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Authors: Cayla Iske, PhD, Dianne Cook, LVT, and Kellie Hayden
Updated: August 12, 2024
Pet parents often ask us which Oxbow food line is the best. The truth is that no one Oxbow diet is “better” than another. What makes them different from each other is that each product line features an ingredient profile that speaks to the specific lifestyle preferences of pet parents and taste preferences of pets.
In this blog, we explore the different features of our Essentials, Garden Select, Organic Bounty, and Forage Wise foods.
Expertly Formulated for Small Animals
While we offer different product lines of food, it’s important to remember that all of our fortified foods are expertly formulated with the guidance of leading veterinarians and nutritionists who understand the needs of small animals. That means no matter which Oxbow product you choose to feed, every piece of food is nutritionally correct with all the premium ingredients, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients your small pet needs to thrive.
All Oxbow foods are developed with antioxidants and prebiotics to help support small pets’ whole-body health, and all foods when served according to the guidelines on the back of the product packaging contain 100% of your pet’s daily recommended vitamins and minerals. None of our foods include artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors.
If They’re Similar, Why Are There so Many Options?
As any experienced pet parent will quickly point out, every small companion mammal has their own unique personality, complete with individual needs, preferences, tolerances, and opinions. Similarly, each pet parent has their own specific priorities, lifestyles, and principles that are important to them!
By offering multiple nutritionally complete premium diets, Oxbow is able to provide a diverse range of options and flavor profiles that speak to the specific preferences and tastes of as many pets and pet parents as possible while still ensuring your little one is receiving a delicious, complete, balanced, and species-appropriate meal.
Species and Life Stage-specific Formulations
When buying a food for your little one, ensure that the food’s nutrition is correct for your pet’s physiology. This is such a cornerstone of pet health that we not only provide fortified foods that are designed for different species, but also fortified foods that are formulated to fit the specific nutritional needs of pets as they age.
All of Oxbow’s young formulas provide the concentrated nutrition that small animals need when they are experiencing stages of life that have high energy requirements, such as when they are young and growing. Pregnant or lactating small animals also greatly benefit from eating our formulas designed for young pets.
Our adult formulas are carefully crafted to meet the maintenance needs of animals once they’re grown to keep them healthy and fit, while our senior formulas are designed to help pets in their golden years maintain their physical and mental sharpness as their bodies age.
Fortified Food is Only Part of the Wellbeing Equation
Regardless of whether your pet is an herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore, fortified food is only part of the equation when it comes to your pet’s total wellbeing.
The anchor of an herbivore’s diet should be a high-quality grass hay, and they should also receive some fresh greens and veggies in addition to their fortified food. While omnivores require more fortified food on a daily basis, they also need species appropriate grains, vegetables, and proteins. Carnivores like ferrets are especially reliant on fortified food for nutrition, but they should also receive supplementary meat-based proteins for optimal health.
Outside of nutrition, all animals need mental enrichment that allows them to perform natural behaviors they would use in the wild. For small herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores, this means nurturing behaviors like hiding, playing, and exploring. Small herbivores and omnivores especially benefit from ample opportunities to chew on toys like natural chews.
How are Oxbow Foods Similar and Different?
Essentials
Essentials is the fortified food that started it all! Oxbow’s Essentials line-up is arguably our most recognizable food line that helped revolutionize small companion mammal nutrition. Essentials has been providing high-quality, well-balanced, species-specific nutrition for our exotic companion friends for more than 27 years. These tried-and-true formulas utilize traditional ingredients to create a nutritionally balanced, complete diet.
Essentials provides pet parents with a full range of species diets, in addition to all life stages for multiple species.
Herbivore Formulations
Adult Rabbit and Adult Guinea Pig formulations are Western Timothy hay-based to provide the high amounts of fiber these species need to stay healthy. An optimal blend of healthy proteins and fats is achieved in this diet using soybean meal and soybean oil. Calcium concentrations in Adult Rabbit and Adult Guinea Pig diets are 0.35% – 0.75%, which is on the low end of most commercially available foods
Young Rabbit and Young Guinea Pig formulas utilize alfalfa hay to help accommodate the high energy requirements of young animals while they’re growing. Wheat middlings, soybean hulls, and soybean oil balance phosphorus, fat, and additional fiber for a nutritionally complete food.
Essentials Chinchilla features an alfalfa-based diet to meet the energy needs of chinchillas at any life stage. Added fiber, protein, and fat with soybean ingredients and wheat middlings round out our original chinchilla food.
Omnivore Formulations
All Essentials omnivore formulations deliver optimal protein, fat, and energy sources when paired with species-appropriate supplemental foods. To achieve this, these diets contain a variety of nutritious grains such as barley, oats, millet, and wheat.
Carnivore Formulations
The first 5 ingredients of Essentials Ferret are animal-based proteins and fats to maintain muscle mass and optimal body condition. No corn, peas or potatoes are used in this diet in order to properly support the specific nutritional needs of ferrets as obligate carnivores.
