Living with Bunnies & Beagles…etc.

Thanks to Maggie…Via….Tailwagging

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6ud68Qmdyc

Commercial standard for a fryer is a max of 5lbs or 12 weeks. Anything over 5lbs and 12 weeks is a roaster.

Thanks to DevonW

http://rabbittalk.com/whats-your-weight-t3761.html

http://rabbittalk.com/post36607.html#p36607

Thanks to Akane

http://rabbittalk.com/hay-t3744.html

Hay is actually pretty simple. All hay can be divided in to 3 groups. Grass, legume, and grain. Grass and grain hay is very similar so long as the grain is cut early before or just as the grain heads appear. After that grain plants lose nutrition and become straw instead. This hay is consistently low in protein and mostly balanced. There are probably more than a dozen types of grass or grain hay but the type is unimportant for the most part. Hay within the same group is so similar that different cuttings and differences in the soil quality and growing conditions have as much impact as the actual type. Occasionally animals will prefer some grass hays to others. Brome is known to be tougher, higher fiber, and brown easier so sometimes isn’t as desireable to the animals while bluegrass and timothy is usually greener, sweeter, and nearly always well received. Again though it doesn’t really matter. If the hay is of good quality they should still eat with minimal differences in nutrition. Legume hay is clover and alfalfa and is consistently high in protein and other nutrients. It varies a lot depending on cut and the land it’s grown on and can have from 15-30% protein so getting legume hay that has been tested is a good idea if you are feeding a lot of it.

If you are feeding pellets then you usually want grass or early cut grain hay as the main hay. A little legume hay would be fine for growing rabbits and breeding does but is not a requirement and should not be fed to bucks and nonbreeding animals. If you are feeding a diet lower in protein such as grains and fresh forages then you want more legume hay to make up for the lack of protein. Sometimes you can find timothy based instead of alfalfa based pellets which are lower in protein and might require legume hay for growing and breeding animals. Usually these will only be found in pet stores in small bags or online because everyone breeding rabbits (or guinea pigs and similar animals) and buying large bags from the feed store want the high protein stuff so you rarely see pellets under 16%.

In high humidity areas store hay in cardboard boxes or bale covers which breathe rather than plastic. Appliance boxes work great. It won’t mold that way.

Thanks to One Acre Farm… http://rabbittalk.com/post36409.html#p36409

Book Link:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1690e/t1690e00.htm