Lamb concentrate as possible supplement

[ohiogoatgirl]

Does this seem too rich for rabbits? I compared it to several rabbit pellet brands and to Calf manna. I think the only thing might be too much calcium?
I'm going to see if I can go all hay and forage with as little bought in supplements as possible. But I already buy this for the sheep and it would be simple to use for the rabbits as well.
I thought it may not be too much calcium if I'm feeding this way and they aren't getting much or any alfalfa.

My thought on using it would be the protein and minerals and just as a supplement in small amount.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

I've been giving them a tiny bit. They are eating it all. I weighed it once and have been eyeing it since.
2.5oz oats. 0.2oz pellet. And ~1tbsp flax seed but only every other day. That's per bowl in a cage with two now 9wk old rabbits. Lots of mixed grass hay.
Pictures before and after mixing it. The oats are from the farm and there is some corn kernels in it. If there is more than just a couple I pick them out.

Assuming the oats are about 11% protein that makes this ratio about 13% protein... Hmm...
Should I switch it to get 16% protein?
8 parts oats, 2 parts pellet would do it.

I've got some oats sprouting to see if they like.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

1/4- incoming weights
Br doe, 2# 5.6oz
Br doe red, 2# 3.4oz
Solid buck, 2# 5.4oz
Br buck, 2# 3.8oz

1/13- 9 days (weight gained)
Br doe, 2# 15.4oz (9.8oz)
Br doe red, 2# 15oz (11.6oz)
Solid buck, 3# (10.6oz)
Br buck, 2# 12oz (8.2oz)

They ate the sprouts/fodder fine. They acted actively hungry today though, which is a first. So I'm going to take the fodder as an extra and not a main feed. Which is fine with me, I wasn't planning on managing alot of it.

They are averaging about an oz per day gain then. If I keep them til Feb 3 that would be through 12wks old. Be able to see if they keep gaining consistently or are slowing down. If they keep this average they'd gain another ~1# 5oz each and be 4# to 4# 10oz. Obviously that's alot of extrapolation and time will tell how they actually finish.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

Actually together they averaged 10oz gain each. Which is 1.111/day or 7.78/wk. Or 0.486#/wk.
In my silage/haylage thread my math was...

A quote from MaggieJ on another natural feeding thread "Kits raised on a natural diet do tend to grow more slowly than those fed pellets. I find it takes 14-16 weeks for them to reach the magic five pound mark instead of 10-12 on pellets."
Pellet diet 5#/12wks = .417#/week gain. per day is .06#.
Natural diet 5#/16wks = .313#/week gain. per day is .045#.

So... they may actually be ahead. Or we'll see how they keep tracking. I'm guessing I'll find where their growth curve is if I can keep up with weights and tracking.

The next litter from the neighbor will be ready Feb 9th. I'll decide closer to then but I'm planning on butchering the bucks. Then decide on if I'm keeping a doe. That they're harlequinized and I could get harli and tri makes it sooo much more tempting too!
I already have them and if I keep one I'll be breeding her starting in April. It just seems to work out really nicely.

The rough plan is...
Feb 1, butcher a buck.
Feb 5, butcher a buck.
Feb 8 butcher a doe.
Leaving me with one doe and space for more growouts.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

Well, I found the end of the road on the oats and pellets. They're losing weight. They've been leaving more and more oat hulls in the bowl and picking over the pellets.

1/13
Br doe, 2# 15.4oz
Br doe red, 2# 15oz
Solid buck, 3#
Br buck, 2# 12oz

1/30
Br doe, 2# 4.6
Br doe red, 2# 7.6
Solid buck, 2# 6.4
Br buck, 2# 2.7

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

For 16% protein it's 4 Oats, 1 pellet. Current pricing puts me at 0.184/#.

Cheapest rabbit pellets are 0.34/# (country road rural king, 16%). Alfalfa cubes are the same price. Only alfalfa pellets are the big horse ones and they're .425/#.

I think I have to buy rabbit pellets. At least to feed some while working over to more grains and forages. In the winter this is all I can do. I've been doing a little sprouts/forage but they don't eat it that well for me to do more.
I'll probably feed rabbit pellets on alternating days. I think they'd pick through it if I mixed oats and pellets.

I don't think this is a set wall. If I had better hay I don't think this would be as much a problem. We make our own hay and dad is going to change some things next year. And I'll be saving my own forages and stuff from the garden.

 

[Mckatie]

For 16% protein it's 4 Oats, 1 pellet. Current pricing puts me at 0.184/#.

Cheapest rabbit pellets are 0.34/# (country road rural king, 16%). Alfalfa cubes are the same price. Only alfalfa pellets are the big horse ones and they're .425/#.

I think I have to buy rabbit pellets. At least to feed some while working over to more grains and forages. In the winter this is all I can do. I've been doing a little sprouts/forage but they don't eat it that well for me to do more.
I'll probably feed rabbit pellets on alternating days. I think they'd pick through it if I mixed oats and pellets.

I don't think this is a set wall. If I had better hay I don't think this would be as much a problem. We make our own hay and dad is going to change some things next year. And I'll be saving my own forages and stuff from the garden.

Do you grow sunflowers? Mine eat the whole thing. Stalk, leaves..and seed when I give them some. I still have strip of them to cut down. I dehydrated dandelion greens,lettuce,kale,spinach prickly lettuce, herbs..whatever you forage so I can give some to my dogs,rabbits and use in my smoothies.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

Do you grow sunflowers? Mine eat the whole thing. Stalk, leaves..and seed when I give them some. I still have strip of them to cut down. I dehydrated dandelion greens,lettuce,kale,spinach prickly lettuce, herbs..whatever you forage so I can give some to my dogs,rabbits and use in my smoothies.

I will be growing sunflowers this year. I have other threads on everything I'll be growing, it's alot lol. But ya, I'm limited right now til spring.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

Broken doe, 2# 5.6oz
Broken doe red, 2# 3.4oz
Solid male, 2# 5.4oz
Broken male 2# 3.8oz

1/13, 9wks
Br doe, 2# 15.4oz
Br doe red, 2# 15oz
Solid buck, 3#
Br buck, 2# 12oz

1/30, 12wks
Br doe, 2# 4.6
Br doe red, 2# 7.6
Solid buck, 2# 6.4
Br buck, 2# 2.7

2/11, 13wks
Br doe, 4# 6.5
Br doe red, 4# 2
Solid buck, 4# 3.5
Br buck, 3# 12

I'm not sure if me adjusting the feed changed that much or if I had a scale mishap on the 1/30 weights. Not sure.

Over the last few days I've fed three of the four rabbits to the dogs. I have kept the broken doe (first in the list) and will breed her in April. I'll take her down to the neighbors and breed her to their buck.

One of the bucks I got did have a split penis so I'm assuming she's carrying it. I plan to breed her only for terminal litters. I'll keep my eye out for some rabbits to buy to be able to breed and select from. But the immediate need is dog food so this will work for now.

I didn't keep amazing track of feeding them but I'm pretty sure I put about $2 of feed per rabbit. Plus hay, which is a negligible amount pulled from the sheep hay feeder.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

2/21
Br doe, 4# 8.6

3/4
Br doe, 4# 15.3

She's not the biggest rabbit but she's built pretty nicely. Solid. The others had nice loin on the carcass. I was trying to pose her and she is not into it. She doesn't have the nice round commercial shape but she's not long mandolin shape either.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

We've had a growth spurt apparently.
3/18 6# 0.6oz