# What do you feed your show bunnies?



## Bunnie

I am looking for a good quality show pellet, I am not happy with the mess I am getting from my feed store. Can anyone reccomend a good brand?

Also, how do you judge how much to feed your show rabbits, and how much hay? What type? Right now I am feeding timothy hay, a good bit a day, and 1 cup of pellets. This is for a dutch rabbit. I'm not sure what else I should feed her for showing.


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## BinkyBunny

I feel like I've heard of breeders feeding manna pro? Maybe I'm wrong. I'm sure other will chime in soon!


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## KittyKatMe

I would defenitly cut back to 1/4 - 1/2 cup pellets. They will become obese quickly on that much for such a small rabbit. As for hay, just have a rack and keep it always full. You can use Timothy, Orchard, Oat, Meadow; any type of grass hay you can find good quality.


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## Bunnie

Looked again at the "cup" I was using, it is a 1/2 cup. I can cut it back to 1/4 and keep the hay 24/7. She is only 13ish weeks old, and very active. 

I think we have the manna pro at our local Tractor Supply.


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## BinkyBunny

Again, I'm just pulling from memory. I have not ever shown rabbits myself. I think that is what I have heard of breeders feeding onder:


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## majorv

You're going to get different answers from different breeders as to what brand. It's mainly what works for you. We have fed Purina Show with no problem, but it was getting expensive so we tried Pen Pals. We like it and the rabbits like it but it costs more than the Purina because the feed store doesn't normally carry it. Right now, we're using Bluebonnet, except my Polish don't seem to care for it as much. I'm thinking about just going back to Purina.

I just talked to a Dutch breeder friend and he gives about a cup of pellets a day to his show rabbits. He doesn't have a problem with his rabbits getting overweight, but they know when to stop eating. My Polish would be fat on a cup because they can't stop. I'm not sure about cutting back to 1/4 cup for a 13 week old though. You just need to watch and weigh him, and adjust if needed.

We use horse quality coastal hay for our show rabbits. We can get a bale at the feed store for less than $10. Good quality pellets and hay are all you really need for show rabbits.


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## woahlookitsme

I have heard many using manna pro and having good luck with it. Like said it depends on what is good for your rabbit. You can always search the rabbit food on here and get some sort of feedback. Some breeds you need to watch because they will not stop eating but most show rabbits will leisurely nibble through out the day without over eating. Show and breeding rabbits have different requirement than pets so keep that in mind too. I also wouldn't cut back that much for a young rabbit.

Also my tans are more active. They are able to easily maintain their weight and not become obese between showing, running in their cages, and breeding. I think you can maybe give her 1/2-3/4 a cup and see if she can maintain a healthy weight. I can post the weight requirements for dutch when I get a hold of my standards book. This should be your guide on measuring how much your bun should weigh at a certain age.


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## JBun

I've read good things from breeders about manna pro and pen pals. For an adult rabbit I think the general amount to feed is about 1 oz per lb body weight, depending on your rabbits metabolism as well. Being a growing baby still, you will want to feed more. Some people do unlimited pellets for babies, but I haven't found that works for my bunnies, so i limit pellets. 1/2 cup to 1 cup a day sounds good. I feed my 2 lb 5 month old bunnies about 1/3-1/2 cup a day and unlimited timothy hay. Also, I don't know if you know about transitioning feed. I always transition my rabbits onto a new feed. I know some people don't, but I've found that my rabbits have less digestive problems when I do.


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## Bunnie

I will have to see what TSC and other local feed stores cary. The stuff I am getting at my feed store is old and nasty looking. I took one bag back and got the Rabbit World food at WalMart until I can get something else, but she isnt over the top about the RW food


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## Imbrium

Bunnie said:


> Looked again at the "cup" I was using, it is a 1/2 cup. I can cut it back to 1/4 and keep the hay 24/7. She is only 13ish weeks old, and very active.
> 
> I think we have the manna pro at our local Tractor Supply.



babies are supposed to have "unlimited" pellets, so I definitely wouldn't cut back to 1/4c. I'd go with 1/2-1c per day, depending on her natural hay intake and how much veggies she's getting.

make sure to gradually transition her to a new pellet over the course of a week or two - they can get upset tummies from an instant switch.


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## BinkyBunny

I think I'm actually feeding knock off manna pro...


