# WOW!!! Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit Food



## skyprincess67 (Aug 16, 2012)

Just place my order on Monday afternoon for this food for our young does and it arrived Wednesday morning! Talk about quick. I am amazed at how this food smells and looks. It smells wonderful and the texture looks so much more appetizing than those brown round pellets I had been buying. The "girls" love their new food and I am so excited to have found something so good for them.......oh yeah, and no yucky pellet dust at the bottom of the bag . Thanks to this board since this is where I first read about it. Also their customer service is phenomenal - had a couple of questions for them and both David and Bob got back to me right away. They really care!!


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## Nela (Aug 17, 2012)

Sounds great! Too bad we probably won't get that here though. 

Just a word of caution, it seems that they were switched on the new food pretty quickly so if they get soft poops, it's more likely from the drastic change than the food itself. (Just in case it happens and you get disappointed thinking the food isn't good for them)


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## skyprincess67 (Aug 17, 2012)

Thanks Nela. We still have some of their other food, so I mixed it in with the new food. Theyll be on a combination of the two until the old stuff is gone....the it will just be Sherwood Forest


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## skyprincess67 (Aug 17, 2012)

Also, just read where you live.......I am a flight attendant and I am flying to Amsterdam on Saturday


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## ldoerr (Aug 17, 2012)

Good luck with the new food.


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## mdith4him (Aug 18, 2012)

:thumbup

We LOVE Sherwood, too! I'm glad your bunnies like it as much as ours!


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## deaners (Aug 22, 2012)

I'm glad I saw this. I just ordered a free (well I had to pay shipping only $3.95) 2 lb bag to sample. I hope my buns will like it. It looks like a good food for them.


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## Thumperina (Aug 23, 2012)

*skyprincess67 wrote: *


> Just place my order on Monday afternoon for this food for our young does and it arrived Wednesday morning! Talk about quick. I am amazed at how this food smells and looks. It smells wonderful and the texture looks so much more appetizing than those brown round pellets I had been buying. The "girls" love their new food and I am so excited to have found something so good for them.......oh yeah, and no yucky pellet dust at the bottom of the bag . Thanks to this board since this is where I first read about it. Also their customer service is phenomenal - had a couple of questions for them and both David and Bob got back to me right away. They really care!!


Had the same customer service, but none of my 6 rabbits eat the food. The only one who would finally eata little (if absolutely nothing else available) is mama-rabbit. I bought the largest bag as I have 4 bunnies (+nusring mom) and its going very very slow. Buns are 5-6 weeks now, I doubt we will use even half of it by their 12 weeks.


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## LakeCondo (Aug 23, 2012)

I got the "free" trial of their food & was surprised by how much calcium & fat it contains. So I decided I wouldn't risk it. The first ingredient is alfalfa, not timothy. Timothy comes first for both Oxbow & Kaytee.


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## Imbrium (Aug 25, 2012)

anyone else have issues with their bunnies not eating this stuff?

I ordered a sample of the adult formula for my babies since they're 12-13 weeks old. I mixed some sherwood food in with the remaining pellets from what their breeder gave me when I got them - right now, the mix is about 3/4 old food and 1/4 new food.

I gave them pellets this morning and was surprised to see a little bit still in the dish by mid-afternoon... when I looked more closely, the remaining pellets were all the darker green sherwood ones - they had deliberately picked out and eaten all of their regular pellets and left the new stuff behind


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## beccajean220 (Aug 25, 2012)

My Binky did the same thing. I decided to change his feed from Blue Seal Show Hutch Deluxe, the feed that the breeder was using to Sherwood Forest. I expected him to go crazy for the new feed. He didn't. He picked out his old pellets too. But I continued to give him the new pellets and now he seems to like it but I don't think he likes it as much as I thought he would. It is a little disappointing. But I'm gonna stick with this feed because I can't find Blue Seal in smaller than 50 lb bags where I live and it would go bad before I could use the whole bag.


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## natural rabbit food (Aug 25, 2012)

Hi, Bob here from Sherwood Forest. I have asked David to jump in later and as the scientist, give an answer to a few of the last couple posts on this thread. In short, Sherwood Forest derives it's energy from whole oil seed (fat), not from grains (starch) like other brands do. Baby bunnies don't have the capability to digest starch, but do very well on a high fat diet(like mommas milk) That's why those who use the L/G formula for their young rabbits under 12 weeks of age find that the 'poopy bottom' goes away, and other noticeable improvements. 

