How do you transition to Sherwood pellets?
Good nutrition starts with a smooth transition. This post covers how to move your pet onto Sherwood pellets at a comfortable pace that supports their health
The great thing about Sherwood Pellets, is that it does not contain many of the ingredients that tend to lead to digestive issues or sensitivities.
That said, some of these ingredients are sweet and many rabbits and guinea pigs get used to the sweeter flavor from things like grain and molasses found in their old food and it may mean your little guy chooses their old food over Sherwood initially.
This is okay!
You can transition slowly over time by gradually removing the old food while increasing the new, but be aware you may see excess cecotropes during this time because both foods are not balanced in the same way (this should completely resolve once you switch over to Sherwood completely).
Using two dishes while you transition this way can make their opinions clear:
- Do they love it and eat it before their old food?
- Do they leave it for the end of the day when they are hungry and have already eaten all of their old food?
- Do they completely ignore it even when it is the only option?
If your rabbit or guinea pig is a great hay eater you can try temporary hay only fast for 1-4 days. This means offering them only hay and water for a day or more which serves multiple purposes:
- They should come to eat even more hay and drink more water which can flush their digestive and urinary system and because they’ve had no other food or treats.
- You can even try crushing the old pellets and mixing a few in with the new to give it a familiar smell and flavor.
- You can add just a pinch of raw oats (10% oats to 90% pellets ratio) to add some foraging excitement and while they can pick them out this method has actually led to a few picky guys switching foods.
For some very stubborn guinea pigs, even offering a few pellets within the recovery food got them switched over (they often love the recovery food even if they don’t enjoy the pellets right away).
There are many methods out there and we’re here to help if you have any issues, most come to love it pretty quickly and may even ignore their old food completely.