pellet ingredients what do you think.

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

Here is the ingredients of my rabbit good. Not to impress with it.
ground wheat
soy hulls
wheat shorts
dehydrated alfafa meal
canola meal
corn glutten fee
corn distillers dried grains
tallow
yeast
premix vit and minerals.

I know with dog and cat food the first ingred are the most in the food. DOes this work out the same in rabbit pellets.?

 

[5dognightfarm]

Yes, it's true. What brand are you feeding? The first ingredient should always be alfalfa.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I thought so. I am done with this food. I am going to bring back what i have. Keep one open bag and i am going to start my own mixture. Grains ect.
THis is from Masterfeeds.

 

[trinityoaks]

The ingredient that concerns me most is the tallow. That's animal fat. Rabbits should NOT be eating ANYTHING that came from other animal species.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

Yes i know. I just called the feed store.The feed is going back. NOt impress at all.

 

[MaggieJ]

The ingredient that concerns me most is the tallow. That's animal fat. Rabbits should NOT be eating ANYTHING that came from other animal species.

I agree! This was the final push that I needed to feed a pelletless diet to my rabbits, back in 2007. There were only two brands readily available to me. Purina, which at that time contained animal tallow, and Shur-Gain, which the rabbits did not like. There had been a lot of people losing rabbits due to bad feed just around that time. I decided phase out the pellets and go all natural. It's more work but I've never regretted it.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

Well,I brought back the feed to the feed store and told them why...I kept 2 bags for me to switch to grains and hay?Now i am not to go with weeds. So if i switch my hay from grass to alfafa and went 6 parts whole oats and one part each of wheat and barley and salt/mineral block. Mix with some pellets until the pellet are gone. I also have sunflower seeds and old fashion oats and sunshine plus which is there supplement. WIth giving them now and then a piece of fruit, romaine lettuce ect. Some dialians(SP). Can this be a balance diet most of the time?

 

[MaggieJ]

I'm curious. Why no weeds? They are so plentiful, healthy and FREE!

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I just dont trust myself to know which ones are ok with. And besides in the winter there is none. So i have to depend on the grain and hay for most of it and the odd treat here and there. I will learn about some weeds. But i dont have much here for that . Along the side of the road are so dirty I dont want to chance it.

 

[5dognightfarm]

My thinking is that if a horse can eat it, a rabbit can eat it. They have almost the same digestive systems. The weeds will probably be a great benefit, after learning which are good and which are bad.

Sounds like a balanced diet to me!

We feed Kent show feed, but with so many breeders in the area, we have a great selection of feeds - MannaPro, Purina, Heinold, Kalmbach, TSC brand Country-whatever, Armada, PenPals...

 

[SatinsRule]

Yes, always try and find feed that has alfalfa listed first on the label. Another rule of thumb that you'll likely find most breeders on here sticking to is steering clear from corn products, in any form.

Alot of our Canadian posters on here have previously stated that finding a quality feed up there is a little tough in some areas, so let your conscience and good judgment be your guide, and as always when you find something which is working well for you, stick with it.

 

[skysthelimit]

What is the price of grains there? Oats here are $1 a lb.

 

[SatinsRule]

What is the price of grains there? Oats here are $1 a lb.

WOW!!! Around here, a 50 lb bag of oats typically runs around $18, and barley or any other grain is around $20 for 50 lbs.

 

[MaggieJ]

Grain here is between $10 and $20 for a fifty pound bag... more of less. The prices fluctuate quite a bit and they mess around with size of the bags too. Barley usually the cheapest and wheat and oats a couple dollars more.

A dollar a pound is just crazy! :shock: That sounds more like health food store prices than feed store prices. I'd be looking at growing my own if it cost that much here!

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I pay 8 dollars for a 50 pound bag for oats,barley, and wheat...12 dollars for a 80 pounds.

 

[MaggieJ]

Actually, I think my prices would be for an 80 pound bag. Except everything's in kilos, of course. I hate metric!

 

[skysthelimit]

Grain here is between $10 and $20 for a fifty pound bag... more of less. The prices fluctuate quite a bit and they mess around with size of the bags too. Barley usually the cheapest and wheat and oats a couple dollars more.

A dollar a pound is just crazy! :shock: That sounds more like health food store prices than feed store prices. I'd be looking at growing my own if it cost that much here!

If I had the space I would. I was wondering how anyone could say it was cheaper to mix grains than buy pellets. I have not found a place to buy barley, only oats and Boss, which are about the same price. So far, Manna Pro has been good to me, and when I've tried switching, I've come up with sick rabbits.

 

[Jessykah]

mary ann, where are you buying your grains?

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

Reids down the road from me. Why?

 

[Jessykah]

just curious, doing price comparisons .... those small salt/mineral licks seem expensive. i wonder if i can just buy some big blocks @ feed store & break them up