# Question on horse pellet's



## cheryl (Sep 25, 2009)

We don't have 'healthy' pellets here in Australia,we only have lucerne based pellets,so they are the only pellet's i'm able to feed my bunnies,and i have been noticing my bunnies are putting on 'more' weight..especially Chocolate bunny and Josie and Sunshine,Maggie,Marley,Ebony..they are allgettingreally pudgy,

And well just recently i have noticed that the oaten hay that i buy has been having bits of lucerne in it *sigh's*,they were just small amounts that's why i didn't notice but it has been getting worse with the lucerne....and boy is it hard to try and pick it all out!

Yep it took me ages going through their hay.

So when i went back to the fodder store where i buy the hay,i was talking to the guy there as he has gotten to know me over the years and i was complaining to him about the oaten hay having lucerne in it....he smiled and said 'usually that is a bonus'..i said yeah for horses maybe but not my bunnies...he's a really nice guy 

He asked me one day if i wanted to adopt a goat...I had alway's wanted one too!...but just didn't have the room...so i couldn't take him home.

Anywayhe mentioned about another customer of his that has petrabbits as well and he feeds them horse pellets....i was like 'horse pellet's?'!

So my question is can bunnies eat horse pellet's...is there anything differen't about horse pellet's to rabbit pellet's?

Just wondering


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## stina3246 (Sep 25, 2009)

GREAT question. I hope someone is able to answer this.


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## bunnybunbunb (Sep 26, 2009)

I do not know about horse pellets but I know many *breeders* around here feed "Dairy Pellets". I talked to one breeder who fed them but him and some other people got bags from a bad batch and the guy lost 60 rabbits - not counting what the other people lost. He changed food, but the Dairy Pellets, at least use to be, a hit with rabbit breeders who are cheap.


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## aurora369 (Sep 26, 2009)

Could you get a nutritional break down and ingredients list for the horse pellets?

We could then try to compare the horse pellets to rabbit pellets, and see if there are any major differences.

I do know that rabbit and horse digestive systems are very, very similar. So I imagine that the horse pellets would be similar to rabbit pellets.

--Dawn


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## cheryl (Sep 26, 2009)

Good idea!

Next time i'm at the fodder storeto buy hay i'll get the guy to write it down for me then i'll post it here.

I have also read on an aussie rabbit list...some people also feed pasture replacement pellet's?.

If i can find something that has less lucerne in it and it's ok for my bun's then i'll be a very happy person


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## ra7751 (Sep 26, 2009)

You can feed horse pellets to a rabbit but there are some differences....and they still should get hay. Some of the "pasture replacement" pellets are low protein and are made primarily of compressed hay....and the proteins of these pellets sometimes are quite low which might be a good thing for some rabbits. But horse pellets are not generally fortified with some vitamins that rabbit pellets are. Since most horses do get quite a bit of outside time....and that means a more natural diet and unfiltered sunlight, they don't need supplements like Vitamin D and some others. If you can post the pellets you are considering, I think as a group we can look them over and advise you.

Randy


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## cheryl (Oct 2, 2009)

Ok sorry this has taken me so long to get back to this....i'm going to try to go to the fodder store today...I haven't needed hay yet so didn't get around to going.


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## starmint (Apr 26, 2020)

Horse Pellets

I see this is an old post, but can someone take a look at these? Thanks!!


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## Mariam+Theo (Apr 26, 2020)

starmint said:


> Horse Pellets
> 
> I see this is an old post, but can someone take a look at these? Thanks!!


How old is your rabbit? I think you have a Polish rabbit right? If it is a baby (2-6 months) it should get unlimited Alfalfa based pellets, but if it is an adult (6+ months) it should get 1/4 cup of Timothy based pellets. Those pellets are just Alfalfa hay compressed into pellets. They do not have any nutrients that a rabbit needs, so there would be no benefit of feeding them to your rabbit.


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## JBun (Apr 26, 2020)

starmint said:


> Horse Pellets
> 
> I see this is an old post, but can someone take a look at these? Thanks!!



What's your question about them?

That's not correct that they don't have nutrients a rabbit might need. They are higher in protein and calcium, so could be appropriate in certain circumstances for nursing does when loose hay isn't an option.


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## Mariam+Theo (Apr 26, 2020)

JBun said:


> That's not correct that they don't have nutrients a rabbit might need. They are higher in protein and calcium, so could be appropriate in certain circumstances for nursing does when loose hay isn't an option.


I meant that they would not be suitable as a substitute for rabbit pellets. I agree, they would work great if you were unable to have loose hay.


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