All the rabbits like the feed and readily eat it. That is a good thing. However, I will list the reasons that I have stopped using it for each of the rabbits we currently have below. Some will be more obvious than other and there is other information added, not pertaining to the feed.
Giant Chinchilla: We did have 4 senior Giant Chinchilla rabbits at the start of using this feed. In addition we had 10 kits. The company website recommends the additional feeding of hay for fiber so hay was given free choice.
~ We lost Lily at the beginning of September, we supposed to old age. She never went off feed or water and seemed to eat the hay. During her last few minutes, she seemed to be in a great deal of pain (from all of the screaming that she was doing) and was biting at her side. She expired before we had time to make a decision of what we should do. We will miss her.
~ Rosebud did very well on the feed. She was back in condition, after kindling a large litter, very quickly. Her fur quality was improved and we are very happy with her.
~ Her kits started to eat the new feed and hay and their stool became soft to the point that I stopped giving it to them and switched them back to the 18% exclusively. I did try it with them for a few weeks but didn't like the direction that things were going. Since Rosebud is still with her kits she doesn't get the 17% either.
~ Apple is our other very old doe and she seemed to be doing fine with the feed and hay. I haven't seen any improvement in her condition or fur. We have also started putting her outside in a run for fresh air. That seems to be improving her attitude. She seems sad in her hutch. She is the same age as Lily and we don't really expect her to make it through the winter. If she does, she will be getting a new outside hutch with a run.
~ Cowboy was lost for an unknown reason. He is awaiting an autopsy to find the cause of death. He seemed to be doing ok with the feed and hay and then one day just stopped eating. The next day we brought him in the house to see if he would eat some treats and he expired within the hour.
Mini Rex: We picked up two Mini Rex recently for my son. Both rabbits were accustomed to hay and eat it eagerly. They seemed to be fine on the 17% feed but it was suggested that they would benefit from a lower protein feed. They have been switched to 16% and are doing fine.
Thrianta: We have acquired a pair of Thrianta for my daughter. The buck was in a molt and seems to be stuck, mid molt now that he is in our barn. He eats the feed and the hay well. It was recommended by other breeders to raise his protein and add oils to get him through his molt. The doe is doing very well and has been bred. When she kindles she will be switched to the 18%. My daughter reports that when the Thrianta have both 16% and 17% mixed, they pick out the 16% and don't touch the 17%.
Crème D'argent: At the end of August my younger daughter was gifted a beautiful junior buck from a rabbitry that uses the 17% feed, without hay, so we continued in this way. The buck had very soft stool. After a few days we offered him hay, without any change. After a week we started changing his feed to 18% with good result. After several weeks and conversations with the original breeder, she suggested that we exchange the buck for another. So now we are awaiting her next litter.
At this time we have less than half a bag of the extruded 17% Show Hutch Deluxe left. I have purchased more 16% and 18% but will not be getting any more of the 17% at this time. The rest of the bag will most likely be given away or frozen in case I want to try it again in the future.
My decision about this feed is that it is not a good grower feed or maintenance feed. Whether or not it is a good feed for intermediate or senior show stock, I can not say at this time.
Have you tried this feed? I'd love to hear what you think of it. Feel free to comment.
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