Garden Select
Are you looking for a premium, garden-inspired line of foods that even the pickiest eaters can’t resist? You might want to try Garden Select!
What makes Garden Select a great option for picky eaters? The ingredients we include in our Garden Select formulations offer an especially delicious herbal aroma and flavor. All Garden Select varieties are Certified non-GMO for pet parents who wish to avoid genetically modified foods.
Garden Select offers a full range of diets for herbivores and omnivores who are in the young or adult stages of life.
Herbivore Formulations
Adult Rabbit and Adult Guinea Pig formulas are made with a combination of Western Timothy Hay, Orchard Grass Hay, and Oat Hay for a delectable, high-fiber pelleted food, while Young Rabbit and Young Guinea Pig formulas use an optimal blend of timothy and alfalfa hay that provides the balance of fiber, protein, and calcium your little one needs. Like Essentials, Garden Select Adult Rabbit and Adult Guinea Pig diets boast a low calcium concentration of 0.35% – 0.75%. All Rabbit and Guinea Pig formulations use garden-inspired ingredients like yellow pea, tomato, rosemary, and thyme.
Garden Select Chinchilla contains three grass hays (Timothy, Oat, and Orchard) for a fiber and taste profile that is appealing to chinchillas. Garden-inspired ingredients for this species’ diet consist of rosemary and thyme.
All Garden Select herbivore formulations are soy, wheat, and cane molasses free.
Omnivore Formulations
All Garden Select omnivore formulations contain a variety of nutrient-packed grains like oats, rice and barley for the appropriate balance of protein, fat, and energy. Garden-inspired ingredients for omnivore diets include yellow pea, spinach, tomato, banana, and carrot.
Organic Bounty
Oxbow developed the Organic Bounty food line with our environmentally conscientious pet parents and their little ones specifically in mind. This fortified food is USDA certified organic!
We designed this food line with a delicious, field-fresh mixture of Timothy, orchard, brome, alfalfa, and clover grown naturally in the same field (Organic Meadow Hay) as the base of these formulas to provide a wide variety of edible, naturally grown grasses and forbs for your little one to enjoy in the form of a pelleted diet. These antioxidant-rich diets are made from a delectable array of ingredients including rosemary, cranberry, dandelion leaf, and blueberry, and contain no soy or cane molasses.
Organic Bounty is our smallest fortified food line and is currently only available in Adult Rabbit and Adult Guinea Pig formulations.
Simple Harvest
Oxbow’s Simple Harvest line is comprised of “farm-inspired” ingredients such as canola, oat groats, and sunflower. Simple Harvest diets are currently only available through farm and feed retailers such as Tractor Supply Company, Fleet Farm, and Rural King. We have partnered with these companies as a way to offer high-quality diet options for families with small mammals who may live in rural settings, or otherwise do not have convenient access to the larger or independently ran pet stores.
Herbivore Formulations
All Simple Harvest herbivore formulations utilize canola and sunflower as the main protein and fat sources in these diets. Adult Rabbit and Adult Guinea Pig formulas are western Timothy hay-based, while Young Rabbit and Young Guinea Pig formulas utilize primarily alfalfa hay and a small amount of Timothy hay for a tailored nutrient profile. The Chinchilla formulation features a balance of alfalfa and timothy hays to provide adequate protein, fiber, and energy for chinchillas at any life stage.
Omnivore Formulations
All Simple Harvest omnivore formulations are grain-based diets that contain a variety of nutritious grains such as oats, sorghum, wheat, and barley to deliver high-quality protein, fat, and energy sources as part of a balanced diet.
Forage Wise
Forage Wise foods provide a nutritionally balanced alternative to the many unbalanced mixes on the market. With the perfect balance of enriching variety and delicious nutrition, Forage Wise is made to engage your pet’s foraging instincts with a fun blend of shapes, colors, textures, and flavors.
How does Forage Wise compare to other foods in the Oxbow lineup? Forage Wise is actually a blend of Oxbow’s trusted Essentials and Garden Select formulas, with limited natural ingredients added for color and healthy variety.
Unlike other foraging mixes that contain unhealthy amounts of seeds, dried fruit, or starches, every piece of Forage Wise is formulated to deliver essential nutrition! Natural ingredients like turmeric, beet, and bell pepper add a dash of natural color for fun and variety.
So…How Do I Choose?
At the end of the day, there is no wrong choice with any of Oxbow’s fortified foods for your small pet. Every single bag of food is specifically formulated to meet the nutritional needs of each species at each life stage. The ingredients in each diet may be a bit different, but the end-product is always a food that provides the nutrients your little one needs to thrive.
We recommend choosing the diet that you feel most comfortable with, whether that’s because of certain ingredients or certifications. Then, leave the choice up to your pet. If your pet loves your selected food as much as you, it’s a great fit! If they are indifferent or just not as enthusiastic as you’d like after completing a gradual diet transition, try out a different food line. As always, variety is the spice of life so don’t be afraid to try each of Oxbow’s fortified foods.