Most other brands have high amounts of grain and grain by-products, wheat middlings, soy hulls, etc. that provide some fiber, but way too much starch for the young and developing digestive system to handle. David's research and those of other scientists over the past several decades have shown this to be true and best for young rabbits. Not sure why national brands and regional brands of rabbit food have not followed published research, except that it is cheaper to use by-products and left overs from other milling processes possibly.

As to some rabbits taking a liking to Sherwood Forest right away or slowing 'coming around'...from the hundreds of customer testimonials/reviews on our website, we have a dozen or so that say it is the 'Sherwood Food that is picked out and the old brown stuff is all that's left'. We have had a couple emails and phone calls with what you described though, and then a week or so later, they are all over the Sherwood. Part of this may be that some foods have the 'granola' type mix with the sweet pieces in with the pellets, so any rabbit (like a teenager) when given a healthier and better food will sometimes reject it if its not as sweet as the food he is used to...or like humans, change is hard and takes some time and patience. Also, once you do your research on the ingredients, compare labels and find that Sherwood is the best on the market (we believe it is) then as the few others have done, just give only the Sherwood Forest. 90% dive in and others take a bit more time to have their systems recognize and want the micro elements that Sherwood has and others dont.

On the Calcium content and the ratio of Timothy and Alfalfa, I will let David handle that one, but know that it has to do with the Phosphorus/Calcium balance. Thanks, and please visit some of the pages on the site: rabbit food ingredients, baby rabbit food, pet rabbit food, et. Call or email with any questions or discussion that we can answer. Thank you,

Bob


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## Imbrium (Aug 25, 2012)

wow, I'm impressed that we got a response from the sherwood forest folks!

I figure if they pick out all the old food and leave the sherwood food and I just leave it in the bowl, they'll get hungry enough/bored enough with hay to eat it eventually. 

I'm not going to let slightly picky bunns deter me - after all, rabbits will scarf down cheap food mixes with dried fruits and veggies and seeds and all sorts of stuff if it's offered... which I assume is why so many of those unhealthy mixes are sold even though it's the worst thing to feed your bunny. my parents made me eat veggies and stuff as a kid even though I would've loved to eat junk instead - I figure feeding healthy pellets to my bunns is no different


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## natural rabbit food (Aug 25, 2012)

I thought I would clarify some nutritional information for rabbits: The digestive system of rabbits is not built to handle grain. They simply don't digest starch very well. However, they digest fat extremely well because they are "fermenters' and the fermentation of hay produces volatile fatty acids that are a major source of energy for rabbits. Their bodies are built to metabolize fat. Sherwood Forest is spot on with their research! Did you know that this information was published over 60 years ago? Then why are other companies still stuffing their rabbit food with grain?!? 

About the calcium? The natural diet of rabbits is green hay which is naturally high in calcium. This only becomes a problem when there isn't enough phosphorous in the diet to balance it (these two minerals interact) and when companies add synthetic vitamin D3 (the active form) to their rabbit food. This causes rabbits to actively uptake calcium from their food (rather than passively absorb it) and it causes the kidneys to retain the calcium in the body rather than simply expel it. Make sense?
David


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## katherine at sacred stories (Aug 25, 2012)

Bob--thanks for writing. I'm thinking about trying Sherwood for my two bunnies so this is helpful information. 

I'm always boggled when I read about research done 60 years ago that is ignored by most of the makers of rabbit food. Thank you for trying to do better!


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## Imbrium (Aug 25, 2012)

heh... it's not *that* boggling when you consider how long we've known about processed sugars and high fat foods being bad for us and then read some nutrition labels ><

junk food sells, and unfortunately that's true for rabbits as well. (doesn't help that there are many bunny owners out there with no clue as to what constitutes a "healthy" pellet feed)


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## katherine at sacred stories (Aug 25, 2012)

:yeahthat:


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## MagPie (Aug 25, 2012)

I'm actually trying this out on Harvey. He's kind of picky with his pellets, didn't like Oxbow but will eat the Kaytee brand great. So far he hasn't really dove into the Sherwood, but I'm giving it a try. I kind of wonder if maybe it is the smaller pellet size when he likes the bigger pellets better. Kaytee is bigger than both Oxbow and Sherwood. I can't really back that, other than testing it out and rather not switch his food around a lot.


