Opinions... Best Pellets??

6riversfarms":12ifacm5 said:

I use the Lonestar 18%. It is only 13.99 a bag here. I have had a lot of folks recommend the Petrus feed but it is a 70 mile.drive to their facility in Alexandria. It is only 20 miles to the Lone Star dealer.

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That sounds great but it's not available around here. :/

I feed Kent Top Show Professional Rabbit and my rabbits have been in AMAZING condition. My mini lop had just a beautiful coat which a judge commented on. So I am really happy with it. It's the best quality stuff around me but less expensive. I am currently using Purina because the only store that carries Kent was out. I don't really like that stuff; it seems like I have to feed my rabbits more of it to keep them in good condition and also it has corn in it which I'm wary of. I've tried Manna Pro; it's ok but again Kent is WAY better and cheaper.

We have been using Kent Top Show (like a couple others here have mentioned) for 3 months. It costs more than what I was use to paying. I pay around $21 for 50# bag.
You can go to the Kent site and find a dealer near you. I was surprised that a close by landscaping place sold it!
It was recommended to me by two show breeders who were much more experienced than me so I figured I'd trust their judgement and keep the rabbits I got from them on what they were use to.
I am very pleased with it - I wouldn't mind it if were a bit cheaper but pleased otherwise.
The rabbits are doing great.

Looks like TS sells it. I'll look into it.

If it's from a good mill who cleans their equipment with care instead of blasting corn into supposed to be corn free batches and has fresh ingredients then your rabbits should adjust to it. However, with the given knowledge I would feed that Rowe pellet one up from country lane which has no named ingredients and is an utter mystery what it includes. Since I chose to feed a horse pellets over country lane and make my own mix when the horse pellet's higher fat content was an issue my opinion of stuff with unnamed ingredients should be obvious. You don't know what's in it, you can't judge the quality very well, and the feed manufacturer can change the formula without disclosing it because there is not enough details on the bag to require a label change. It then comes down to more whether the company is good and the mill is good than the ingredients on the bag. I have no way to judge that personally. I can't tell you if a company is trustworthy especially if they are new.

We have fed manna pro gro or sho, corn free when possible. We've had none of the problems at our local mills that others have with manna pro. At our previous location the big feed store was a bit unpredictable about manna pro being in stock and purina products are on my questionable list so we switched to kent that was special ordered the amount we wanted to the kent feed store that was about the size of someone's livingroom. It was no better or worse than manna pro. We switched back when we moved near another large feed store but we still have issues getting 18% instead of the 16%. All rabbits we've had have done well on either kent formula and either manna pro formula so we go with the 16% as needed. Lone Star is usually considered good feed with higher than average protein. It's one of the only brands you can get really high protein stuff for specialty animals like button quail. People make a business of grinding Lone Star gamebird crumbles, repackaging, and selling to pet quail owners.

I'm looking at the Kent rabbit feed site but I don't see any ingredients lists. I guess I can just go out to TS and look. I'll try to check it out today. Seems pricey though, compared to other similar feeds. <br /><br /> -- Mon Jun 01, 2015 11:36 am -- <br /><br />

Zass":2rwhkx41 said:

My problems with Manno pro were similar to Ramjets, except that I was buying the SHO feed.

I used man.a pro select (16% protein) in my first year of keeping rabbits , never had a problem .... then I started getting batches that smelled very strongly of molasses & had loads of unprocessed corn as well as being overly dusty.

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OK, so the molasses smell wasn't all in my head? I remember checking the ingredients to see how high up on this list it was because I could smell it so strongly.

I can say, a year after the switch, I did not realize how much trouble was being caused by the feed until I switched OFF of it

After the switch, Mucoid enteritis completely vanished from my herd.
(The v-lops never got mucoid enteritis to begin with, their digestive issues were more unusual, and I doubt any feed would have help them.)

I kind of hate the Purina corporation, but the local "Purina complete" available to me is more consistent than the manna pro SHO feed.

