What makes a good adult rabbit pellet?

In an adult rabbit's pellet diet, they need a fiber content of 18% or higher, a protein content at around 13-14% and fat content at no more than 3%. I will be comparing nutritional values of different commercial pellet food so you can decide which would be the best and most affordable for you  to give your rabbit.   

"A good quality rabbit pellet DOES NOT contain dried fruit, seeds, nuts, colored crunchy things or other things that are attractive to our human eyes, but very unhealthy to a rabbit. Rabbits are strict herbivores, and in nature they rarely get fruit, nuts or other such fatty, starchy foods. The complex flora of the cecum can quickly become dangerously imbalanced if too much simple, digestible carbohydrate is consumed--especially if the diet is generally low in fiber. The result is often "poopy butt syndrome," in which mushy fecal matter cakes onto the rabbit's behind. This a sign of cecal dysbiosis, which can foment much more serious health problems."

But if you want to feed this kind of rabbit food to your bunnies go right ahead no one's stopping you!

"Check the label on the rabbit pellets before you buy. Most commercial pellets are alfalfa-based, which means they're higher in calories and lower in fiber than timothy-based pellets."

Only feed adult rabbits 1/4 to 1/2 cup pellets per 6 lbs. body weight a day

How and what I feed my rabbits pellet food:

I feed my rabbits Oxbow Adult Rabbit Food in the morning and at night, but first in the morning I give them hay in their litter box and then 30 minutes or an hour later if they're not eating hay anymore I will give them pellets. Same process at night time too. I give them hay first before pellets because if I gave them pellets first they usually won't eat as much hay. Hay is the most important food in their diet and pellets are usually just a supplement. Munchkin is still a young rabbit so I still have to feed him unlimited alfalfa pellets. If you follow me on IG, you should know that Munchkin always gets out of the pen, so I leave his pellets in the room so he has unlimited access.

Remember rabbit pellets shouldn't be the main source of their diet. If they eat too much, it can cause weight gain, become picky eaters and won't eat as much hay. 

Do you think your rabbit is underweight? Overweight? Or Ideal?

Oxbow Essential Adult Rabbit Food

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein min 14.00%
Crude Fat min 2.00%
Crude Fiber min 25.00%
Crude Fiber max 29.00%
Moisture max 10.00%
Calcium min 0.35%
Calcium max 0.85%
Phosphorus min 0.25%
Copper (min) 30 ppm
Vitamin A (min) 19,000 IU/kg
Vitamin D (min) 900 IU/kg
Vitamin E (min) 190 IU/kg

Ingredients

Timothy Grass Meal, Soybean Hulls, Wheat Middlings, Soybean Meal, Cane Molasses, Sodium Bentonite, Soybean Oil, Salt, Lignin Sulfonate, Limestone, Yeast Culture (dehydrated), Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate

Purchase here $14.55 on amazon.com

Oxbow BeneTerra Organic Rabbit Food

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein (min) 12.00%
Crude Fat (min) 2.00%
Crude Fiber (min) 23.00%
Crude Fiber (max) 25.00%
Moisture (max) 12.00%
Ash (max) 9.00%
Calcium (min) 0.60%
Calcium (max) 0.90%
Phosphorus (min) 0.30%
Copper (min) 25 ppm
Vitamin A 19,000 IU/kg (min)
Vitamin D 900 IU/kg (min)
Vitamin E 190 IU/kg (min)
Omega 3 Fatty Acid (min) 0.30%
Omega 6 Fatty Acid (min) 0.41%

Ingredients

Organic Grass Hay, Organic Canola Meal, Organic Wheat Straw, Organic Sunflower Meal, Organic Barley, Organic Flax Seed, Sodium Bentonite, Limestone, Sea Salt, L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Organic Dandelion Leaf, Organic Ground Rosemary, Inulin, Organic Cranberry, Organic Blueberry, Dried Yucca Schidigera, Yeast Culture Dehydrated, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate

Purchase here $14.38 on amazon.com

Oxbow Natural Science Adult Rabbit Food

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein (min) 12.00%
Crude Fat (min) 3.00%
Crude Fiber (min) 22.00%
Crude Fiber (max) 26.00%
Moisture (max) 10.00%
Calcium (min) 0.40%
Calcium (max) 0.80%
Phosphorus (min) 0.35%
Copper (min) 35 mg/kg
Vitamin A (min) 19,000 IU/kg (min)
Vitamin D (min) 900 IU/kg (min)
Vitamin E (min) 190 IU/kg (min)
Omega 3 Fatty Acid (min) 0.45%
Omega 6 Fatty Acid (min) 0.90%

