# Manna pro VS Purina feed!!!!!



## littlequail (Aug 5, 2011)

OK lets talk chow


going over ground rules. 

i would like to hear what feeds you use for your rabbits and what kind of rabbits do you keep?

its been said Corn is bad for rabbits..and uptill about 72 Hours ago i had no idea and as it turns out am a rebel because i have fed my rabbit pure cracked corn before *not knowing other wise* and its been 5 months+ and i have Never had One problem :hrm: and with this being said Purina puts corn in there feeds. and Sometimes manna pro does since the mill doesnt get cleaned out right or something like that.....ANYWAY. 



What do you use? why? i feed Manna pro "pro" feed the red bag i want to try "gro" and see if there is any grow differences with 18% protein rather then the normal 16% ​


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## Suzyq2u (May 17, 2010)

*blush* we use what's on sale. Sometimes I have a purina coupon, we just went through a bag of the mana pro, sometimes we use the local stuff. As we're just (at this point) raising for pets, I haven't noticed any difference, nor do the rabbits seem to care.


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## Serena (Apr 28, 2004)

I feed Manna Pro show. Thought I was feeding 18% and discovered it was a 16% feed... I have liked it though the color the last two years is less green. I prefer opening a bag and the feed looking and smelling green. I bought a bag of PenPals for some rabbits I bought that were used to it... its an 18% feed. Nice green feed. smelled nice and tasty. The rabbits LOVE it. Buying more of it today and going to transition them over to it I think. Paying $19and change for a bag of Manna Pro Show here... Pen Pals is either 14 or 16 and change... That will add up fast. I prefer a less corn based feed, have found I had better flesh condition and coat and less ovely fat and hard to breed rabbits than a feed with corn. My Satins thrived on everything though it didnt matter... They stayed nice and shiny and well fleshed. My Holland lops arent as thrifty though I am working them towards it. The babies I am raising seem to be thriftier than their parents. Thats what I am shooting for. I havent fed Purina in along time. about 6 years ago I got bags of trash feed... crumbly and gray and nasty and full of dust and had sick rabbits, less litters and the price kept climbing, I havent fed it since.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Most rabbit pellet feed tags are about the same, and the quality should be about the same too, IMO. 

I always tell people to feed the best priced feed that is good quality. Most of the time, a cheaper feed can be used in place of a more expensive one with no bad effects. 

Our mill is the biggest in the area, so they buy rabbit feed in bulk. I get the best price for Pen Pals around, at 14.00 and some change for 18%. Currently we're feeding 18% to does with litters and to the growout pen, and 15% to the bucks, growing intermediates, and non-working does.


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

Corn is unbalanced and tends to put on unhealthy fat so it is best avoided but sometimes you can't avoid it 100% depending what feeds are in your area. Most of the big brands are all equal it just depends on the quality of your local mill. Some people have found corn bits in their manna pro while others never do. I've gone through 8 bags of manna pro with no problems. It has to do with what the local mill ran through and how well they cleaned their equipment before doing the next feed. Same with any feed. You'll find someone who has had a bad experience and someone who finds it's the best thing ever for their rabbits. You just have to test them out and see how your rabbits do. Eventually you'll end up keeping the ones that do well and find you've culled your herd until you only have the rabbits that do well on your feed choice.

The only things to avoid are the small local brands that use leftovers and vague feed tags. Not saying all small local brands are bad but they tend to be the ones using cheap ingredients since they don't have the resources of the big companies. Things like forage by products or grain products where they could put anything in the feed whenever they want because they weren't specific and pieces of grain like hulls or middlings that aren't useful nutrition. You'll find a little of that in all feed (wheat middlings is very common for fiber) but if the whole tag reads that way keep walking. 

We actually used horse pellets for awhile and then just whole grains of our own custom blend because we couldn't get anything but country lane feed which read all those things I said you should avoid. It was basically the sweepings off the floor after the useful stuff was taken out of the grain and other products. Yes they do sweep animal feed off the floor sometimes. Some dogs were getting rat poison that way because they were using the extras from processing some grain and sweeping it up as it fell while there was rat poison in some areas of the building. I can't remember what brand it was though that tested positive. One of your lowest quality grocery store brands.


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## Barnhouse (Feb 24, 2012)

I chose Manna Sho cause I like that it has yucca and papaya already in it, but when I got down to about 1/3 of the bag, I bought Pro, and mixed it together. Now that's almost down to a 1/3 and I'll buy Sho again and do the same thing- helps bring the cost down a little. It always seems really fresh and these guys like it very much.