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UGH!!! darn it... I JUST bought a 50# bag of Mannapro Pro Select. :/
It says it doesn't contain any corn products and, compared to the ingredients in the Purina feed, it seems superior? (the Purina does contain corn and some other stuff I wasn't happy with - but not sure of the price). It does smell strongly of molasses, but so did my other feed (Producer's Pride - TSC). I really wanted to upgrade and get a higher quality pellet for my bunnies, now I'm worried I didn't make a good choice. I would love to get a really nice feed, but there just isn't anything around here except for TSC and these are my only choices there.

Yeah. I'm not happy about the corn in purina either Susie, and
I also think Manna pro has a nicer ingredient list.
But see... When my kits start on feed-quality corn from day one, they don't get enteritis and die suddenly like they can when I open a new bag and a feed suddenly has a bunch of scarcely processed cleaner-corn mixed in.

It doesn't matter how nice the ingredient list is if it doesn't accurately represent what is actually IN THE BAGS. :evil:

I use Mana Pro Sho mostly because I have large rabbits and I like the higher protein for grow outs and nursing moms. The only problem I have is fines. I believe that is caused by the people handling the bags. Fifty pound bags get thrown around alot so the pellets get broken down. .

I was hopeful with the last, had been feeding Manna Pro. Mini Rex are doing fine, so are lions but HL no kids at all. That may be another issue all together, although I did 1 HL doe have a litter and loose them (new doe here).

I have been getting bad feed lately, not just corn from cleanings but literally bags that were left out in the rain and then sold. Course no good, have taken them back and complained but no such luck. I don't expect 100% of the time for the feed to be perfect, but out of the 60+ bags of feed I've purchased with in the last couple months 20 were no good. Thought it was more bad bags and feed I'd gotten when I called to check on the new feed, but after looking back its that. Still too costly to just leave as is, and I'm still paying over 20 a bag and driving over an hour to get it (and take back).

I found a feed supplier of Nutrena that will carry/order feed as I wish as long as I pay for the feed that they normally don't carry before hand (understandable, used to sell feed/pet stuffs and people would have me get stuff in then never show and that can kill an operation). Feed is reasonable and is about the same as the other place trip wise (60-65 miles round trip). My next feed trip I intend on making a trip down to get some and order a few of the bags I want if every thing goes well with the Lions I'll have to sell so I can get extra in one trip. Feed there is going to be 12.25 to 14.50 plus taxes per 40/50lb bag (prices may go up or down of course depending on market in the long run). I don't know if you've looked into that, but might be some thing. I was assured their feed was not left outside nor ill handled, any questionable bags or bags that even get wet during unloading are promptly dealt with and never get to the floor.

Info for the store:
Nettles Equipment
2644 Servia Elmira Road
Duck, WV 25063
304 364 2445

Rebel.Rose.Rabbitry":2ed4h7kq said:

I was hopeful with the last, had been feeding Manna Pro. Mini Rex are doing fine, so are lions but HL no kids at all. That may be another issue all together, although I did 1 HL doe have a litter and loose them (new doe here).

I have been getting bad feed lately, not just corn from cleanings but literally bags that were left out in the rain and then sold. Course no good, have taken them back and complained but no such luck. I don't expect 100% of the time for the feed to be perfect, but out of the 60+ bags of feed I've purchased with in the last couple months 20 were no good. Thought it was more bad bags and feed I'd gotten when I called to check on the new feed, but after looking back its that. Still too costly to just leave as is, and I'm still paying over 20 a bag and driving over an hour to get it (and take back).

I found a feed supplier of Nutrena that will carry/order feed as I wish as long as I pay for the feed that they normally don't carry before hand (understandable, used to sell feed/pet stuffs and people would have me get stuff in then never show and that can kill an operation). Feed is reasonable and is about the same as the other place trip wise (60-65 miles round trip). My next feed trip I intend on making a trip down to get some and order a few of the bags I want if every thing goes well with the Lions I'll have to sell so I can get extra in one trip. Feed there is going to be 12.25 to 14.50 plus taxes per 40/50lb bag (prices may go up or down of course depending on market in the long run). I don't know if you've looked into that, but might be some thing. I was assured their feed was not left outside nor ill handled, any questionable bags or bags that even get wet during unloading are promptly dealt with and never get to the floor.

