Natural Rabbit Supplements

I was curious as to the ingredients in some of the supplements designed for show rabbits (e.g., Doc's enhancer, Oxy-Gen, etc). It appears to me that taking away the "carrier/filler" ingredients the active ingredients in the supplements are:

Brewers yeast
Wheat germ meal and/or wheat germ oil *
Brewers dried grains
Flaxseed (Linseed) meal
BOSS
Molasses
Dried papaya fruit powder
Probiotics
Yucca schidigera extract
Dehydrated kelp

The Wheat germ oil seems to be the most common (if not actually in the supplement it is recommended to add it to the supplement before serving).

Any thoughts on the use of the individual ingredients?

I'm thinking that I might be able to mix a powdered/granular supplement that could be added to sprouts via a "salt shaker", add a drizzle of wheat germ oil and there you go. Thoughts? Concerns? Anyone doing something similar?

I plan on mixing a few of these ingredients into a mash for supplementing, just haven't gotten around to starting a consistent regimen. I'll add the wheat germ oil and molasses for sure, and the kelp would have the iodine benefit. I already put flax oil over their grains a couple times a week, and I alternate the BOSS and the flax oil. Since adding the BOSS I've noticed it help with the speed of the molting, which is nice. I probably wouldn't add papaya in a powder form, maybe just an occasional dehydrated treat. It's all an experiment though I think my biggest challenge in this whole natural diet is keeping them satiated, especially the young ones...

I'm slowly formulating a supplement using several of those ingredients to promote good condition and healthy coats in my show rabbits, and to support my nursing does. (Those silly girls almost always have litters in the double digits. Whew!) I'm also considering the addition of split peas because they're fairly affordable, available in bulk, and have been shown by researchers to be a highly digestible source of protein for rabbits. One study suggests that, thanks to its digestibility (~82%) and 16% protein content, peas can replace as much as 60% of a rabbit's diet with no ill effects. While I certainly don't think I'll be going to that extreme, I can't ignore research that shows peas can completely replace soy in a rabbit's diet. In so doing, scientists noted increased production in breeding does and an overall decrease in mortality in their test subjects. Never a bad thing, in my book!

As one 2006 study puts it, "Added at the doses of 5% and 10% of mixed feeds, in partial substitution of soybean meal and maize meal, [the inclusion of Pisum sativum L. (green pea)] did not affect the health state, while improved the weight gain (respectively 4.7 and 9.5%), the feed utilisation (respectively 8.00 and 18.00%), the dressing percentage (respectively 10.00 and 21.00%) and the meat yield (respectively 11.00% and 22.00%)."

I've also considered adding dried carrots for a boost in vitamin A, as most hay and even some pellets are lacking in adequate amounts. As vitamin A is known to oxidize, scientists suggest that the average diet should contain between 6,000 and 10,000 IU of A per day to meet the rabbit's requirements. (One would assume that larger breeds are probably better suited to consume those higher levels.)

For more super-nerdy information about the use of various ingredients in rabbit diets, see this article: http://www.northernpulse.com/uploads/re ... zation.pdf