Oxbow Pet Products is a leading manufacturer of premium pet food, treats, and supplements. Founded in 1980, Oxbow has a strong focus on the unique nutritional needs of small animals and specialty pets. Their products are veterinarian recommended and made with the highest quality ingredients.
Introduction
Oxbow produces pet food and treats catered towards a wide variety of small animals including rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, hamsters, mice, rats, gerbils, degus, and more. Their product lines are specially formulated to provide optimal nutrition for each specific animal’s needs.
With over 40 years of experience, Oxbow has become a trusted brand amongst pet owners and veterinary professionals. Their commitment to quality ingredients and scientific research on small animal nutrition has earned them a reputation for having some of the best pet food on the market.
Oxbow utilizes premium timothy grass, orchard grass, and alfalfa hays alongside healthy grains, vegetables, and supplements. They avoid artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives in all their formulas. Their focus is on high-fiber, low-calorie diets that match small pets’ natural diets and lifestyles in the wild.
In addition to staple food formulas, Oxbow offers supplemental treats and snacks. These provide extra enrichment and encourage dental health. Their treat recipes tend to include dried fruits, herbs, seeds, and vegetables.
For pets with specialized needs, Oxbow provides Critical Care formulations. These support recovery for small animals who are elderly, ill, or have lost weight. Critical Care contains complete, easy-to-digest nutrition in an appetizing formula.
Oxbow Food Formulas by Animal
Rabbit Food
Oxbow offers several formulas specially made for rabbits’ unique nutritional requirements. Their premium rabbit food contains high-quality grass hays essential for rabbit digestion. It also includes healthy grains and vegetable supplements with key vitamins and minerals.
Some top selling Oxbow rabbit foods include:
- Oxbow Essentials Adult Rabbit Food – Provides balanced nutrition with timothy grass, orchard grass, oat hay and stabilized vitamin C.
- Oxbow Garden Select Adult Rabbit Food – Made with timothy grass hay, strawberry bits, carrot flakes, and botanicals.
- Oxbow Young Rabbit Food – Formulated for rabbits under 12 months old with alfalfa hay, oat hay and premium proteins.
Guinea Pig Food
For guinea pigs, Oxbow produces foods that give these small pets the vitamins, minerals, and natural fibers they need. Their guinea pig diets contain high-quality timothy grass hay paired with enrichment ingredients like dried carrots and parsley flakes.
Top selling guinea pig formulas from Oxbow include:
- Oxbow Essentials Adult Guinea Pig Food – A basic maintenance diet with timothy hay, vitamin C, and plant-based proteins.
- Oxbow Garden Select Guinea Pig Food – Includes carrots, orchard grass hay and herbal botanicals.
- Oxbow Young Guinea Pig Food – Specially formulated for guinea pigs under 6 months old.
Hamster & Gerbil Food
Oxbow makes nutritious blends for hamsters and gerbils as well. These small pets need diets low in fat but high in fiber. Oxbow formulas provide stabilized vitamin C from quality produce ingredients. Natural timothy hay aids healthy teeth and digestion.
Top products for hamsters and gerbils include:
- Oxbow Essentials Hamster & Gerbil Food – Provides complete nutrition with timothy hay, fruits and grains.
- Oxbow Garden Select Hamster & Gerbil Food – Includes hand-selected timothy hay, strawberry bits, botanicals and more.
Mouse & Rat Food
For rats and mice, Oxbow produces kibble and pellet mixes made to meet small rodents’ nutritional requirements. Their formulas are enriched with timothy hay for healthy fiber levels. Stabilized vitamin C and quality proteins support an active lifestyle.
Top selling mouse and rat foods from Oxbow:
- Oxbow Essentials Mouse & Young Rat Food – Provides balanced plant-based proteins and vitamin fortification.
- Oxbow Essentials Adult Rat Food – Offers stabilized vitamin C with added enrichment from timothy hay.
- Oxbow Garden Select Mouse & Rat Food – Contains premium Western timothy hay, strawberries, botanicals and more.
Chinchilla Food
Chinchillas have specialized nutritional needs as herbivores. Oxbow chinchilla foods provide timothy hay along with healthy grains like oats and barley. Their formulas are low in fat, protein and calcium to meet the chinchilla digestive system’s requirements.
Top chinchilla diets from Oxbow:
- Oxbow Essentials Adult Chinchilla Food – Made with premium hand-selected hays and stabilized vitamin C.
- Oxbow Garden Select Adult Chinchilla Food – Includes timothy hay, chamomile, lemon verbena and other botanicals.
- Oxbow Hay Blend Chinchilla Food – Provides a tasty mix of hays including timothy, oat and grass hay.
