Adult Chinchilla Food

A: The concentrated pellet in the green bag is timothy-based and very dense nutrition and should be fed in very small measured amounts based upon weight making it great for rabbits who eat a lot of hay and for those who may not eat a lot of pellets (tends to taste better than the free choice timothy to some rabbits). A rabbit below 6lbs for example will get only 1/8 cup per day. 

The concentrated pellets in the red bag is alfalfa-based and also fed in small
amounts for good hay eaters. This food is fed 1 TBS for every 2lbs of body
weight. This food is great and gives a ton of energy. It's a good option for
picky rabbits and tends to be a flavor favorite. I also love this one for
rabbits who are said to be a bit lazy as it really seems to give them a lot of
energy.

The free choice timothy pellet in the blue bag is more flexible in that it can be fed at a minimum of 1 TBS per pound, fed freely or anywhere in between. This food is basically the same formula as the measured timothy pellets but is diluted down with a lot more timothy hay so that they can eat more of it which makes it
great for rabbits who may not be good hay eaters, for pairs or groups where
monitoring their intake is tough or even for people who love to be able to feed
a bit extra. 

The original 50/50 blend of timothy and alfalfa in the blue bag with the lop on it
is another flexible option. This food is great for digestive-sensitive bunnies.
Its fed the same way as the timothy free choice pellets.

A: This happens sometimes as Sherwood is considered a “health food” and does not contain ingredients like soy, grain, and molasses but they usually come to love it pretty quickly. Here are some transition tips, but please reach out to us if you have trouble and we can help with transition even if it means trying a different food option.

Food: You can try crushing the old food and mix it in with the new to give it some of the familiar taste and flavor. You can even try adding raw oats to the new food (10% oats to 90% pellets).
This they can pick out but it often gets them interested and they begin to eat
it. If they are good hay eaters you can even remove the other pellets and just
offer Sherwood as a treat in addition to their hay. This is actually great even
to do periodically because it gets them eating even more hay and drinking more
water and can help flush their digestive system and bladder. 

Supplements: You can try breaking them into 2-4 pieces and even leave it in the food dish. They usually disappear overnight. Even trying over a period of days can get them used to them and they often love them soon. You can even crush those (coffee grinders work great) and mix over a small treat, add to water and syringe feed
(if necessary for health) etc.

A: We learned a lot from a hay study we performed in the first quarter of 2023. We recommend a coarse/first cut timothy because it is high in fiber (great for big golden poops) and lower in protein and nutrients which is actually easier on their digestive and urinary system (not as rich).
It also tends to be great for energy and weight and definitely best for rabbits and guinea pigs who may need to lose weight. If your pet will not eat first cut, we recommend second cut timothy which is a little less fiber and higher in nutrients, but also offers some stems and can be a great compromise between health and flavor. Third cut timothy is too rich similar to feeding alfalfa as a hay (it’s a legume) so if using this one we recommend it only as a treat.
Orchard can be great for those humans who have allergies to timothy, but coarser is better as we’ve seen a lot of weight gain and other issues on very soft orchard while they can lose weight on others so be careful, especially with sludge/stone prone animals as we did note higher urinary pH and ammonia levels with some orchard hay.

A: Nutrition in the baby food almost 2x as a dense and the energy to protein ratio
is different with more energy in the baby food relative to the protein which
has the potential to make an adult rabbit overweight.