GBov
Well-known member
Is it possible to have angora rabbits produce marketable amounts of fiber while on a natural diet?
GBov":1tssl47b said:I did read it but am not much wiser now, I must admit.
So I guess the best thing to do is to try it eh? All angora use to be forage fed so it can be done, it just may take some time.
alforddm":v38g1hcs said:GBov":v38g1hcs said:I did read it but am not much wiser now, I must admit.
So I guess the best thing to do is to try it eh? All angora use to be forage fed so it can be done, it just may take some time.
Protein is made up of amino acids. Different plants and grains have their protein made up of different amounts of the different amino acids. While overall protein is important for growth, it is just as importance to make sure the balance of the amino acids is optimal for growth. In rabbits, growth is generally limited by the sulfur amino acids, and lysine amino acids.
This is the main reason, IMO, that forage fed rabbits generally don't grow as fast as pellet fed ones. Most forage items are low in the sulfur amino acids and lysine. Once you calculate the perfect mix, you have to adjust it anytime you change something in the mix.
Wool and I'm assuming angora fiber, is made up of keratin proteins which in turn are made up of amino acids. So, in order to support maximum fiber you need to get your amino acids balance as close to perfect as possible.
I hope that helps a bit.
GBov":3ghpm85c said:Oooo well done clever clogs, you translated pages of (to me) nonsense, into something actually understandable! Thanks for that!
Well for one thing if you add very much sulfur your going to acidify your soil. Sulfur is something I put around my blueberries to decrease soil ph.GBov":3ghpm85c said:So, if one choses feedstuffs high in those things they need and culled for stock that did well on forage, one should get a strain that produces AND does well. With luck and perseverance, that is.
What happens if I supplement my soil with sulfur? Will that boost the sulfur amino acids? When I plant onions, ANY kind of onion, I get sweet onions. So I know that sulfur is almost totally lacking in our soil. But I don't know if that will be the case where we - fingers crossed - will be moving to.
http://feedipedia.org/node/143Sunflower leaves cannot be recommended for commercial rabbit diets. In a 28-day trial, dried sunflower leaves included at 40% of the diet were highly detrimental to rabbit growth (16 g/d vs. 40 g/d for the control). While no mortality or digestive disorders were observed, the rabbits fed sunflower leaves suffered significant hair loss by the end of the experiment. Both the poor growth rate and hair loss could have been caused by the presence of chlorogenic acid in the leaves, which may have resulted in a reduction of protein availability, and hence a protein deficiency (Harris et al., 1981). Such an alteration of protein digestibility associated to chlorogenic acid has been demonstrated in rats (Hsu et al., 2006).
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