Last summer, I didn’t use a lot of rabbit feed (though I kept the feeders full for my grow-outs & lactating does). I have so many weeds! I just chopped and chopped thistles (thistles never give up). This year, Imma try harder on the sunflowers. Last summer everything but the three in the greenhouse didn’t make it past seedlings. We had soooooo many mice.Just a general note that game bird feed that is about 30% protein for starter is what quail chicks need up until 8 weeks. Then you can adjust them down to 22%, but the hens really do need the game bird layer. We grind the crumble a little bit for the chicks for the first couple weeks. The adults refused to eat any fines. It's been bad because the feed is really full of powder now! I'm thinking the opposite and wondering if I should sift the quail feed and mix it with the rabbit feed fines and bake it into biscuits for the rabbits..I just switched the birds to a pellet and they can eat that or starve because I'm sick of them wasting so much food. I also supplement with mealworms for the protein and calcium content, and I give them a grain mix, Kruse Dove and Quail, that is affordable and which they love, and is closer to what they would eat in the wild. That helps the Californias that I have in there with them.
I'm afraid to add up the feed expense now that I'm also up to nine adult rabbits and 30 kits. The growout kits are 7 weeks. I have seven New Zealands and seven American Blues. I want to keep the best doe from each group. A friend wants two New Zealand bucks. So that leaves me 10 to process. The blues are doing great, they are 3.4 to 3.6 lb. The New Zealands are running 3 to 3.2. I have two more litters of 8 each coming up on a week old. I plan to breed two more of my does in about 2 weeks. Then I will be done until closer to the end of October because of the heat.
I'm hoping to cut my pellet use in half since I use Modesto Milling organic, which is ridiculously expensive from Chewy! I'd like to work them up to 50% whole grains with legumes, either lentils or peas for added protein. Plus greens from the garden but minimal on those. They also get unlimited timothy, which is horrendously expensive here as well. About $45 for maybe a 60 lb bale.
Why don’t friggin mice eat weeds, I’d like to know? The buns absolutely adored the sunflower leaves. I don’t worry about washing them. The buns did fine, and honestly, I’m not interested in raising rabbits that can’t eat their natural diet. If they make it, they make it and I’ve only ever lost one to what? IDK but it wasn’t weeds b/c it’s been winter here for most of his life, poor little guy.
Alas, the pollinators didn’t seem to find their way into the greenhouse as they did last year, so no kernels in the seed shells.
My birds were disappointed.Another possible option; one could mix the rabbit fines (and any other grain/legume-based feed) with a bit of water and allow it to ferment. It can take a while for the ferment to start, esp in a cold garage, but it will start eventually, so long as it’s not frozen. Once you get it going, it works quickly, even if you empty out the bucket every time.
Two caveats: don’t feed it too wet or the birds will get it caked on their little faces and pick at one another, and don’t fill the fermentation bucket too full or it’ll spill over and make an awful mess. Oh yes, and if you keep it too long, it will smell nasty, but the birds don’t care at all. I haven’t fed it to quail (obviously, as I haven’t got any quail yet), but I don’t see why they wouldn’t love it as much as the other birds.
Also, if it’s too cold, you can’t use the fermented feed because of course, it freezes and the birds physically can’t eat it.
Does anyone know whether I could feed the cots scrambled eggs to supplement their protein?
! They love quail but I'm not going to feed them a $20 bird each! Thank God they love rabbits but now that I have multiple thousands invested I'm sure they'll turn their nose up rabbit as well at some point.
