Mix-Your-Own Recipe

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What I pulled off this list and Homesteading thread lead by Maggie, about 60% oats, 10% part barley, 10% part wheat, 10% BOSS. And all you can eat good alfalfa hay. I just started, so others can pipe in for other formulas or percentages. From what I understand from the postings, whole kernel is prefered.

Good luck!
Renee
S CA
 
My mix is generally mostly oats plus whatever else I can get my hands on in the feed store. I keep it in pretty good rotation right now, add a touch of BOSS but really with the oats I think the BOSS is unnecessary which is good because it's VERY expensive right now and I'm probably going to cut it out, soon. I don't break it down to a science, and try to focus on offering as much variety as possible, plus high quality alfalfa and whenever I can, good forage and greens.
 
I mixed vegetable soup with rabbits dish and one cup of butter milk. Its test is really superb and my rabbit like to eat it everyday. I designed it with the creams and butter pink flavour, also it looks very dashing.
 
Any thoughts on type of oats? I just went for the highest in protein. Also any thoughts on raising the protein level? I saw in the health food store Hi gluten wheat which is 70% protein and was thinking of making a loaf of bread for the buns snacks, but the price in not so economical.

Renee
S CA
 
The protein levels on oats, barley, and wheat tend to be around 12%. that's why you need the alfalfa hay. (or fresh). The grains are there for various vitamins and minerals, but it's actually the alfalfa that should be the mainstay. BOSS will up your protein levels quite nicely...but remember it's the amount of inner seed and NOT the whole hull that you need to calculate. Inner seed (the meat) is 26%ish. With the hull, which is almost pure fiber, it drops down to 12%ish for the whole seed (by volume).

A rabbit could survive quite nicely on JUST alfalfa, although nutrients and salts would be missing.

Oh. If you're feeding a grains/alfalfa based diet, you need to add a mineral salt wheel or block. check labels on the salt blocks that you see in a feed store. Deer licks would be the closest to "good for rabbit". Cattle blocks often have strange things in them JUST for cattle.
 
As I am still trying it out and transitioning the buns, Im using more pellets than most.
The mix I made yesterday will last me about 5 weeks:
3 parts 17% alfalfa feed pellets
1 part BOSS
1 part whole oats
1 part whole barley
1 part whole red wheat
Free feed 3ed cut alfalfa hay
 
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