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## natural rabbit food (Aug 25, 2012)

David Sherwood here: In my experience, 99.99999% of bunnies absolutely love the baby rabbit food (L/G) and about 90% of them love the adult rabbit food (M/S). The reason is because the M/S is a low energy diet food... my Holland lop resisted eating the M/S (after being raised on the L/G) for a short while (one of the 10%) and then dove in and has done great ever since. I feed him free-choice and he has a beautiful fur coat that has lasted over a year. He gets on 4.5 pound bag every 30 days. 

Bunnies that are too fat and over-weight will slim down to just the right size if they are fed the M/S free-choice. Older rabbits that are unhealthy and underweight will gain "much needed weight" when fed the M/S free choice. 

The pellets are designed to be fed free-choice and not supplemented with anything else. If you give treats please minimize how much you give because it dilutes the nutrients in their diet and alters the balance.


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## natural rabbit food (Aug 25, 2012)

Yes, that could be part of it...most brands are 5 millimeters and Sherwood Forest is 3 mil or 1/8th inch in diameter. David Sherwood found with his rabbits that with the smaller pellet, there was much less waste, especially with the smaller breeds who pickup a pellet, take a bite and drop the rest if it's too big. 

If smaller, like the 3 mil, then most will handle it okay without dropping it...all change and some are more stubborn than others to switch from one food to another without complaining. Once they make the switch though, you will notice some improvements in coat and body condition, as well as how playful they are. 'You are what you eat' is true with our pets as well...
Bob


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## Imbrium (Aug 25, 2012)

well, I went out to feed 'em their nightly veggies and all of the sherwood pellets they had left in there were gone from the bowl, so I guess mine are done being stubborn about it (took 'em a day to try veggies and they love those now).

personally, I think the sherwood pellets taste a little better (well, less bad)... yes, I really did taste the bunny food pellets, lol - I was curious about what I'm feeding my bunns and what sort of tastes they like . neither one tastes very good to me, but sherwood tastes more like their alfalfa and the other one tastes... I dunno, less natural I guess, and kinda chalky.


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## MagPie (Aug 26, 2012)

I'm going to keep trying with Harvey. If he still won't eat it I'll just have to go back to his old food. The stinker. You'd think the fresher food would taste better.


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## Imbrium (Aug 30, 2012)

my bunns are still being picky about this stuff... woke up today and they were both sitting in front of the pellet bowl giving me an expectant "where's breakfast" look even though there was still sherwood forest food in the bowl. when I told them to eat it 'cause they weren't getting anything else, though, they did start munching so hopefully they'll resign themselves to it soon enough.

I was taking my bunnies to the vet today anyway, so I made sure to bring the ingredient/nutrition info page and brochure that come with the free sample so that Dr. McGehee could look them over and give me his opinion on the food.

he said it looks like a *really* good food and encouraged me to stick with the sherwood forest brand for my two bunns. (I got the sample of the adult food 'cause they're 12 1/2-13 1/2 weeks)


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## Thumperina (Aug 31, 2012)

Can I freeze this food? 
What is the best way to store it when you buy a large bag?


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## Thumperina (Aug 31, 2012)

*Imbrium wrote: *


> sherwood tastes more like their alfalfa


so, have you tried their alfalfa too? :coolness:


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## Imbrium (Sep 1, 2012)

yeah, lol, and the timothy. timothy tastes practically like nothing but is really tough, the alfalfa's much softer/breaks apart easily and has a sort of sweetish taste to it

if you buy a large bag, split it into smaller ziplock bags and get as much air as possible out, then store them in the fridge (not freezer) (source - http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#pellets )


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## Imbrium (Sep 4, 2012)

in the battle of wills between picky bunnies and sherwood forest food, it seems the food has triumphed. the mix they're getting at this point is only like 10% old food and they dove right in when I gave them pellets tonight


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## Imbrium (Sep 19, 2012)

I've had them fully swapped over to the sherwood pellets for about two weeks now. they come running when they hear the pellet container and eagerly munch away at the sherwood forest food throughout the day.

