Discussion: Rabbits Need Pellets in Their Diet

A diet that consists of unlimited pellets is a bad diet as it can make the bunny fat, lazy and sick. Everything needs to be in moderation.

Many pellet manufacturers say that a bunny should have 70% hay, 20% pellets, 10% treats (fruit, etc). But this is even incorrect, they say this to force people to go through more pellets than needed so they sell more.

Don’t fall into that trap especially if you’re feeding your bunny grass, veggies and good mixed diet.

Here are the official  European Rabbit Nutritional Guidelines that I hope are followed.

Bunny Food Pyramid

Lets have a look at them, just for an annoyance factor.

I felt like a teacher marking kids work – bringing back old memories.

Ok, so let’s get one thing straight. Your rabbit is different to mine, so how can something like the Food Pyramid be accurate? Your bunny is a different size, shape, attitude, fitness level – everything – so how can I generalise a pyramid to suit both my bunny and yours? I can’t. Simple.

Oh, but vets and professionals will tell you that:

“Food pyramids are just a guide, a generalisation, a reference tool, they aren’t meant to be set in stone.”

So why then, are they so heavily relied upon?

Let’s take it one step further. On the back of the Selective pellets, is this panel:

Let’s have a look at how incorrect it is

Selective is the brand I’m using for an example, because they have a pretty chart on their packaging that’s easy to locate online and download, but all so-called “good” pellet companies should have an equivalent chart. I have no other reason why I’m using this particular chart. Oh, yeah, I also bought Selective pellets for my buns, so I’ll be discussing them later on. I thought their chart looked nice.

What a major stuff up!

Looking at the Selective Feeding Guide picture in the above section, you’ll notice that each rabbit weight has a particular amount of pellets they can have during a single day. For example, the Netherland Dwarf rabbit (1kg in body weight) can have 25g of Selective pellets a day, while a Flemish Giant can have between 120-130g of Selective pellets a day.

The way they work out the amounts is this:

62.5g of pellets for a bunny that is 2.5kg in weight.

According to this, Buttons would calculate to be:

25 * 3.7 = 92.7g

He would need 92.5g of pellets a day.

While Nova would need:

25 * 1.3 = 32.5g

Here’s the metric measurements to put the amounts in perspective.

Metric measurement	Grams
1 cup	250g
3/4 cup	190g
2/3 cup	170g
1/2 cup	125g
1/3 cup	80g
1/4 cup	60g
1 tbsp	20g
1 tsp	5g

So, according to a Bunny Food Pyramid:

Bunny Pyramid	Nova’s amount	Button’s amount
5% treats/fruit	32.5g	92.5g
5% pellets	32.5g	92.5g
10% veggies	65g	185g
80% hay	520g	1,480g
Total daily food	650g	1,850g

Bunnies need to eat about 10% of their body weight in food. Just like any other animal – even us.

If that’s the case:

Buttons weight 3.7kg:

3.7 * 0.10 = 0.37

So, Buttons would need to eat 370g of food a day. Which is what he eats.

Nova, being 1.3kg would calculate to be:

1.3 * 0.10 = 0.13

Nova would be 130g of food a day. Which is what she eats.

So, let’s work it backwards to see how much they need to eat.

Let’s start with the totals, then it’s easier to work out. The table below is in the order that I worked it out.

Bunny Pyramid	Nova’s amount	Button’s amount
Total daily food	130g	370g
80% hay	104g	296g
10% veggies	8g	37g
5% treats/fruit	6.5g	18.5g
5% pellets	6.5g	18.5g

How I worked it out

So, every day, Buttons should have a maximum of 18.5g pellets, and Nova should have a maximum of 12g.

Buttons = 1 table spoon (which is actually 20g, he only needs 18.5g)

Nova = 1 teaspoon (which is actually 5g)

Different types of pellets

If your bunny can tolerate eating Oxbow (mine don’t really like them), they are a good choice. If you can afford Selective get them instead. But don’t feed them the amounts specified on the package, especially if your bunny has a varied diet with hay, grass, veggies and treats in it. Bunnies tummies are tiny.

Use By Dates and storage

Another thing to be aware of is that pellets and dried food can go rancid and taste awful for bunnies if it’s after the Use By date. We may not be able to sense it, but they sure can.

When choosing bags of food, make sure you get the longest Use By date you possibly can, that way it gives you the maximum amount of time to feed your buns.

Also, make sure you keep it all in an air tight container, because they can absorb the flavours of the room, and also make bunnies not like them.

