I just wanted to share what I've learned about the old feed I used to get and the feed I've switched over to.
I used to get Bomgaar's brand, called Premium Rabbit Feed. But one day a few weeks ago I looked at the ingredients list and noticed how a lot of the first ingredients ended with "products". That didn't sound good enough to me. I wanted to know exactly WHAT I was giving my rabbits to eat. So, I did some studying on it and below are some things that I found out.
First of all, this is how the ingredients list starts out:
Grain Products, Plant Protein Products, Processed Grain By-Products, Roughage Products, Forage Products, Animal Fat (preserved with BHA) ...
This is because feed manufacturers are allowed to use collective terms to describe certain feedstuffs. I sort of dove into this, studying about what is in each of those collective terms, and if everything is good for rabbits to eat. So, here is what is in all of these products:
Grain Products:
Corn*1
Barley
Oats
Wheat
Rice*2
*1-I read that corn is NOT good for rabbits! They cannot digest it very well at all and it can cause a blockage. It is too high in starch which is not good for them (potatoes are not good for them for the same reason, too high in starch). Corn also tends to put on unhealthy fat.
*2-I read that rice (either cooked or uncooked) is not good for rabbits because it contains too many simple carbohydrates that rabbits can't digest properly.
Plant Protein Products:
Canola Meal
Cottonseed Meal
Linseed Meal
Peanut Meal *3
Sunflower Meal
Soybean Meal
Yeast Products
*3- I found out that peanuts are actually a legume (not a nut) and legumes are at the top of the list for toxic mold right below corn. Some places say that peanuts are okay for rabbits and other places say they are not okay for rabbits. I'd rather be safe than sorry.
Forage Products:
Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal
Ground Alfalfa Hay
Ground Grass Hay
Dehydrated Silage*4
Lespedezo Meal
Soybean Hay
*4-Silage is a fermented, high moisture fodder that is often fed to cattle. This is usually made from corn (the entire plant) and grass type plants. The product is placed in a silo or pile and covered with plastic to allow the product to ferment. Look back at *1.
Roughage Products:
Citrus Pulp
Beet Pulp
Corn Cobs*5
Cottonseed Hulls
Oat Hulls
Peanut Hulls
Rice Hulls
Soybean Hulls
*5-WHAT??? Corn cobs? That is just a bad filler. Look back at *1 again!
Processed Grain By-Products:
(I put stars after all the things that aren't good for rabbits).
1. Aspired grain fractions
2. Brewers dried grains
3. Buckwheat middlings
4. Condensed distillers solubles
5. Condensed fermented corn extractives with germ meal bran
6. Corn bran*
7. Corn flour*
8. Corn germ meal (wet and dry milled)*
9. Corn gluten feed*
10. Corn gluten meal*
11. Corn grits*
12. (Kind of grain) distillers dried grains
13. (Kind of grain) distillers dried grains with solubles
14. (Kind of grain) distillers dried solubles
15. (Kind of grain) flour
16. Grain sorghum germ cake
17. Grain sorghum germ meal
18. Grain sorghum grits
19. Grain sorghum mill feed
20. Hominy feed
21. Malt cleanings
22. Malt sprouts
23. Oat groats
24. Oat meal, feeding
25. Peanut skins*
26. Pearl barley by-product
27. Rice bran*
28. Rice polishings*
29. Rye middlings
30. Sorghum grain flour, gelatinized
31. Sorghum flour, partially aspirated, gelatinized
32. Wheat bran
33. Wheat feed flour
34. Wheat germ meal
35. Wheat germ meal, defatted
36. Wheat mill run
37. Wheat middlings
38. Wheat red dog
39. Wheat shorts
So, I have switched over to Manna Pro, Pro Formula Premium Feed.
And this is how it's ingredient list starts out:
Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Wheat Middlings. Soybean Hulls, Soybean Meal, Feeding Oatmeal, Cane Molasses, Vegetable Oil, Brewer's Dried Yeast...
I think it sounds much better, and it really says ALL that is in the feed so you can KNOW exactly what you are feeding your rabbits. Nothing ends with "products".
The quality of the ingredients in your feed does matter!!!
Ashley