I had been limiting pellets quite a bit at the vet's recommendation due to Gaz having weight issues. I'd try to go back to unlimited after she slimmed down and she'd get a bit of a chubby tummy again. with the sherwood food, I've been offering unlimited pellets (because they're still babies) for the last couple weeks and Gaz has been maintaining a healthy weight


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## Thumperina (Sep 20, 2012)

My rabbits won the battle with Sherwood forest.
First I bought them a sample of M-S, they didn't eat it. 
Then, I discovered we got babies so I got a large bag of L-G. This food goes a little better but I still can't say that they love it.
Then, I thought I would keep offering M--S to my older male rabbit as I wanted to switch them to healthy food (they used to eat Bonanza). I bought a large bag of M-s. No love happened. INstead of noticing "a lot of improvement in energy level, playfullness and fur quality" I had rabbits with no energy (as they were not eating this food when I ran out of Bonanza). It lasted about a week when all they got was M--S sherwood forest food. Older rabbits would rather eat L--G if nothing else, as we can't absolutely separate their bowls. 
Then, after a week, I gave up. I bought Bonanza again. I got back my happy energetic rabbits.

What to do now? I know, Bonanza must be bad. But even little ones would crunch on it with great pleasure when they rarely get access to it.


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## whitelop (Sep 20, 2012)

I tried to order the sample to try out, and it wouldn't let me order.


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## mdith4him (Sep 20, 2012)

Thumperina--Maybe it will just take them awhile to get used to a new healthier food. This is the ingredient list for Bonanza that I found on PetSmart's website:

Wheat middlings, soybean hulls, dehydrated alfalfa meal, cane molasses, dehulled soybean meal, flaxseed meal, salt, lignin sulfonate, timothy hay, ground limestone, clipped oats, choline chloride, DL-methionine, oat groats, dried carrots, soybean oil, dried papaya, dried pineapple, orange peel, roasted green peas, vitamin E supplement, sodium selenite, pumpkin seeds, raisins, roasted soybeans, dried cranberries, dried bananas, ferrous sulfate, magnesium oxide, rose hips, niacin supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, flaxseed, manganese sulfate, sugar, calcium pantothenate, zinc oxide, dried peppermint, thiamine mononitrate, pyrioxine hydrochloride, copper sulfate, rolle oats, biotin, vitmain a acetate, cobalt carbonate, corn syrup, zinc sulfate, riboflavin supplement, palm oil, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, mineral oil, ground corn, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, dried parsley, ground blueberries, natural flavoring, sunflower oil, rosemary extract, canola oil, mixed tocopherols. 

It looks to be full of fruit and seeds (and ground limestone???) which is like candy. I guess it would be like a person who is used to eating fast food all the time. Switching to healthy, home cooked meals would be an adjustment, too. I would keep trying with the Sherwood or at least start buying a better brand of food.

Whitelop--I'm sure if you email customer service you will get a quick response. I've always had excellent customer care from David!


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## Mariah (Sep 20, 2012)

Is this food available in Canada? I have looked at pet stores and cannot find it.


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## Thumperina (Sep 20, 2012)

*mdith4him wrote: *


> Thumperina--Maybe it will just take them awhile to get used to a new healthier food. This is the ingredient list for Bonanza that I found on PetSmart's website:
> 
> Wheat middlings, soybean hulls, dehydrated alfalfa meal, cane molasses, dehulled soybean meal, flaxseed meal, salt, lignin sulfonate, timothy hay, ground limestone, clipped oats, choline chloride, DL-methionine, oat groats, dried carrots, soybean oil, dried papaya, dried pineapple, orange peel, roasted green peas, vitamin E supplement, sodium selenite, pumpkin seeds, raisins, roasted soybeans, dried cranberries, dried bananas, ferrous sulfate, magnesium oxide, rose hips, niacin supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, flaxseed, manganese sulfate, sugar, calcium pantothenate, zinc oxide, dried peppermint, thiamine mononitrate, pyrioxine hydrochloride, copper sulfate, rolle oats, biotin, vitmain a acetate, cobalt carbonate, corn syrup, zinc sulfate, riboflavin supplement, palm oil, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, mineral oil, ground corn, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, dried parsley, ground blueberries, natural flavoring, sunflower oil, rosemary extract, canola oil, mixed tocopherols.
> 
> ...



Meredith, thank you! I am mixing Sherwood Forest with a little bit of Bonanza, hopefully they eatsome Sherwood food. 

What other "betterfood" can you recommend?


