FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions | Tips & Advice

Q) Should I be adding yeast to my animal's diet?
Frequently Asked Questions
A) Yeast is one of those products you can add to almost any ration, and it cannot hurt. If the animal is doing fine and without any stress in its life, the added yeast will not be a great benefit. However, if the animal has been sick, lactating, heat stressed or is under a heavy workload, then adding yeast can only help. Today, several Hubbard and Tradition feeds already contain yeast, including all of the horse feeds and several of the show feeds. Yeast cultures (not the yeast for making bread) will help the rumen, cecum and large intestines work better, primarily digesting fibers. If an extra "boost" is needed to get an animal back on its feet, supplementing yeast even on top of the feed already containing yeast can only help (approximately 2 oz per head per day or about 1/2 cup of yeast culture twice a day right on top of the feed).
Q) Do you have any extruded feeds?
A) Our pet foods contain extruded products. An extruder works like a giant meat grinder. As the grains (including corn, oats, soybean meal, etc.) travel down the barrel of the grinder, friction and heat are created and cooks the feedstuffs. As the pressure forces the cooked feedstuffs out little holes, the sudden release of pressure expands the feed into puffs. A knife cuts the puff at different lengths. That is how extruded dog and cat foods are made. Running the extruders, the coolers and other related equipment has a much larger cost associated in production than pelleting a feedstuff. Extrusion is only used where it is especially beneficial.
Q) I am doing a science fair project on dogs and their nutrition. Do you know how many nutrients are absorbed into the dog’s system from the time the food enters the mouth to the time it passes out the other end?
A) Unfortunately, there is not a simple answer to your question. Various ingredients in pet food (all food for that matter) are absorbed differently. One way to think about it is to imagine two different wash cloths. One is made with terry cloth and one is made with denim. If both wash cloths have water dumped on them, the terry cloth will absorb the water a lot better than the denim. A similar thing happens with nutrients. For example, a dog needs the mineral, copper, for bone growth and there are several sources of copper including copper sulfate and copper oxide. Just like the different type of wash cloths, the copper from copper oxide is not absorbed very well into the body whereas the copper from copper sulfate is absorbed very well. The best general answer I can give you is that a good quality dog food has a TDN (total digestible nutrient) value of about 85%. That means that 85% of the dog food eaten (all nutrients) is absorbed into the body. Higher quality premium dog food like Iams, Hills, etc. would be higher. In some of the very cheap, off-brand name dog foods, this number can go to 70% or lower.
Q) I have never seen your ads on TV. How do your products compare with national brands?
A) TV ads for our products don't exist! Without expensive TV campaigns we don't have the huge expenses related with them. What's better for your pet? An advertising campaign, or the best quality products at a reasonable cost? Feed our products to your pets, and let them be the judge. We like to offer answers to your questions, but please realize that Hubbard Feeds Inc. has no liability for any content on the Hubbard Feeds Inc. site or the Internet except as set forth in the Terms and Conditions Disclaimer. Back To Top
Tips & Advice
1. Do I need to supply any supplements or hay with my rabbit feed?
Normally, the answer is no. With today’s commercially prepared rabbit feed, like Show•Rite Premium Rabbit Pellets, everything is already in the pellet. The fiber levels are high enough so you do not need to feed hay. All the vitamins and minerals are in optimal levels so no extra supplementation is needed and, with premium lines like the Show•Rite, yeast and probiotics, digestive enzymes and chelated minerals (for better mineral absorption) are already added.
2. How much should I feed my rabbit?
A lot has to due with what type of breed it is and how much work it is doing. A mature Californian rabbit can weigh around 9 pounds whereas a mature Netherlands Dwarf can weigh about 2 pounds. Most animals will eat about 2% of their body weight in feed a day which means the Californian should eat about 3 ounces per day whereas the Netherlands Dwarf will eat about 0.75 ounce per day. Most commercial feeds, like Show•Rite premium rabbit feed, contain a high enough fiber level to be fed free choice. But care must be taken not to let the animals become too fat. If they become too fat, just reduce the amount fed to them.
3. Normally, I notice that there are small feces pellets under the rabbit pen. However, every once in a while, I notice the rabbit produced much larger, softer pellets. Is this normal?
The answer is yes. A rabbit produces two types of feces. The first one is the hard, round pellets you normally see which is sometimes called "day" feces (or "hard" feces). But because the rabbit has a digestive tract where lots of fermentation occurs in the hind gut, the rabbit will produce large, grape-like cluster pellets called "night" feces (or "soft" feces). Soft feces are very rich in B-complex vitamins and high quality amino acids. The rabbit may consume this soft feces, a practice called coprophagy, which is part of a normal behavior pattern. Several other species also practice coprophagy, including horses and ostriches.
4. Should my bucks be fed the same way as my does?
If you are using your buck for breeding, the answer is probably no. Normally, a buck is used about 10 times a year per doe (assuming a 35 day rebreeding interval). Ten does would mean he is used about twice a week (10 does X 10 intervals divided by 52 weeks). All these numbers indicate that he is not very active and has a tendency to become fat and lazy. You can use the same feed that you give the does but make sure that the buck is given enough feed to prevent him from becoming too heavy.
5. How should I feed my pregnant doe?
Care must be used when feeding a pregnant doe. Towards the end of pregnancy, the female’s feed consumption is reduced due to the decreased body capacity from the growing fetuses. This occurs at a time where her nutritional needs are high. Then sometimes a young doe may die a week or so after kindling due to enterotoxemia or mastitis. Even a healthy litter of kits may die after a week after birth due to a condition called milk enterotoxemia, a condition due to overfeeding after kindling. So, it is best to make sure that the feed is gradually increased after kindling. Back To Top

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