Lately they have slowed down on the pellets in favor of plain grass.
You'd think I was serving them caviar.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

I've used a lot of different feeds over the years. Purina people tend to be exclusive. IMO, the best feeds out there are Heinold and Kent, in that order.
I used penpals for over a year. JUNK. I wouldn't use it again if you paid me. 
Sprout is a horrible feed. Use whats local and fresh. Thats the best way to go.


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## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

We fed Purina for 4 years and had good luck with it however, the changed the formula w/o any indication of doing so on the bag and we lost some weanlings (as did quite a few people). We switched to Manna Pro "Pro" formula and have had okay results. The meat rabbits do not grow out near as nice on the 16 percent so we are going to try the 18 percent for the kid's meat pens this year. We have also had problems with molting going on for months at a time even on the low protein.....If we don't see a good improvement in the meat pens on the 18 percent, I think we will be switching back to the Purina.


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## lostspring (Jun 29, 2007)

I use the Purina Professional. I like it alot. My rabbits (Champagne D'Argents) do very well on it. Mothers with litters and kits get free choice all others get 5oz daily. If I had to switch it would be to the Kent sho formulas.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

I use all different kinds because sometimes we go to the mill,sometimes TSC. I do feed corn. Right now I am feeding a packed bushel and a half of Dandelion greens to over 20 rabbits. I have French Angoras and NZ. I have 5 does in a colney-like a "chicken tractor'. My buns get greens all of the time,so no problems because they are used to it. I try to keep feed infront of them at all times.


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## mysticklobo (Feb 24, 2008)

We have tried a lot of different feeds, because of our location. We started off with Purina, but having to drive 50 miles one way to get it, didn't make it cost effective. We then switched to Hi-Pro, small company and the rabbits didn't care for it, switched to Nutrena, the dealer had problems getting it for us, so switched to Blue Bonnet, the rabbits did great on that, but again problems getting it. Went back to Hi-Pro, this time the rabbits loved it and did great on it until a year ago. We found MOLD MADE INTO the pellets and the rabbits were refusing to eat it. Tried Purina, but found flakes of plastic in the bag with the feed. Spent all spring and summer trying to find a quality feed for them. Found a really small semi-local mill that made a decent feed, the rabbits liked it and were doing ok, but we weren't getting living litters, so had to find a new feed. Now we are using Mana Pro "Pro" formula for the adults and Gro for the nursing mothers and babies. We are hoping to switch to the Sho formula for the adults.


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## FlaGuitarGrl (Feb 19, 2012)

Serena said:


> I feed Manna Pro show. Thought I was feeding 18% and discovered it was a 16% feed... I have liked it though the color the last two years is less green. I prefer opening a bag and the feed looking and smelling green. I bought a bag of PenPals for some rabbits I bought that were used to it... its an 18% feed. Nice green feed. smelled nice and tasty. The rabbits LOVE it. Buying more of it today and going to transition them over to it I think. Paying $19and change for a bag of Manna Pro Show here... Pen Pals is either 14 or 16 and change... That will add up fast. I prefer a less corn based feed, have found I had better flesh condition and coat and less ovely fat and hard to breed rabbits than a feed with corn. My Satins thrived on everything though it didnt matter... They stayed nice and shiny and well fleshed. My Holland lops arent as thrifty though I am working them towards it. The babies I am raising seem to be thriftier than their parents. Thats what I am shooting for. I havent fed Purina in along time. about 6 years ago I got bags of trash feed... crumbly and gray and nasty and full of dust and had sick rabbits, less litters and the price kept climbing, I havent fed it since.


We are relatively new to raising rabbits. The first bag of feed that I purchased was a Pen Pal that was only 15% protein. It was full of grain. So, this time, we switched to the Manna Pro with 16% protein and it has much less grain. (By grain, I mean the dust from the pellets.) I didn't notice any difference in the rabbits, but the pellets are longer in length and there is less grain. We're going to stick with the Manna Pro for a while.
It seemed everyone we've met recommended the Manna Pro. The cost was about the same.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

I bought a sack of Manna Pro this time. I don't really expect to see any difference as I mix my rabbit pellets with several other things. The price was the same as other brands.
I feed ducks, chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, pigeons, and quail.
All get the same mixture.
It works out great.


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