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## Blaze_Amita

Alot of the feed depends quite heavily on what your rabbit likes and what is available to you. To date I've used Nutrena Naturewise Premium(not the Proformence- 16% versus 18%), PUrina Chow, Purina Show, Manna Pro Pro, Manna Pro Show, and some other odds and ends no name brands like Southern States, Triple Trust, Big Red, Red A, and a couple local no name brands. 
Quite frankly, my guys did the best-appetite wise on Nutrena Premium. Personally I don't use an 18%, I just don't like the coat conditions on it nor do I think they need an 18%. I raise Dutch, with a few Holland Lops(My New Zealands are on Triple Trust as that's their favorite) on the Nutrena and they do quite good. I feed 4oz to the Hollands and 5 oz's to the dutch daily, along with their Alfalfa cube(daily in the winter, 3x's a week in the summer) and large handfuls of hay-which is horse quality. It does keep my buns a tad to the chubby side but I've done well on the show table with them. 
A friend of mine that also raises dutch in western KY-I am eastern KY- just switched off Purina Fibre3 to Pen Pals due to having alot of problems with Purina- I switched to Nutrena the same time as I can't get the PenPals over in the eastern side of the state as easily as I can get to Nutrena.
Problems could be stemmed from where feed is mixed, we all know all this but for our Purinas-which came from two different mills- and were two different Purina's (Fibre 3 versus show) and we were both having the same problems we both bailed on Purina. Your area may not have any trouble but there's no location for you listed so it's hard to offer suggestions.
My dutch babies are on free feed until 12 weeks of age and then I move them to a regular diet of 5 oz's a day- always have, as I don't show them under 12 weeks(the two I did, were still on a self feeder when they showed at 11 weeks of age but did fantastic!)


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## shananagrams

Purina is not a very good brand for any animal food. It's like the bottom of the line for dog food at this point. I don't know much about the rabbit food, but I imagine its on the level of kaytee minus the seeds/sugary cereal.


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## whitelop

According to the ARBA Dutch standards, seniors(over 6 months) should weigh between 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 lbs. 
http://www.dutchrabbit.com/aboutthebreed/aboutthebreed.html

I have a 10 week old dutch, who isn't show quality, but she gets around 1/2 cup a day of pellets. I feed Sherwood forest, and she gets coastal horse quality hay, with 2 handfuls of alfalfa hay a day and little timothy hay blocks as treats. She seems to be doing well that amount of food. She doesn't eat all her pellets at once, she grazes on them through out the day. I feed her half at a time, morning and night.


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## JBun

Blaze_Amita said:


> Alot of the feed depends quite heavily on what your rabbit likes and what is available to you. To date I've used Nutrena Naturewise Premium(not the Proformence- 16% versus 18%), PUrina Chow, Purina Show, Manna Pro Pro, Manna Pro Show, and some other odds and ends no name brands like Southern States, Triple Trust, Big Red, Red A, and a couple local no name brands.
> Quite frankly, my guys did the best-appetite wise on Nutrena Premium. Personally I don't use an 18%, I just don't like the coat conditions on it nor do I think they need an 18%. I raise Dutch, with a few Holland Lops(My New Zealands are on Triple Trust as that's their favorite) on the Nutrena and they do quite good. I feed 4oz to the Hollands and 5 oz's to the dutch daily, along with their Alfalfa cube(daily in the winter, 3x's a week in the summer) and large handfuls of hay-which is horse quality. It does keep my buns a tad to the chubby side but I've done well on the show table with them.


 
I'm just curious what you mean by 'they did better appetite wise' on the Nutrena pellets? I'm looking at different feeds right now, but I had read varying things about Nutrena, including some people having problems. What differences did you see between the Nutrena and the Manna Pro?


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## Blaze_Amita

Well the Manna Pro we have around us is CRAP, it's very dusty and a pale brown- not even smelling good-I wouldn't have fed that to a starving animal it was so nasty. Nutrena smell good, it's greener adn teh pellet itself isn't crumbly like the Manna Pro. I lost several litters in the spring due to Manna Pro(Nutrena's the 3rd switch this year in feed). Rabbit feeds in KY are hard to find- either they make it on whatever is available at TSC or they don't for the meat breeding folks around me. I went and ordered Purina Show in through a Purina dealer, and worked with that from February-November. Lost some babies, some had good condition some not and finally got a hold of a Nutrena Rep that located my closest dealer that carried or could order the Nutrena rabbit and that's where I went. I've only lived in KY for 3 years, the prior time(I've had rabbits for 8 years) was all in upstate NY where Nutrena was common and I started on it- did my rescue work and my breeding/showing and never had a lick of problems. Kentucky not so much-a very non-rabbit friendly area. 
The Nutrena my guys have been cleaning out their bowls and I have two extremely picky eaters that had all but quit eating the Purina Show I had before- they're the only two I cold turkey switched their feed because they just would not touch the Purina-everyone else had a nice changeover. The nutrena, I've got a label inside, I'll scan it in to the computer and post it if you want so you can see a label. I've also had an older doe that simply would not conceive a litter when on the Purina, got her back on Nutrena(it was what she was born and raised on) and she's bred now(actually wanting to be bred!) and back in gorgeous condition. 
Bottom line though: Some folks don't like Nutrena, some do. I, personally, will swear by the Nutrena and won't ever look back. Jbun-I see your in Utah, find other local breeders and see what's what for them. if you're going to try the Nutrena just make sure you first have a dealer around and before you think to ask, TSC can NOT bring it in-I've had 4 different stores try for me, I have to drive 2 hours north to get mine. TSC-it's something about the way they have things set up with Nutrena that doesn't allow them to bring it in-at least that's what the one store manager told me.