I keep my pellets in their bags, but in a great big plastic box with an air-tight lid. I made sure that the plastic didn’t have a smell before putting the food in there. I had to get an expensive box because all the cheap ones had a disgusting smell. These particular boxes are really handy for all things, because they aren’t greatly tapered on the base.

Phosphorus and Calcium

Bunnies get white deposits in their urine if they have consumed too much calcium. Too much calcium can cause a build uo in their kidneys and they can get stones.

That’s why it’s important to make sur they get the correct amount of calcium in their diet.

Phosphorus balances calcium. To have a proper balanced diet, a bunny needs a ratio of 2:1 (calcium:phosphorus).

If your bunny has calcium in its urine, don’t just go looking for phosphorus laden foods to see if it will help. That will cause no end of issues. Just take time to give your bunny balanced foods, and the calcium should clear up after about a week. If it doesn’t, then there’s a bigger issue.

Pellet Brand Reviews

Oxbow Pellets

I used the Young Rabbit Food pellet with Lunar and Maple, but they didn’t enjoy it very much. I purchased a bag of Adult Rabbit Food in the hopes that Nova will like it. She didn’t. I ended up throwing both bags out in the bin.

Let’s do the math to work it out…

Nutritional Analysis

Now for the nutritional analysis of both the Young Rabbit Food and the Adult Rabbit Food.

Ingredient	Young Rabbit Food	Adult Rabbit Food	Recommended amount young	Recommended amount adult
Crude Protein (min)	15.00%	14.00%	~16%	12-14%
Crude Fat (min)	2.50%	2.00%	2.4 – 5%	2.4 – 5%
Crude Fibre (min)	22.00%	25.00%	>18%	>18%
Crude Fibre (max)	25.00%	29.00%
Moisture (max)	10.00%	10.00%
Calcium (min)	0.60%	0.35%	0.5%	0.5%
Calcium (max)	1.10%	0.75%	1.0%	1.0%
Phosphorus (min)	0.25%	0.25%	0.4 – 0.8%	0.4 – 0.8%
Vitamin A (min)	10,000 IU/kg	10,000 IU/kg	10,000 IU/kg	10,000 IU/kg
Vitamin D3 (min)	900 IU/kg	900 IU/kg	1000 IU/kg	1000 IU/kg
Vitamin E (min)	190 IU/kg	190 IU/kg	50 IU/kg	50 IU/kg

Ingredients

None of the ingredients are coming from real food, they are all supplements and straight minerals. The only food listed on the package is Timothy Grass Meal (Adult) and Suncured Alfalfa Meal (Young). Where are the real foods Oxbow?

I don’t class a 93% supplement and chemical manufactured pellet to be a healthy option. Yes, it may have most of the requirements, but it’s not natural and real.

I have put in bold the ingredients that should not be in the pellets.

Ingredient	Adult Pellet	Young Pellet	Notes
Suncured Alfalfa Meal	✘	✔
Timothy Grass Meal	✔	✘
Soybean Hulls	✔	✔	Anything soybean or soy related is not natural for rabbits and should not be included in any pellet. It is used as a protein booster.
Soybean Meal	✔	✘
Soybean Oil	✔	✔
Cane Molasses	✔	✔	Sugar cane molasses. Why is sugar added?
Wheat Middlings	✔	✔	Bi-product of wheat flour milling. Include screenings, bran, germ and flour remnants. Low energy: less than oaten, but more than lucerne. High protein (23%). High in phosphorus (1%) and potassium. Pay attention to the calcium levels when midds are fed as it is not balanced with calcium.
Sodium Bentonite	✔	✔
Salt	✔	✔
Lignin Sulfonate	✔	✔
Hydrolysed Yeast	✔	✔
Choline Chloride	✔	✔
Vitamin E Supplement	✔	✔	Supplement. The amount of Vitamin E should be the same as Vitamin C in the pellet. There isn’t Vitamin C in the ingredient list.
Zinc Sulfate	✔	✔
Yeast Culture	✔	✔	Yeast has to be “live” to be any benefit for bunnies.
Zinc Proteinate	✔	✔
Niacin	✔	✔	Vitamin B3
Copper Sulfate	✔	✔
d-Calcium Pantothenate	✔	✔	Vitamin B5 variant with added calcium
Vitamin A Suppliment	✔	✔	Supplement
Manganous Oxide	✔	✔
Riboflavin Suppliment	✔	✔	Vitamin B2 supplement
Biotin	✔	✔
Thiamine Mononitrate	✔	✔	Vitamin B1 varient
Magnesium Sulfate	✔	✔
Copper Proteinate	✔	✔
Sodium Selenite	✔	✔
Manganese Proteinate	✔	✔
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride	✔	✔
Folic Acid	✔	✔	Doesn’t need acid in it, just the food nutrient. Should be folate (food), not folate (acid). Vitamin B9.
Vitamin D3 Supplement	✔	✔	Vitamin D3 Supplement. Don’t need a vitamin D supplement. Vitamin D comes from the sun. Not food.
Cobalt Carbonate	✔	✔
Vitamin B12 Supplement	✔	✔	Supplement
Calcium Iodate	✔	✔

