Anybody hear of Prime Quality Rabbit Grower feed?

[Miss M]

ILoveBunnies noted the name of the pellets at the local feed store as "Rabbit Grower". I'm guessing it's this:
http://www.primequalityfeeds.com/feeds/ ... ower.shtml

It comes in 16% and 18% protein. Here's a little on the 16%:

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS

Crude Protein minimum 16.00%
Crude Fat minimum 3.00%
Crude Fiber minimum 15.00%
Crude Fiber maximum 18.00%
Calcium minimum 0.75%
Calcium maximum 1.25%
Phosphorus minimum 0.50%
Salt minimum 0.25%
Salt maximum 0.75%
Vitamin A minimum 2,500 IU/lb.
Vitamin E minimum 5 IU/lb.

GENERAL COMPOSITION
Wheat Midds, Alfalfa Meal, Dried Distiller’s Grains with Soluables, Soybean Meal, Soybean Hulls, Ground Corn, Cane Molasses, Ground Limestone, Salt, Dry Fat, Dicalcium Phosphate, Yeast Culture, Zinc Methionine, Lactobacillus, Vitamins and Minerals and Flavorings.

...The rabbits should have plenty of clean, fresh water and a salt spool available at all times.

Why do I need a salt spool?

Purina is not available near where we're moving. I saw Nutrena somewhere around there, but "Rabbit Grower" is available at the nearest feed store. This feed is about a dollar less than what I pay for Purina for 50 lbs.

Also, the store mills their own horse (and goat, I think) feed. Can rabbits eat horse feed? It's so much less expensive!

This is the place I got Thumper's Penicillin G Procaine. Very helpful folks. Looking forward to doing much business with them.

 

[SatinsRule]

I'm using 18% on my recently-nursing does and weaned bunnies under 4 months of age. It's worked quite well for that purpose, as the bunnies and moms alike came out of the nursing looking fantastic. I used it all the way through the last 3 litters from the time they hit the box, and it seems to have worked quite well. The pellets are smaller than I can ever remember seeing with any other feed I've used. Still have the foster litter and the blues/broken blue on it.

http://www.primequalityfeeds.com/feeds/ ... rRat.shtml

I've shied away from the 16% because it contains ground corn.

 

[Miss M]

Thanks, SatinsRule!

I've shied away from the 16% because it contains ground corn.

I didn't even notice that the 18% didn't... I'd pretty much figured I couldn't avoid the corn in feed!

Can bucks handle 18%? You know... so I can just have one feed?

Good that the pellets are small, since that should mean less waste. How is it for fines?<br /><br />__________ Sun Jul 22, 2012 10:19 pm __________<br /><br />I'll ask my horse feed question in a separate thread, I think. Shouldn't have put these two together.

 

[SatinsRule]

Thanks, SatinsRule!

Can bucks handle 18%? You know... so I can just have one feed?

Good that the pellets are small, since that should mean less waste. How is it for fines?

__________ Sun Jul 22, 2012 10:19 pm __________

I'll ask my horse feed question in a separate thread, I think. Shouldn't have put these two together.

I don't see why not. I just know that the company's online description speaks as if it was specifically designed for use with nursing does and litters, as well as rabbits under 4 months of age.

I was initially drawn to the product because the company which used to make this line of feeds (Mountaire Feeds) was located in Little Rock when I was a youth exhibitor, and I used their product quite regularly back then. The company has since been bought out by Cargill (the same company which owns Nutrena) and relocated to Kansas City.

I'll say this for the product. You know that I've raised 4 litters this spring/summer. Each one of them was brought along with the 18% Growers Ration, and I've gotten consistently better development out of the litters using it.

The bags of feed I got did have a rather significant amount of fine particles, but here's the thing. I contacted the company via their website regarding the matter and they bent over backward not only to correct it (requested lot numbers to find out what went wrong), but also to make it right by me by replacing the product. They had apparently been taking extra steps to grate out fine particles and the process broke down somewhere when that particular lot number was being milled. Hard to argue with a company which is willing to do that.

 

[Miss M]

Wow! I'm really impressed! Thank you for all the info! :razz:

You're right, can't argue with a company like that.

 

[3mina]

I use 18% for everything, I just don't free feed anybody except the does with litters

 

[Miss M]

I use 18% for everything, I just don't free feed anybody except the does with litters

Okay, that's great! I guess I'll just have to go to measuring feed, because I haven't had to do that before. Nobody seems to eat more than they need, no fat bunnies.

 

[SatinsRule]

I use 18% for everything, I just don't free feed anybody except the does with litters

With the foster litter, I found myself filling the hopper all the way, then feeding a second time during the day while they were with their mom the last 2 weeks prior to weaning. And they were sitting at the feeder waiting when I got there the following day at feed time, AND they look GREAT now!