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## JBun

Thanks for the info. I actually have a feed store near me that I know carries it. If you wouldn't mind posting the label that would be great.


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## OakRidgeRabbits

Feed is a very individual preference, as you can see from the responses so far. The brands available and quality of feed vary from region to region. For example, some breeders have access to excellent locally milled feeds. Others have better access to the "big brands."

I would recommend looking into what you can buy the freshest and start there. The fresher you can get the feed, the more content the rabbits will be with it and the healthier the actual food will be.

Aside from that, look at the percent protein. Wool breeds or more active breeds will require a higher protein percentage (typically 16-18%). Smaller, calmer breeds may do just fine or better on less protein (14-16%). Pregnant or nursing does and kits also do best on a higher percentage. Dry bucks and does on a smaller percentage.

Fat content is also important. Most foods are somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5%-2.5% fat. Guidelines for that are similar to protein.

I raise Holland Lops primarily and have been very pleased with Blue Seal Show Hutch Deluxe. It is an extruded feed, which is said to improve digestibility. I haven't had any GI issues with my rabbits on it, so I guess we can speak to that! More than that though, the rabbits go crazy for it and have good flesh and fur condition overall. It is not the freshest feed I have access too, though not "old" or anything, but it has had the best response from my rabbits. I've tried Purina, Manna Pro and Pen Pals with little success.

In addition to pellets, a good grass hay is best. Timothy, orchard, bermuda. Again, whatever you have the freshest access to.

In my experience, 1/4 to 1/2 cup of pellets daily per 5 lbs. body weight works best. You will discover that some rabbits need a little more or a little less and can adjust accordingly. Also, none of my rabbits are free fed here. Digestive issues are very common in young rabbits, and I've noticed that Holland babies are particularly susceptible to "poopy butt," the precursor to worse enteritis. So even my babies are rationed and hay eating is encouraged! The babies are fed based on their "expected" weight. For example, I put 1/2 cup of food in the dish for each baby in the cage (following the weight rule above), and then offer unlimited grass hay. So they have plenty of food for such little bunnies and still have hay to graze on when the pellets are gone. The incidence of digestive symptoms has gone way down since I stopped with the unlimited rule, so I highly recommend rationing pellets for any age - it's just done a little differently for youngsters.

Again, you will find that feeding methods vary. But hopefully this helps with some ideas!


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## KittyKatMe

Oh ok. I thought your rabbit was a senior. Definitely give unlimited pellets.


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## Imbrium

oh, as far as food goes, personally I love sherwood forest - http://www.naturalrabbitfood.com/sherwood-forest-natural-rabbit-food/ - no added sugars/molasses, lots of fiber and TONS less starches than other rabbit foods. I highly recommend it. I don't think any of our breeders use it, but I assume the main reason for that is simply that it's cost-prohibative if you're feeding a lot of rabbits.


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## Blaze_Amita

Well in case anyone wanted to know, here in eastern KY 
Here's the feed label to the Nutrena Naturewise Premium:





And this is what it look like-I'm on my way out right now to go pick up more- ran out today so I had to take a quick snap picture out of one of my dishes(Colby's cause he keeps his dish nice and clean!)





And my New Zealands are on Triple Trust, here's that label as well:





and what this looks like, I got this feed in yesterday as you can tell from the bin in the background!




There's more corn chunks in the Triple Trust than I would prefer but the New Zealands love it and so long as they love the taste and they stay in good shape on it- I won't change it


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## OakRidgeRabbits

> I assume the main reason for that is simply that it's cost-prohibative if you're feeding a lot of rabbits.



Honestly, cost isn't as much of a concern as quality of the pellet. Lesser quality feeds put the breeder at a huge disadvantage since the overall health of the rabbit is at stake. An unhealthy rabbit has difficulty breeding, conceiving, carrying a litter to term, and raising the kits. Of course, the pellet has to be formulated well enough for kits to thrive too.