Info for the store:
Nettles Equipment
2644 Servia Elmira Road
Duck, WV 25063
304 364 2445

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That sounds good but it's pretty darned far away from Beckley. :/

I think it would bring my feed cost up too high.

I'm not sure what to do. TSC said I'm welcome to bring the feed back and exchange it if I want to. I could just get another bag of Producer's Pride I guess... it's been ok for me so far, I am just hoping to get a higher quality feed without paying a LOT more than I am now.

They will always exchange/refund, even when I took them back an entire ton it was "no problem"...lol. The thing is, until you have a bad batch kill almost all your rabbits off it doesn't seem like a big deal to take a bad bag back once in a while or one that has some odd stuff in it; problem is what you can't see and the after math. If it is an issue that continues, like I've had or others have had, looking into any thing else available is a must I'd prefer not to make trips just for rabbit feed that direction too (adds another $40 per trip minimum just for their feed alone since I can't get any thing else or go by that place normally). I usually get feed bi weekly, but that's going to have to change if I do that too. They just need a good feed store closer...

Hmm I guess I should also mention I'm the "trouble maker" at the particular TSC I returned that ton to as well LOL

I took a bad bag back to my TSC. I explained it had whole kernels of corn in it that wasn't supposed to be there and it had killed weanlings.

(They argued that they believed corn was an ingredient. It was manna pro SHO feed, corn is NOT an ingredient :evil: )

The workers did refund the money, taped up the bag and put it back on the shelf at a REDUCED PRICE.

They had absolutely no concept as to how or why it was dangerous to rabbits.
:shock: And saving a few dollars meant more to them than whether or not it could potentially kill others.

I always wonder..What if I had added something to the feed, stored it in humid conditions, etc...Pretty sure they still would have re-sold it anyway without a care in the world. :angry:

Wow, that's scary. I mean, I can't see anything obviously wrong with the feed I bought, but reading this stuff makes me really nervous about it.

I wish you were closer, rebel.rose! I would order bulk feed from Rowe. I tried to get some folks here interested in it, but no luck yet. TSC does NOT carry Kent feed, even though they are listed as a distributor. I called Kent and they said I could direct order through a local hardware store in their network. I tried and can't. :/

In these modern times there must be some way to get decent feed at a decent price.

Well, it won't do you much good, SusieQ, but I will share what I like to use here in Alberta. The Leduc Co-op has a brand called Mother Earth Rabbit Pellets. 18% protein and 3% fat. The other local food is 16% and 1.5%. However, the real reason I like it is the quality of the extrusions. The feed is a deep, dark green with the occasional pellet of extruded grain. It smells heavenly. The pellets are hard and hold their shape. They rarely turn to powder (waste). When I fill my containers, the good quality pellets fit and the poor quality ones overflow identically sized containers. The weights are the same, so this tells me my preferred feed is much denser...probably why it does not leave a pile of powder in the bottom of the bag.

Schipperkesue":1xu2bh1b said:

Well, it won't do you much good, SusieQ, but I will share what I like to use here in Alberta. The Leduc Co-op has a brand called Mother Earth Rabbit Pellets. 18% protein and 3% fat. The other local food is 16% and 1.5%. However, the real reason I like it is the quality of the extrusions. The feed is a deep, dark green with the occasional pellet of extruded grain. It smells heavenly. The pellets are hard and hold their shape. They rarely turn to powder (waste). When I fill my containers, the good quality pellets fit and the poor quality ones overflow identically sized containers. The weights are the same, so this tells me my preferred feed is much denser...probably why it does not leave a pile of powder in the bottom of the bag.

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That sounds great but yeah, I can't even find it online :/