Oxbow Treats
In addition to main food staples, Oxbow offers supplemental treats. These tasty, nutritious snacks add variety and enrichment to small pets’ diets.
Oxbow’s Western Timothy Hay is their signature treat. This high-fiber source provides digestive support and dental health benefits. Treats like Baked Ranch Crackers and Simple Rewards are made with timothy hay and natural produce.
Other Oxbow treat recipes include:
- Baked Treats – Contain wholesome ingredients like rolled oats, honey and banana chips.
- Dried Fruit Treats – Made with real fruit like mango, papaya and cranberries.
- Veggie Treats – Feature oven-dried carrot, sweet potato, bell pepper and parsley.
- Herbal Treats – Infused with chamomile, spearmint, lemon verbena and more.
- Garden Select Herb Salad – Mix of botanicals, herbs, flowers and timothy hay.
Oxbow Critical Care
Oxbow’s Critical Care line provides recovery support for small animals that are stressed, ill, aging or have lost weight. These formulas contain complete, easy-to-digest nutrition in a soft, gruel format.
Oxbow Critical Care Fine Grind – For herbivores, containing timothy hay, oat groats, wheat germ and more.
Oxbow Carnivore Critical Care – For carnivores, with proteins, amino acids, and vitamins.
Oxbow Critical Care Apple Banana Flavor – Supports hydration with highly palatable apple and banana flavor.
Critical Care makes it easier for sick pets to meet their nutritional needs. It can be syringe-fed to boost calorie intake when they have diminished appetite. Oxbow Critical Care helps small pets recover and get back to their normal energetic selves.
Where Oxbow Pet Food is Produced
All Oxbow pet foods, treats and supplements are produced at their family-owned manufacturing facility in Murdock, Nebraska. Located in the rural Midwest of the USA, Murdock has been home to Oxbow since the company’s founding in 1980.
Oxbow’s plant in Murdock spans over 300,000 square feet. Here they focus on small-batch production using quality ingredients from American farms. Oxbow has complete quality control over the entire process from sourcing to packaging.
In addition to their Nebraska facility, Oxbow has offices and distribution centers in California to serve the western USA. Their products are sold at pet specialty retailers across North America. Oxbow takes great care to ensure their pet foods remain fresh and nutritious.
The Founding of Oxbow Animal Health
Oxbow Pet Products was founded by a veterinarian, Dr. G.F. Heinrichs, along with his wife and children. Based on his clinical work with small exotic pets, Dr. Heinrichs saw an opportunity to improve their care through scientifically formulated food.
In the 1970s, pet nutrition was still an emerging field. Food for small pets often contained low-quality ingredients and lacked key nutrients these animals needed. Dr. Heinrichs created Oxbow to provide healthy, natural diets that would support small pets to thrive.
The Heinrichs family named the company after the winding oxbow lakes found along Nebraska’s Platte River as a nod to their Midwest home. Today over 40 years later, Oxbow maintains its commitment to quality and pet health under family leadership. Their products promote wellbeing in pets across North America and beyond.
Oxbow Critical Care for Guinea Pigs
Oxbow’s Critical Care formulas provide essential support for guinea pigs recovering from illness or surgery. The easy-to-digest gruels give convalescing guinea pigs the calories, vitamins and minerals they require.
For guinea pigs, Oxbow Critical Care Fine Grind is recommended. It contains complete nutrition from timothy hay, wheat germ, flaxseed and more. The soft texture makes it readily consumable by compromised guinea pigs. It can be syringe-fed to get nutrients into guinea pigs with poor appetites.
Oxbow Critical Care also contains prebiotics to support gastrointestinal health in guinea pigs. This is important for recovery as guinea pigs rely on a healthy gut flora. The formulas provide stabilized vitamin C which guinea pigs need for immune functioning.
By making proper nutrition accessible, Oxbow Critical Care helps restore guinea pigs back to health. It provides the building blocks guinea pigs need to regain strength after setbacks from illness or surgery. Many guinea pigs show marked improvement with the support of Oxbow Critical Care gruels.
Conclusion
For over 40 years, Oxbow Pet Products has created specialty formulas to nourish small animals and promote wellbeing. Using scientifically backed research, they address the unique nutritional needs of pets like rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, chinchillas and more.
With premium ingredients and strict quality control, Oxbow has become a leader in pet food for small animals. Their products provide balanced, natural nutrition without artificial additives. Special formulas like Critical Care also give vital support to pets with health challenges. By paying close attention to small pets’ digestibility, activity levels and life stage, Oxbow continues to set the standard for health-promoting pet nutrition.
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