Peckish Junior/Dwarf Rabbit Pellets

Ingredients

Yes, Peckish Junior/Dwarf pellets are grey-coloured, which is a dead give away of don’t go near them. They are very high in protein, even for juniors. However, they use real ingredients. That’s a huge thumbs up!

Don’t need the soybean meal and vegetable oil though.

• Timothy Grass Hay
• Cereal Hay
• Alfalfa Hay
• Barley
• Corn
• Peas
• Soybean Protein Meal
• Bran & Pollard
• Wheat
• Vegetable Oil
• Vitamin & Mineral premix
• Air Dried Carrot
• Peppermint Leaf
• Plantain Leaf
• Dandelion Leaf
• Yarrow Root
• Pumpkin Seed
• Flaxseed
• Black Chia Seed

Selective Pellets

I know everyone calls these pellets Science Selective. Let’s make one thing clear, “Science” foods are a group of products that is in the Selective range that are manufactured by Supreme Pet Foods.

I am not going to call it Science Selective as the company name. I will refer to the range as Selective and the specific food as “Science” or “Naturals”, and assume that you will know what I am discussing.

Nutritional Analysis

Ingredient	Naturals Amount	Science Amount	Recommended amount
Crude Protein	14.00%	12.5%	12-16%
Crude Fat (min)	2.50%	3.0%	2.4 – 5%
Crude Fibre	22.00%	21.5%	18 – 30.0%
Calcium	0.8%	0.8%	0.5% -1.0%
Phosphorus	0.4%	0.4%	0.4 – 0.8%
Vitamin A	20,000 IU/kg	10,000 IU/kg	10,000 IU/kg (min)
Vitamin D3	2000 IU/kg	1000 IU/kg	1000 IU/kg (min)

The Naturals range would be good to feed young and pregnant/nursing rabbits because of the high protein amount. Although that amount of protein is OK for an adult bunny, too.

The Science range seems to be more balanced than the Naturals range.

Ingredients

Ingredient	Natural Pellet	Science Pellet	Notes
Alfalfa Meal	✘	✔
Timothy Hay	✔	✘
Soya Bean Hulls	✘	✔	Don’t need additional soy products.
Soya Bean Meal	✔	✔
Soya Bean Oil	✔	✔
Wheat	✘	✔
Wheat Feed	✘	✔
Dried Beet Pulp	✘	✔	Sugar cane pulp.
Flaked Peas	✔	✔
Linseeds	✘	✔
Calcium Carbonate	✔	✔
Prebiotics (MOS)	✘	✔
Yucca extract	✔	✔
Ground Dried Locust Beans	✔	✘
Whole Brown Linseeds	✔	✘
Hydrolysed Yeast	✔	✘

The truth about pellets

Let me start by saying people, get your facts straight before writing a whole lot of guff on your precious websites. I am sick to death of people making stuff up and it being promoted as truth across the internet. If you aren’t 100% sure about what you are writing, then don’t write it. It’s that simple.

Pellets are bad

Any pellet is bad. No pellet is good. Some are better than others, but they are still bad. That’s why people say not to feed bunnies pellets because you have no idea what is in them among other reasons (weight gain, sugar levels etc).

Any pellet on the market right now is full to the brim of things that will make your bunny sick, give them GI stasis, blockages, mineral and vitamin imbalances, clog them up with paper pulp, or even clay. Honestly, why would you do that?

I was reading once on a website “If you wouldn’t eat it, then why give it to you bunny?”. Why doesn’t it apply to pellets? I would never eat a pellet so why am I giving them to my bunnies?

There is not enough information on the packaging, even the expensive pellet packaging, about what is going into the pellet. Why then, do we trust it? Why do we trust Oxbow and Selective, and not Peter’s, Peckish or some random supermarket feed? Because of marketing.