Ingredients

Timothy Grass, Orchard Grass, Oat Grass, Oat Hulls, Canola Meal, Whole Yellow Pea, Whole Barley, Tomato Pomace (dehydrated), Cane Molasses, Flax Seed, Yeast Culture (dehydrated), Sodium Bentonite, Salt, Lignin Sulfonate, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Rosemary, Dried Thyme, L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate (Vitamin C), Inulin, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate

Purchase here $19.34 on amazon.com

Science Selective Rabbit

Guaranteed Anaylsis

Crude Protein (min.) 12.0%, Crude Fat (min.) 2.5%, Crude Fiber (min.) 21.0%, Crude Fiber (max.) 26.0%, Moisture (max.) 11.0% , Calcium (min.) 0.6%, Calcium (max.) 1.0%, Phosphorus (min.) 0.4%, Salt (min.) 0.5%, Salt (max.) 0.8%, Vitamin A (min.) 10000 IU/kg, Vitamin D3 (min.) 1000 IU/kg, Vitamin E (min.) 50 IU/kg.

Ingredients

Dehydrated alfalfa meal, soybean hulls, whole wheat, wheat middlings, flaked peas, flaxseed, dried beet pulp, soybean meal, soybean oil, monocalcium phosphate, salt, ground limestone, L-lysine, DL- methionine, choline chloride, vitamin A supplement, vitamin E supplement, cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3), manganese oxide, zinc oxide, iron sulfate, niacin supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), thiamine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B1), riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B2), copper sulfate, folic acid, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), calcium iodate, biotin, sodium selenite, vitamin B12 supplement.

Purchase here $8.49 on petco.com

Purina Rabbit Chow Fibre 3

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein (Min) 15.00%
Crude Fat (Min) 2.00%
Crude Fiber (Min) 20.00%
Crude Fiber (Max) 25.00%
Calcium (Ca) (Min) 0.80%
Calcium (Ca) (Max) 1.30%
Phosphorus (P) (Min)0.50%
Salt (NaCl) (Min) 0.20%
Salt (NaCl) (Max) 0.70%
Vitamin A (Min) 4,650 IU/lb

Ingredients

Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Ground Soybean Hulls, Wheat Middlings, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Cane Molasses, Ground Oat Hulls, Wheat Flour, Monocalcium Phosphate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Soybean Oil, DL-Methionine, Iron Oxide, Copper Sulfate, DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Calcium Pantothenate, Nicotinic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin, Yeast Culture, Biotin, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Extract, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Dried Yeast, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Ferment Product, Dried Yucca Shidigera Extract, Cholecalciferol, Cobalt Carbonate, Manganese Sulfate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Selenite.

Purchase here $11.99 on amazon.com

Kaytee Fortie-Diet Pro Health Rabbit Adult

Guaranteed AnalysisCrude Protein (min.) 12.0% 
Crude Fat (min.) 2.0%
Crude Fiber (min.) 20.0%
Crude Fiber (max.) 25.0%
Moisture (max.) 12.0%
Calcium (min.) 0.3%
Calcium (max.) 0.8%
Phosphorus (min.) 0.3%
Salt (min.) 0.25%
Salt (max.) 0.75%
Vitamin A (min.) 2500 IU/lb
Omega-3 Fatty Acids (min.) 0.4%
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) (min.)..0.03%
Total Bacillus Species (min.) ..100,000 CFU/gram

Ingredients

Sun-cured Timothy Grass Hay, Sun-cured Alfalfa Meal, Ground Oats, Ground Oat Hulls, Dried Cane Molasses, Ground Flax Seed, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Ground Rice, Salt, Algae Meal (source of Omega-3 DHA), Fructooligosaccharide, Dicalcium Phosphate, DL-Methionine, Yeast Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin A Supplement, Choline Chloride, Mixed Tocopherols (a preservative), Copper Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of vitamin K activity), Rosemary Extract, Citric Acid, Cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3), Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Iodate, Biotin, Folic Acid, Dried A. oryzae Fermentation Extract (source of protease), Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product, Cobalt Carbonate, Sodium Selenite, Artificial Color. Allergen information: Manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts and other tree nuts.

Purchase here $21.38 on amazon.com

Sources

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

http://rabbit.org/small-animal-nutrition/

http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/