Many people make the mistake of thinking that all brands of pellets are the same and equivalent. Nothing could be further from the truth. The differences in protein, calories and fiber among the different brands makes a huge difference in the gut of your bunny. (So, if you email me asking me a question about pellets, make sure you tell me what brand you feed and how much, otherwise I cannot be much help.)

Most brands of Kaytee pellets should be avoided in the diet of the houserabbit. Kaytee Fiesta contains too much fat and protein to be healthy, and the special bits that make it so appealing to humans encourage selective eating and may cause health problems for bunnies. I believe this brand should be avoided for all rabbits. The Amazon Smythe brand appears to be OK, although I am not sure what the orange bits are made of and do not recommend the pellets for this reason. On the other hand, Kaytee Rainbow Exact is acceptable in certain circumstances. I don't usually recommend it for healthy bunnies because of the small particle size and the fat levels. Many rescuers are using this as a "senior" blend for their older rabbits. It is low in calcium and has a bit more fat for the bunny who loses weight. One reliable source has told me that their bunnies got mushy poops when feed Rainbow Exact, so tread carefully if switching to it. Kaytee Forti Diet is extremely high in calories according to the information at the HRS website. Kaytee has recently announced a new Forti-Diet Garden Blend with "crunchies, timothy hay and vegetable pieces". I do not have nutritional information on this blend but advise caution.

Purina Mills has "green bag" which is technically called Purina Complete but everyone seems to refer to it simply as Purina Green Bag. That is a good general pellet that most rabbits seem to tolerate well. PMI HF is the lab diet formula that's higher in fiber and lower in calories than even the green bag. I feed PMI 5326. There is another formula, 5325 which is "certified", meaning that it has been screened for some toxins. Some people feel more comfortable feeding this. Nutritionally there is no difference between the 5325 and 5326. PMI also makes "ProLab". This is comparable to PMI 5325/6, it is marginally different in protein and fiber, but probably not enough to make a difference. This pellet contains no animal fat, which makes some people more comfortable. Purina Mills also has show and wool formulas, which I do not recommend for healthy house rabbits. Both of these are very high in protein and energy and low in fiber. One person has reported that PMI HF has given their bunny mushy poops.

Evergreen is a west coast brand, and appears to be quite acceptable from the nutritional analysis. I do not have much firsthand experience with it. I did buy a small bag from BunnyBytes but the picky critters who share my life were not impressed. This is not to say that Evergreen tastes bad, but the one constant in their lives, through 3 cross country moves, has been their pellet brand. That they were uninterested in trying something new should not reflect on the pellet.

Hartz makes a "house rabbit blend" and while it's not the worst thing on the market, it is certainly not even on my list of feeds I would consider.

I have never seen a rabbit food from SunSeed or from L/M brands that I would even consider feeding to my bunny nor that I would recommend to anyone. Even when I was looking for a high calorie pellet to put some weight on Tucker I would not feed any of these. L/M Vita Vittles should absolutely be avoided, no rabbit needs a "rich mixture of cheese..."

Oxbow makes two types of pellets, and alfalfa based one and a timothy based one. The alfalfa based one seems to be a very reasonable general purpose pellet. The timothy pellet is very low in calories, so I usually only recommend it for severely overweight bunnies who need to have pellets for some reason. There are some people who believe that alfalfa should never be fed, even if it's in a pellet, and prefer the timothy pellet over any of the alfalfa based ones. As long as the rabbit is receiving sufficient calories and is not losing weight the BB/T pellets are acceptable. Many people have reported their rabbits don't like the taste of the timothy pellets, and I have heard reports from a number of people that their bunnies get mushy poops when fed the Timothy pellets.

American Pet Diner sells two types of pellets, alfalfa based and timothy based. I have no personal experience with either of these pellets. My understanding is that bunnies who are reluctant to try the Oxbow timothy pellets are sometimes more eager to eat these pellets.

Outside of the US, I don't really know. I believe Burgess in the UK makes a house rabbit pellet. Lori Coates (of the BHRA) has recently found a importer who will carry PMI HF for her. I believe that Lisebeth Zonjee has found a pellet in .nl that doesn't have any additives or antibiotics. Unfortunatly, I do not have a good handle on what is available outside of the US. I believe that Oxbow and Bunnybytes do some mail order to these regions, but I don't know the details of how or cost. If you live outside the US and have a supplier or any information you think would be useful on this page, please contact me.

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