Feed

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