Can you be 100% sure you know exactly what is in each pellet that your bunny is eating?

No. No you can’t.

Then why give it to them?

Ripping Free The Bunny Apart

Ok, so on my journey trying to find information about pellets and what is in them I came across the Danish website Free The Bunny:

• Which pellets are best
• What’s in your rabbit pellets

Some information on the two pages above are interesting, but I’m going to rip it apart. Sorry to those of you who wrote the website, but you really need to know your facts before you promote incorrect information.

Any images below are taken from the Feed the Bunny website.

Now I’m going to join the two pages together. One page is their review about the pellet, the other page shows the foodstuffs in the pellets. I’m joining them together so it’s easier to work out.

I’m going to only show the pellets that are available in Australia, and some high ranking pellets – not available in Australia, then I will compare them.

They rated the pellets with 5 stars:

• Is grass the first ingredient in the feed – If so, the food pellets will get one star.
• Are there more than 3 different grass species and 5 different herbs in the pills? – If there are both more than 3 grass species AND more than 5 herbs they will get a star
• Is it clear from the list of ingredients what is in the rabbit feed – i.e. no secretive ingredients like “vegetable by-products” which can be almost anything, and probably cover up that it is not quality
• Do they comply with the guidelines on good nutrient composition for rabbits – i.e over 18% fiber, 12-16% protein, under 1-4% fat, and 0.6-1% calcium. ^{(Textbook of Rabbit Medicine, a recognized book used by veterinarians worldwide that bases its knowledge on the basis of clinical trials and research)}
• Contains the rabbit feed cereals and soy – If the feed DOES NOT contain soy, wheat, other cereal, corn or rice as one of the first 4 ingredients, it gets a star. It must also not contain sugar (molasses, sweeteners) or colouring matters.

Burgess Excel Mint (2.5 stars) – Fair enough. When you look at the ingredients list provided on the website you realise that it looks pretty boring.

Selective (2.5 stars) – same as Burgess with a few extras. I agree with their results.

Grainless Health complete (5 stars) – This food seems good, but it should be taken off the market. It is not worth 5 stars.

1. Meadow foxtail, meadow buttercup, black meddick, common cowslip, Margerit, hedge bedstraw, bulbous buttercup, beetroot, elderberry and elder flower are all toxic to rabbits.
2. Bellis, large beehives, parsnip, sorrel and hempseed can cause GI stasis.

Why would you feed this to your bunny? Why would they put this in their food? I feel sorry for rabbit owners who have sick bunnies all the time due to the food they are giving them, and they don’t even know.

Bunny Rabbit’s Dream – some of the same ingredients as the one above. And an ivy. Never feed bunnies ivy. Or licorice root (has too much sugar).

So even their 5 star foods are not worth 5 stars.

Why do they sell us crap?

There have been a lot of studies on rabbit nutrition, but only rabbits that produce meat. Pet rabbits are not classed as money makers (except for breeders), and so a lot of study into their nutrition has not been conducted.

Meat rabbits and pet rabbits are different, and so are their diets.

Also the quality of foods available are really bad, and there’s no quality control. There is FeedSafe accreditation that companies can get, but this doesn’t apply to what they are putting in the food, only the quality of their manufacturing.

Pellets have had the same ingredients forever, because it works. Why change it if there’s no money in making proper feed?

If rabbits weren’t classed as a pest, then companies would spend more time figuring out the proper nutrition.

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Why feed pellets at all?

You don’t have to, it’s better if you don’t. But, you have to be so careful with your bunny’s diet; balancing nutrition, and feeding the right foods in the right quantities at the right time that it can get overwhelming. Sometimes pellets are just easier.

But no pellet is good enough.

We need to figure out the best pellet for our buns, and that’s what I intend to do.

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All Marketing Hype

Every pellet on the market is not good. Even the trusted brands.

I’m not writing this to stir, I’m just pointing out the facts. Pellet companies may have the best scientists, vets, nutritionists working for them, but do they actually do the right thing for the rabbits, or do they do it for money?

Remember, there is no money in pet rabbits. So they will always put the cheapest ingredients into expensive feed.

Oxbow

According to the Bunny Lady and The Dodo Oxbow is the best.

Then I googled “rabbit pellets review australia”. Guess what came up first on the list? Oxbow. If that’s not a paid response, don’t know what is.

The Oxbow website says:

Oxbow’s products are used and recommended by top exotic animal vets across Australia and around the globe. 

