best commerical feed

[jam121501]

What is the best commercial rabbit feed? Want to see what everyone else is using.

 

[grumpy]

Good question....consider those that are processed locally, first. You can
usually get the most bang for your buck that way.

I'm quite likely "not" the best person to give an unbiased opinion on
commercial feed. "I don't trust any of them" and I'm doing my dead-level
best to get away from using pellets as a majority percentage of the herd's daily intake.

But, that's just one man's opinion.

grumpy.

 

[akane]

Depends on your area. I would not say a local only feed is any better than the major manufacturers. We've got some serious crap around here that consists of whatever leftover junk they can sweep up off the floors and smash together for cheap. The major brands though use local mills and are only as good as your local mill. Here I absolutely love manna pro feeds but others have had mills that run tons of corn through for cleaning between batches and end up with bags full of corn. If the ingredients the company actually calls for goes in to the manna pro it's one of the best. Kent is also usually good. Purina and nutrena are very common and I'd put them somewhere in the middle. They have some unspecific ingredients in order to let them use whatever is in season. That keeps the feed a little cheaper but sudden unknown changes in formula may cause problems. Stuff like country lane that has no named ingredients I wouldn't feed if there was no other rabbit formula for 500miles. A mix of whole grains and a good mineral block or loose horse minerals will function better. I have used horse feed before but it is higher in fat and molasses which can lead to problems. Pen pals is very popular in some areas but we don't have it here and it's probably been 4 years since I looked at the label.

 

[Zass]

We've got some serious crap around here that consists of whatever leftover junk they can sweep up off the floors and smash together for cheap.

-and then blend with animal fat-

Yeah, that's what my local mills offer, for only a few measly bucks less per 50 lb bag than the manna pro.



That organic feed they sell on the west coast looks fantastic.

 

[Comet007]

I use organic pellets from Modesto Milling - and I am really pleased with the ingredients list, since it is primarily made up of whole foods. For any feed, the ingredients list is the best place to start, making sure there isn't anything in there that shouldn't be fed to rabbits (animal by products, fillers, etc) and that there's a good balance of nutrition. From there it's a matter of personal preference, whether you want organic, non-GMO, or whatever is important to you. Personally if I couldn't feed organic without synthetic vitamins I wouldn't even have rabbits.

 

[Marinea]

In my opinion, "best" is going to be determined by what's available where you are. Whether it's a local feed mill or a national brand. My advice is...do what you do for human food- read labels. Do as Comet said and determine what's important to you, and then read labels until you find a feed that fits.

Good luck! And welcome to RT!

 

[brownsfarm]

ThIs is a copy of my feed label there are only 2 choices I know of in Jamaica have not seen the other one as yet. Do y'all think this is up to par? Have seen some of the others n this seems to be off with a few things..


<a href="http://s1048.photobucket.com/user/rick_brown5/media/imagejpg1_zpsa9f51af0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s366/rick_brown5/imagejpg1_zpsa9f51af0.jpg" border="0" alt="Rabbit photo imagejpg1_zpsa9f51af0.jpg"/></a>

 

[grumpy]

Look at the first two ingredients. That's not good. But if you have only two
options, I'd look hard at the other one.

grumpy

 

[HowlsOfAngels]

I use organic pellets from Modesto Milling - and I am really pleased with the ingredients list, since it is primarily made up of whole foods. For any feed, the ingredients list is the best place to start, making sure there isn't anything in there that shouldn't be fed to rabbits (animal by products, fillers, etc) and that there's a good balance of nutrition. From there it's a matter of personal preference, whether you want organic, non-GMO, or whatever is important to you. Personally if I couldn't feed organic without synthetic vitamins I wouldn't even have rabbits.

I saw their feed online, but have been unable to find a price. Would you mind posting what you pay per bag?

 

[Miss M]

What is the best commercial rabbit feed? Want to see what everyone else is using.

I am currently using Prime Quality 16%. It isn't the best quality stuff, but it isn't the worst, either. I think I'm going to try switching to a better feed, before I take the plunge into growing fodder.

ThIs is a copy of my feed label there are only 2 choices I know of in Jamaica have not seen the other one as yet. Do y'all think this is up to par? Have seen some of the others n this seems to be off with a few things..

Look at the first two ingredients. That's not good. But if you have only two
options, I'd look hard at the other one.

grumpy

:yeahthat:

I wrote a post earlier that I lost (long story). But here's the point of it:

You are right -- this feed is off with a few things.

Since you have only two options, definitely try to look into the other one. This one has two antibiotics in it. Not only is it tainting your meat with antibiotics (which you may or may not be concerned about... lots of meat here is tainted with antibiotics), but this would also contribute to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. I have no problem using antibiotics when they are needed, but I think the manufacturer including them in the feed as (apparently) a preventative treatment is irresponsible. If the other feed option is like this as well, that's terrible.

But yes, as Grumpy said the first ingredients there are not impressive. The label appears to list the ingredients in descending order of amount in the feed, as it is here. Having corn as the first ingredient is not good, as feeding rabbits corn is like feeding them candy -- it contains a lot of sugar. Many feeds contain corn, but I've never seen it that high in the list. I think fourth is the highest I've seen it. Most rabbit feeds seem to have soybean meal pretty high on the list, but the good ones seem to start with alfalfa meal and wheat middlings.

I made a list of a bunch of common U.S. feeds and their first five ingredients: post232752.html#p232752

Hopefully, the other feed is better, and you can get it reliably. You might also look into natural feeding -- raising your own fodder or gathering forage. There is a natural feeding forum here, if you're interested.

