Well, that's handy! Thanks, MuddyFarms! Now I don't have to mention the link from the bunnies' website. Hmm, I should go fix the code a bit and get a couple of the pictures better organized. I've learned more code since writing that.
Yup, LeoRocks!!, angoras do need a different diet than some of the other buns. Higher protein is required because of the amount of wool they produce. Check out fhe 'show' and 'performance' types of rabbit pellets, those are usually a higher level of protein.
I just mixed up another batch of feed for the buns here. It's two bags of Nutrena's "Performance Rabbit" pellets which are 18% protein. Added to that was one bag of COB. They usually get rolled barley, but all the local feed stores were out of it so COB (Corn, Oats, Barley) will have to do. The bunny pellets are in 40# bags and the COB is in a 50# bag so the ratio is 80# bunny pellets/ 50# grains. Sometimes a 5# bag of Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (BOSS) gets tossed in there as well, but the feed store was out of that, too. That's the pellet portion of their diet.
Some folks measure out the pellets that they feed, but I prefer a more hands on approach. If you can feel your bunny's bones, then feed more pellets. If there's a layer of flesh over the bones and the bunny ate up all the pellets from the day before, then they're doing fine. For pregnant and nursing does, as well as anybunny less than six months old, they have an always full food dish. They'll get as much pellets as they want to eat until they're fully adult. Then the pellets are semi-rationed, depending on the condition of the bunny. Not all bunnies eat the same amount which is why feeling for condition is somewhat necessary. Also, with an angora, you can't really just look at them to determine their condition. Hands on is about the only way.
Angoras have long 'wool', which in an animal that can't cough up hairballs can be a disaster. In order to keep things flowing smoothly through the bunny, they need a lot of roughage in their diet to keep away hairballs. Most folks feed them unlimited hay and give them a measure of pellets. In my area, it's too humid for hay to last very long and a small bale of hay is almost $40 so they don't get fed hay. We do have loads of green forages, though, so they get loads of leaves and grasses. Mulberry leaves are good for them and they adore ti leaves as well as the bigger grasses like Guinea, Reznor and elephant grasses.