Why? Why do vets recommend it? Is it the same as dentists recommending Oral-B tooth paste? It’s generally a marketing ploy. People who are paid to say things, usually say those things.

On another websites someone’s opinion is:

Oxbow is the #1 recommended brand… They are a very caring company and it shows on multiple fronts: their packaging is clear, their customer service does not push their products and they do great outreach, including “Ask a Vet” sessions where the company veterinarian answers peoples questions live and in comments via social media platforms.

I do appreciate the efforts the company goes to in promoting their products, it is good to see that there are people who try to care. Thank you Oxbow for spreading information; however, make your pellets better, please.

Selective

According to Expert Reviews, Selective Naturals is the best pellet for 2023, and Burgess comes in at second.

Other than that same review on their company page and the exact same one on pet-food websites, people’s opinions are mixed between Oxbow and Selective.

Chemicals, Powders and Plants

Why then, do companies use the chemical compounds and the powdered vitamins and minerals?

It’s simple:

1. Its easier
2. There’s no where to grow the quantities of plants required and the maintenance, farming, harvesting, sorting, washing, drying and milling of the plants would be extremely expensive.

Comment

Just because a pellet meets all of the daily percentages, it doesn’t mean it has good quality ingredients and isn’t bound together with cat litter crystals or PVA glue, fire retardant chemicals, or even clay. Companies should be made to write what they use to bind pellets together on the packaging. They should also specify how many g/kg of the ingredients (plants, chemicals, powders) they use, not just the daily dietary percentages, because as we all know, they are made up to make the company look good.

Rabbit foods are usually manufactured by larger companies who make stock feeds. There is much more money in stock feeds than small animal food. That just means rabbit, piggy and other small animals get the left-overs and less money spent on understanding their dietary needs, because there is no money in it for the companies.

What’s in Pellets?

I found a website that explains what they put in pellets. Of course, I went through it with a fine tooth comb and I now wish I didn’t know. Here’s the run down taken from the website above, but I have added my research in the last column.