 

[Imogen Rose]

I assume it isnt avaliable in the US, but I use Burgess Excel. Im currently switching over to grain though. as good as I think the pellets are, a 50lb sack will set you back $70. The grain, in the mix that im currently making, costs roughly $20 for 50lb.

Here is the ingredients list anyway

Grass, Oat Bran, Wheat, Soya Bean Hulls, Lucerne, Peas, Yeast, Molasses, Mint, Soya Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Ligno-Cellulose, Fructo-oligosaccharides 0.25%, Salt, Vitamins and Minerals, Contains Natural Antioxidants. No artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. Vitamins are guaranteed until Best Before date.

 

[Zass]

From: http://www.modestomilling.com/rabbit.html

Modesto mills organic pellets:

Ingredients: Organic sun-dried alfalfa, organic wheat millrun, organic oats, organic sunflower seeds, organic peas, organic flaxseed, organic canola meal, monocalcium phosphate, diatomaceous earth, Redmond conditioner (clay), Redmond salt, organic kelp meal, Zeolite, limestone, hydrolyzed yeast & yeast extract, mineral & vitamin premix, organic garlic, organic thyme, organic anise oil, organic cinnamon, organic anise seed, organic rosemary oil, dried aspergillus niger fermentation product

Analysis: Crude protein min 17%, crude fat min 3.5%, crude fiber max 20.3%, ash max 12.2%


I personally have yet to see a prettier ingredient list. Anyone have any guesses as to what the cinnamon, is for?

 

[Sagebrush]

I found where they sell it in Sacramento... dang that is a drive to get though. I have no clue what cinnamon is used for in rabbits, will have to look it up.

 

[markt1]

Manna-Pro Grow (18% protein)

 

[the reluctant farmer]

Anyone have any guesses as to what the cinnamon, is for?

. I was going to make a crack about making cinnamon buns, but I found this study: "rabbit productivity and reproductivity as affected by cinnamon -" epsawww.epsaegypt.com/pdf/2012_december/02-1373.pdf

I have not read this in depth, but what I did read was impressive. The conclusion of this study is that cinnamon positively impacted growout rates, milk production, kindling success--just about everything. I tried to copy key passages but wasn't able to on my kindle. I am going to read this study in depth, and I strongly suspect I'll be adding cinnamon to my grain mixture!

 

[Zass]

Anyone have any guesses as to what the cinnamon, is for?

. I was going to make a crack about making cinnamon buns, but I found this study: "rabbit productivity and reproductivity as affected by cinnamon -" epsawww.epsaegypt.com/pdf/2012_december/02-1373.pdf

I have not read this in depth, but what I did read was impressive. The conclusion of this study is that cinnamon positively impacted growout rates, milk production, kindling success--just about everything. I tried to copy key passages but wasn't able to on my kindle. I am going to read this study in depth, and I strongly suspect I'll be adding cinnamon to my grain mixture!

Wow, that was a really interesting article!
I think I'll try providing some of my buns with cinnamon sticks to see if they will willingly supplement themselves.

 

[ilovehome]

From: http://www.modestomilling.com/rabbit.html

Modesto mills organic pellets:

Ingredients: Organic sun-dried alfalfa, organic wheat millrun, organic oats, organic sunflower seeds, organic peas, organic flaxseed, organic canola meal, monocalcium phosphate, diatomaceous earth, Redmond conditioner (clay), Redmond salt, organic kelp meal, Zeolite, limestone, hydrolyzed yeast & yeast extract, mineral & vitamin premix, organic garlic, organic thyme, organic anise oil, organic cinnamon, organic anise seed, organic rosemary oil, dried aspergillus niger fermentation product

Analysis: Crude protein min 17%, crude fat min 3.5%, crude fiber max 20.3%, ash max 12.2%


I personally have yet to see a prettier ingredient list. Anyone have any guesses as to what the cinnamon, is for?

I requested the Label from Hiland Naturals (organic, no soy, no GMO) so I could compare it to my pen pals feed. Now I can compare their new rabbit feed to this feed also. Thanks Zass! I did receive the label Friday but I couldn't read it when enlarged, so I have to wait on another one.

 

[dangerbunny]

Even national brands.vary depending on the mill they were produced in, I think that is one reason why some people rave about a feed and.some.think it is.junk.

 

[Imogen Rose]

That cinnamon article was really interesting, thanks for posting.
For anyone who wants to know, 1500g per ton is the equivalent to 1.19 oz in a 50lb sack of feed.
(IF I got my math right!)
I think I too will add cinnamon sticks to my cages and see what they make of them.

 

[Zass]

Even national brands.vary depending on the mill they were produced in, I think that is one reason why some people rave about a feed and.some.think it is.junk.

Your right dangerbunny. I thought was doing very well on manna pro, until I got a bad batch and realized it wasn't the first time. Others have had no such troubles, but my faith in the brand was shaken.

Instructions on the bag were to return the product to the store.

My feed store (TSC) replaced the product and then put the bad feed I had returned back on the shelf. We had told them it had made our rabbits sick. It had obvious visual ingredients that shouldn't have been there.
Even if they thought they knew better than me, why would anyone risk it? What if I had added something dangerous? They would never have known! Based on the stores actions, I'm reasonably certain that the contaminated bag was never reported to the mill.

So...it's not just local mills that can make errors and give a national brand a bad name, feed store can store the feed improperly, or knowingly sell bad batches to the public.

The mill would probably make less mistakes if the feed stores were more careful about what they sold.

You have to pay attention to all that when deciding on a feed, because a mistake anywhere along the line can mean dead bunnies!