moment if he needs to lose a bit? Baby is on that at the moment. The problem is they will be on completely different diets. Even the hay! He needs low protein lighter foods and she will need high protein growth feed. How can I feed them what they both need without Mr C getting even fatter?

It's fine when she first gets here for first couple weeks. He is not safe from his neutering and wanted her to get her 2nd dose of worming and jabs done. We intend to try bonding them in 2-3 weeks all being well and if Mischief's health is 100%. Think it would be a bad idea to try bonding them when he is poorly xx

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Graciee said:

Yea I fed it in small amounts when the rexes were babies, they absolutely loved it, I found it detracted from other hay eating though which was a problem [emoji38]

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I sprinkled it in Mischief's hay. It made the hay smell lush and he ate both quite happily and hunted for the pellets. I love the smell and when he was eating it his face smelt of alfafa where he was burying his nose in the hay. Am I right in thinking it should be the molasses free one? Due to the sugar content perhaps? Just a guess! xx

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bunniemum said:

I recently got a 7 month old Belgian Hare. She came with a large handover bag of Allen & Page, and I've gradually moved her over to Science Select. With her breed she is a woolfer, so with the small amount she has I always break and scatter them.

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So why did you change her to Science Select if you don't mind me asking? A lot of people really rate SS but I have never tried it. How do you find it? What are the positives/negatives of it? I was thinking of moving my 2 year old frenchie from Excel to SS as heard good things about it.

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twistedtiggerz69 said:

So why did you change her to Science Select if you don't mind me asking? A lot of people really rate SS but I have never tried it. How do you find it? What are the positives/negatives of it? I was thinking of moving my 2 year old frenchie from Excel to SS as heard good things about it.

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I moved all my then rabbits from Excel to SS possibly about 10 years ago. I found Excel was quite rich and some of the buns seemed to have too many sticky butts, I was also concerned some were more prone to stasis . SS is more fibrous, so no sticky butts and (touch wood!) stasis has been a rare occurrence unless they are under the weather for a particular reason or moulting. I haven't stuck with the Allen & Page because it's hard for me to get hold of locally or store. My last BH had SS all his life, unfortunately he did have a couple of scary choking episodes, but I'm now very careful with the pellets, and scatter/hand feed only broken up small amounts at a time.

bunniemum said:

I moved all my then rabbits from Excel to SS possibly about 10 years ago. I found Excel was quite rich and some of the buns seemed to have too many sticky butts, I was also concerned some were more prone to stasis . SS is more fibrous, so no sticky butts and (touch wood!) stasis has been a rare occurrence unless they are under the weather for a particular reason or moulting. I haven't stuck with the Allen & Page because it's hard for me to get hold of locally or store. My last BH had SS all his life, unfortunately he did have a couple of scary choking episodes, but I'm now very careful with the pellets, and scatter/hand feed only broken up small amounts at a time.

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Yes I have had a few episodes with Excel and sticky butts. I had to reduce my current bun's pellets for this reason.

I can get Allen and Page delivered no problem and it is good value for money except I will have to chuck half the sack again at least! It's a shame I can't give both buns the Allen and Page Growth feed. There is the natural pellets one which is lower protein to suit older bun but wondering if it is enough for baby bun?

Are the Science Selective pellets difficult to break up. I have trouble using my right arm when I have bad nerve pain so if they are tough I may struggle.

I still am not sure what to do [emoji23] I don't know enough to know which feed is most important for which bun and if it makes too much difference if they both eat the same feed but the baby gets extra for her growth. Then I would need to seperate them to give it to her anyway!



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