The feeds most commonly used are popular because of how well they've supported rabbits of all breeds and ages. They're very complete feeds that require few supplements (usually none at all). Purina, Manna Pro, Blue Seal, and Pen Pals are a few big ones in the U.S., but there are a few more regional/local brands I see thrown around too. Kent is one on the West coast that's pretty well known. I think that's actually the same company as Blue Seal, if I remember correctly.

But anyway, the number of bunnies I have is determined by the number I can properly feed and care for. As food prices have been going up the past few years, many breeders have cut back in numbers so that the health and care of their rabbits isn't compromised, despite higher feed costs.


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## Imbrium

sorry if that didn't come across well - what I was trying to say was that sherwood is a bit pricier than many of the other pellets available to breeders in bulk... and you're basically paying for a low-sugar/low-starch food, as that's really what differentiates it from many of the others. to me, sherwood is "top of the line" whereas what breeders usually feed is more like just "high end" stuff. breeders definitely want a high quality pellet, but I would think they'd be less likely than pet owners to pay more for a marginal (and somewhat theoretical, as most bunnies don't have any problem with a small amount of sugar or a little bit of extra carbs) increase in quality compared to pellets that are already good... if that makes any sense.


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## OakRidgeRabbits

That's what I was trying to point out too. Whatever each of us use is what we consider to be "top of the line" based on our own needs. It's hard to generalize a top feed because every rabbit responds differently. In fact, breeding and show herds are sort of selected to thrive on the food the breeder uses. After all, the rabbits that perform the best on the feed provided are the ones kept back for the herd.

The ingredients don't matter too much beyond general terms (for instance, no rabbit is going to do well on a 100% cabbage diet  ). But aside from that, if you ask 10 people what the best diet for a rabbit is, you'll probably get 10 different answers!


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## Blaze_Amita

And just mildly off topic here, but I pulled out one of the old bags from the Purina Show(I keep the feed bags for use as something else) and yanked the tag off that as well, and I'm sitting here comparing it to the Nutrena and I was actually quite shocked at how different they really were- it wasn't much but it was enough apparently.


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## JBun

Blaze_Amita said:


> And just mildly off topic here, but I pulled out one of the old bags from the Purina Show(I keep the feed bags for use as something else) and yanked the tag off that as well, and I'm sitting here comparing it to the Nutrena and I was actually quite shocked at how different they really were- it wasn't much but it was enough apparently.


 
Maybe part of the difference is the quality of the hay that they use.

Thanks for posting those labels. I actually feed my rabbits sherwood pellets. They are milled here locally so I can get a good price on them, and they are really fresh and look really good, but I've been having problems with one of my rabbits since I started feeding this a few months ago. I just wanted to try a different feed to see if it makes a difference and fixes the problem.


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## whitelop

Completely off topic, Blaze_Amita, your Triple Trust rabbit feed looks JUST like my chicken feed. With the corn pieces in it and everything, its strange. My chicken feed is milled locally, but they look basically identical.


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## lauratunes12

We feed Sherwood Forest, and love it. Our holland's coat is much softer and prettier when on it. However, it can be a bit pricey, so I definitely think a more bulk, cheaper kind of pellets, such as used for horses if you plan on having a lot of rabbits. If I ever get a large amount of rabbits, I probably would start feeding Manna Pro. My friend uses it for her horses, and they both look very good, like the food, and her female has lived a really long life.

Edit: just saw the conversation above, sorry. My main point is that I have found Sherwood to be the best for us.


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## Bunnie

I am going to look at TSC sometime this week. Locally everyone only carries "rabbit food" and looked at me like I was nuts for wanting "higher quaility" feed for show stock.....


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## Blaze_Amita

Bunnie said:


> I am going to look at TSC sometime this week. Locally everyone only carries "rabbit food" and looked at me like I was nuts for wanting "higher quaility" feed for show stock.....


 

I have gotten used to that!! especially at TSC! Don't worry, you're not crazy, they just don't understand!


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## RoyalLions18

By rabbits have feeders hooked to their cages and have food all the time. I feed Purina Rabbit Chow. And have not had any problems with it.


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## wendymac

I feed Manna Pro Gro and top dress with a couple tablespoons of Calf Manna. They also get hay and old-fashioned oatmeal. The French Lops get unlimited hay and pellets, Kitty's Californians get around a cup with unlimited hay. The Polish also always have pellets and hay in front of them, and they seem to be doing well. Nobody's over the weight limit and all 4 are seniors.


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