Group	Ingredients	My Notes
Animal Products (Should not be in rabbit feed).	Bone meal, blood meal, fish meal, feathers.
Animal protein products (Should not be found in rabbit feed).	Hydrolysed poultry feathers, fish meal, milk products, and other items which are not natural to a rabbit’s digestive tract.
Forage products	Alfalfa meal, grass hay, soybean hay, lespedeza meal, dehydrated silages.	Alfalfa meal, that’s OK, because it’s just ground up lucerne. Grass hay, fine. Soybean hay – can cause metabolism and antioxidant capacity issues, hormonal balance and reproductive issues. Dehydrated silage – silage has bacteria and mould in it that is dangerous to rabbits. Can cause high toxicity levels.
Grain products	Barley, oats, wheat, corn, rice, rye.	Grains and seeds are not much good for bunny digestion systems. Corn is a huge no-no because it can cause blockages. Rice is dangerous.
Molasses products	Beet or sugar cane molasses, beet pulp.	Beet or sugar cane – straight sugar is no good. beet pulp – bunnies can’t eat beets, only their leaves.
Processed grain byproducts	Wheat millings, corn, gluten feed, rice bran, wheat bran, brewers’ dried grains, distilled dried grains.	Same as grain products above.
Plant protein products	Cottonseed, soybean, canola, peanut, linseed and sunflower meals, cultured yeast.	Cottonseed, soybean, canola, peanut, linseed, sunflower meals, yeast are highly toxic to rabbits in medium to high dosages.
Roughage products	Hulls of cottonseed, soybeans, oats, peanuts, rice; apple products, beet pulp, citrus pulp.	Hulls of cottonseed, soybeans, oats, peanuts, rice, beet pulp, citrus pulp. Not good. Apple products are OK, but only if it’s flesh, not seeds, stems or core. It doesn’t specify which part of the apple is used.
Specific Ingredient	What is It?	What is it used for?
Acetic Acid	Mould inhibitor	Used primarily in the production of cellulose acetate for photographic film, polyvinyl acetate for wood glue, and synthetic fibres and fabrics. Used in descaling products (shower cleaner). Used as an acidity regulator in food.
Ammonium Hydroxide	Mould inhibitor	Ammonia. Diluted is a streak-free window cleaner. Used to create a chemical in disinfectants.
Benzoic Acid	Mould inhibitor	Food preservative. Used to treat fungal skin diseases such as ringworm and athlete’s foot.
Calcium Propionate	Mould inhibitor	Used as a preservative in bread and dairy products.
Propionic Acid	Mould inhibitor	Used in animal feed and human food as a preservative. Used in pesticides and pharmaceuticals. The fruit-like odours are used in solvents and artificial flavourings.
Sorbic Acid	Mould inhibitor	A type of salt. Used to prevent mould and fungi. It is found in foods such as various kinds of cheese, bread, muffins, donuts, pies, cookies, protein bars, syrups, lemonades, fruit juices, dried meats, sausages, nuggets, burgers, sandwiches, tacos, pizzas, smoked fish, margarine, sauces, soups, and more.
Sodium Bentonite	Pellet binder	According to wikipedia: Expands when wet, absorbing many times its dry mass in water. Used for castings and dry moulds. Used as a binding agent int the manufacture of iron ore pellets used in the steelmaking industry. A clay mineral often used as cat litter.
Sodium Lignosulfonate	Pellet binder	Used in the food industry as a defoaming agent for paper production and in adhesives that come in contact with food. Also used in construction. Ceramics, mineral powder, chemical industry, leather, petroleum, rubber vulcanisation, and fire-retardant materials.
Lignin Sulfonate	Pellet binder	A by-product from making paper. Used in tanning leather, a plasticiser in concrete manufacturing, used in plasterboard manufacture. Binds particle boards, linoleum flooring, coal briquettes and roads.
Ascorbic Acid	Source of Vitamin C	Bunnies don’t need extra vitamin C in their diet, they should be getting enough from the foods they eat. But I guess, if they aren’t getting a variety of grasses and other foods, this may be their only option to get vitamin C in their diet.
Calcium Carbonate or Limestone	Calcium ingredient	Crushed up chalk from eggshells, gastropod shells, shellfish skeletons and pearls. High source or calcium.
Beet Pulp	Fibrous material left over after the sugar is extracted from sugar beets. An energy concentrate high in highly digestible fibre, pectin’s, and sugars.	This is sugar beet pulp. This is not good for bunnies. Sugar is not good.
Canola Meal	Produced from canola seed following oil extraction. Protein ingredient.	Canola can cause digestive upsets. Is only used in meat production rabbits to make sure that the meat is of good quality and is high in nutrition.
Choline Chloride	Choline, or vitamin B4.	Used to control a clay additive in hydraulic fracturing. Used in chicken feed to accelerate growth.
Citric Acid	Preservative. Also, a growth and immunity promoter.	An edible acid used in food and drink, added to ice cream to stop the fats from separating. Used in metals to make them soluble. Used to remove limescale on machinery.
Corn Gluten Meal	Added for palatability	A byproduct of processing corn. Used in herbicides fertilisers, animal feed because it has about 65% crude protein. Used as a food flavouring.
Lactobacillus	Probiotic/prebiotic	Safe for use in animals and humans.
Non-Dietary Nitrogen (NDN)	Should not be found in rabbit food. Rabbits do not utilise NDNs well and can cause toxicity.
Magnesium Oxide	Magnesium ingredient
Mixed Tocopherols	Source of Vitamin E. They are antioxidants found in nature and are used in fats, oils, and in a wide range of fat-containing food and feed products and contain natural mixtures of d-alpha, beta, gamma, and delta tocopherols.
Molasses or Cane Molasses	Added for palatability and as a binder. High in magnesium.
Monosodium Phosphate	Phosphate ingredient
Oat Mill By-Product	Brans or middlings. Obtained after the transformation of groats into oatmeal. High in indigestible fibre with low protein.
Papaya	Aids digestion
Rosemary Extract	Natural antioxidant
Saccharomyces	Probiotic/prebiotic
Safflower Meal	Protein ingredient
Safflower Oil	Added for palatability
Soybean Hulls	Fibre ingredient. Cheaper and contains more fibre than Timothy hay.
Soybean Meal	A by-product of the extraction of soybean oil. Protein ingredient.
Streptococcus	Prebiotic/probiotic
Timothy Hay Meal	Ground up Timothy hay. Makes the hay more digestible without sacrificing long-stem fibre.
Wheat Middlings	Granular by-product of grain milling. High in digestible fibre and have energy levels similar to corn. Cheap source of carbohydrates.
Yeast cell wall extract	Prebiotic rich in mannan sugar moieties of long chain oligosaccharides collectively known as mannanoligosaccharides
Yucca	Helps control ammonia in rabbit waste and aids in fat digestion in the small intestine.