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## Imbrium (Sep 20, 2012)

*Thumperina wrote: *


> My rabbits won the battle with Sherwood forest.
> First I bought them a sample of M-S, they didn't eat it.
> Then, I discovered we got babies so I got a large bag of L-G. This food goes a little better but I still can't say that they love it.
> Then, I thought I would keep offering M--S to my older male rabbit as I wanted to switch them to healthy food (they used to eat Bonanza). I bought a large bag of M-s. No love happened. INstead of noticing "a lot of improvement in energy level, playfullness and fur quality" I had rabbits with no energy (as they were not eating this food when I ran out of Bonanza). It lasted about a week when all they got was M--S sherwood forest food. Older rabbits would rather eat L--G if nothing else, as we can't absolutely separate their bowls.
> ...


if they won't eat the sherwood forest food, I'd recommend trying oxbow essentials. it's got 14% protein/25-29% fiber which is much better than most rabbit foods (you want low protein/high fiber)

~~~

the sherwood food is only available online, I believe - not sold in any pet stores.


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## Thumperina (Sep 21, 2012)

*Imbrium wrote: *


> if they won't eat the sherwood forest food, I'd recommend trying oxbow essentials. it's got 14% protein/25-29% fiber which is much better than most rabbit foods (you want low protein/high fiber)



I just checked Bonanza

Crude protein (minimum) 13.5% (I wonder, what is the maximum?)
Crude fiber: min 16% - max 18% 

yeah, thats not much for fiber


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## MagPie (Sep 21, 2012)

Thumperina, definitely keep trying. Harvey finally started eating Sherwood and not just nibbling at it. Took little over a month but he finally eats it haha. He loves sweets too.


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## Thumperina (Sep 25, 2012)

Thanks everyone. 
I ran out of SHerwood forest for my little bunnies (acvtually they are 10 weeks old, not that little 
I ordered more, it should be here in 2 days.
What to feed them till it arrives? I have Sherwood forest for grownup rabbits, should I give it to my bunnies? Won't have food for them for 2 more days


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## Imbrium (Sep 25, 2012)

I would think that feeding the adult formula would be better than going out to buy cheap pellets to tide you over or something, since the ingredients for the two formulas will be similar enough to hopefully not cause any digestive upset from the sudden switch in foods.


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## Thumperina (Sep 26, 2012)

I fed all of themM-S sherwood food, but kidsdidn't touch it (my older rabbitshaven't started to likeit anyway) so we had hardtime for couple of days (they ate a lot of hay, I guess).

I already received our L-Gfood. It sayson the package (I bought 4.5 lbs so I finally could read the package info) to feed till at least 10-12 weeks of age. Till what age as maximum can they eat it? I honestly think that if I switch them to MS at age 12 weeks, they just won''t eat M-S, like they didn't eat now. 

Maybe Bob and Dave (names correct?) could tell how to better switch bunnies from one type to another, and what to do if they dont eat M-S? Thanks!


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## Imbrium (Sep 26, 2012)

I got the adult formula to begin with, as my bunns were already 12 weeks. it took almost a month for them to really like it. I tried gradually switching them over (took 1-2 weeks) and they'd eat all the old pellets and leave the sherwood pellets in the bowl unless they got really hungry and gave up on getting more of the "good" pellets. however, they've been on sherwood food for 4-5 weeks now and are diving into it like I've been starving them to death whenever I fill the bowl, lol.

the nice thing about the 12 week mark is that it's also when you can introduce veggies, so if they're being really picky about the pellets at first, they can still get extra nutrition from the veggies to supplement their hay.


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## Thumperina (Sep 26, 2012)

My buns already steal veggies from the parents. I am trying to watch for this not to happen but not always I can. We had a bad rain last night, in the morning they all were hungry. I fed veggies to parents and put the remaining veggies on the smalltree stumpthatwas left from the tree being cut (probably 1 foot tall). Then I noticed through the window that one "baby" jumped on and eating veggies. That was funny. 
I make sure they don't have problems.


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## Imbrium (Sep 26, 2012)

aww, cute... they'll go to great lengths to steal veggies sometimes!


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## missyscove (Sep 26, 2012)

mdith4him wrote:


> It looks to be full of fruit and seeds (and ground limestone???) which is like candy. I guess it would be like a person who is used to eating fast food all the time. Switching to healthy, home cooked meals would be an adjustment, too. I would keep trying with the Sherwood or at least start buying a better brand of food.



I haven't fed the bonanza or the Sherwood food to my pets, but I thought I'd clarify that limestone is used as a source of calcium.


I'd love references to the research that has been mentioned in this thread (maybe to read sometime after midterms). I saw on their website there is a picture that it says lists references, but they're all blurred out.


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