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I started out feeding our first rabbits on Country Acres 16%. It was what we could afford, and it did the job just fine (yes, I understand it is not at all ideal).
One day, the store was out of Country Acres, so I spent a few more dollars and bought the only other rabbit chow they had -- Purina Complete. Again, our rabbits did just fine on it, birthing and raising good litters, with only a couple of hiccups that any rabbitry can have. This is what I have fed until now.
I still could if I wanted to... the feed store that sells it is about 25 miles away.
But I have another feed store (one that focuses more on feed and farm supply, and less on designer cast iron and jewelry) about 8 miles away now. It's in the middle of farm country, rather than snuggled up near a major metropolitan area. Where the other store sold jewelry, this one sells locally made syrup. The other store has the full line of Lodge cast iron and various fryers, while this one sells medical supplies. When I needed penicillin (PenG) for Thumper, the other store referred me to the vet they were associated with. This store sold me a bottle of PenG and syringes with needles.
And this store makes their own horse feed. Horses are really big around here. You see them everywhere.
I got to thinking, well, horses and rabbits are both ruminants and have very similar digestive systems. Can rabbits eat horse feed?
This store also sells a 16% rabbit pellet by Prime Quality, so I have something to fall back on. It's $15+ for 50 pounds, which is what I was paying for Purina.
I collected the cards from the store that gave the analyses of the various horse feeds they produced. Then I went home and did some looking. Everything seemed to line up except the protein, which was lower than it is in rabbit feed. Most of them were 12% or so, but the Quarter Horse Special Hi Protein was 14%. Adding 17% alfalfa pellets should bring that up.
So today, running very low on rabbit feed due to car trouble that prevented my trip to the feed store, we went and bought horse feed.
50 pounds 14% horse feed.......... $10.25
50 pounds 17% alfalfa pellets..... $13.00
4 pound salt/mineral block........ $2.00
The horse feed contains salt, but at the time, I wasn't sure what it was like in the feed. Would it fall out of my feeders? I asked the lady about what size the feed pellets were. She replied, "Oh, it isn't pellets. It's grain."
GRAIN?!?!?
You mean, just like that, I can be feeding my rabbits grain? Whoa.
I brought the bags home and opened them up. The alfalfa pellets look like super-thick rabbit pellets, but much greener. The feed looks like.... grain.
Well, it isn't totally grain. The ingredients list:
Chops, Corn, Crp. & Whole Oats, Soybean Meal, Alfalfa Pellets, Wheat Bran, Manna-Pro Spur Pellets, Trace Minerals, Salt, and Molasses.
I had to look some of that up. Now I know that "chops" is finely chopped hay. If it doesn't say it's from alfalfa, it probably isn't, and is probably just good for fiber. Which is fine, because we need a lot of fiber for rabbits.
Corn I understand. It's mostly whole kernels. I know that corn isn't a very desirable rabbit feed ingredient, but I've never seen a feed that didn't have it - and in significant amounts - being sold around me. While it may be second on the ingredients list, it doesn't look like it should be.
Oats are really what you see most of in the feed, and then also alfalfa pellets. I imagine soybean meal ups the protein a bit. Wheat bran is excellent fiber and has some nutritional value as well. I had to look up the Manna-Pro spur pellets. Apparently, looks to be something you mix with feed to provide more nutritional content. Then, of course, the trace minerals and salt, and lastly molasses.
The other horse feeds had molasses higher in the list, but this one had it dead last. And indeed, while you can detect a slight hint of tack to the feed if you really feel it, and you can certainly smell it, there is very little molasses in this feed. It's almost a little sticky, but it's also almost dry.
So it's not completely grains after all, but very interesting.
I mixed some more alfalfa pellets in with the feed, and grabbed some cheap Glad plastic bowls and some wire fence ties. A couple of slits in each bowl, and some of the new feed, tie the bowl to the cage, and I was in business.
Until they started trying to flip the bowls. So then I added another set of slits and ties to the bowls. :roll:
So far, all seem to like the new feed. I'm also providing some of the Purina in the J-feeders, so they have about half a ration of each.
I will average about $11.50 per 50 pounds, less if this works and I buy it in larger quantities.
It may not be ideal, but I believe it will probably work out. And it may be a stepping-stone toward me going totally into grains for the buns.
One day, the store was out of Country Acres, so I spent a few more dollars and bought the only other rabbit chow they had -- Purina Complete. Again, our rabbits did just fine on it, birthing and raising good litters, with only a couple of hiccups that any rabbitry can have. This is what I have fed until now.
I still could if I wanted to... the feed store that sells it is about 25 miles away.
But I have another feed store (one that focuses more on feed and farm supply, and less on designer cast iron and jewelry) about 8 miles away now. It's in the middle of farm country, rather than snuggled up near a major metropolitan area. Where the other store sold jewelry, this one sells locally made syrup. The other store has the full line of Lodge cast iron and various fryers, while this one sells medical supplies. When I needed penicillin (PenG) for Thumper, the other store referred me to the vet they were associated with. This store sold me a bottle of PenG and syringes with needles.
And this store makes their own horse feed. Horses are really big around here. You see them everywhere.
I got to thinking, well, horses and rabbits are both ruminants and have very similar digestive systems. Can rabbits eat horse feed?
This store also sells a 16% rabbit pellet by Prime Quality, so I have something to fall back on. It's $15+ for 50 pounds, which is what I was paying for Purina.
I collected the cards from the store that gave the analyses of the various horse feeds they produced. Then I went home and did some looking. Everything seemed to line up except the protein, which was lower than it is in rabbit feed. Most of them were 12% or so, but the Quarter Horse Special Hi Protein was 14%. Adding 17% alfalfa pellets should bring that up.
So today, running very low on rabbit feed due to car trouble that prevented my trip to the feed store, we went and bought horse feed.
50 pounds 14% horse feed.......... $10.25
50 pounds 17% alfalfa pellets..... $13.00
4 pound salt/mineral block........ $2.00
The horse feed contains salt, but at the time, I wasn't sure what it was like in the feed. Would it fall out of my feeders? I asked the lady about what size the feed pellets were. She replied, "Oh, it isn't pellets. It's grain."
GRAIN?!?!?
You mean, just like that, I can be feeding my rabbits grain? Whoa.
I brought the bags home and opened them up. The alfalfa pellets look like super-thick rabbit pellets, but much greener. The feed looks like.... grain.
Well, it isn't totally grain. The ingredients list:
Chops, Corn, Crp. & Whole Oats, Soybean Meal, Alfalfa Pellets, Wheat Bran, Manna-Pro Spur Pellets, Trace Minerals, Salt, and Molasses.
I had to look some of that up. Now I know that "chops" is finely chopped hay. If it doesn't say it's from alfalfa, it probably isn't, and is probably just good for fiber. Which is fine, because we need a lot of fiber for rabbits.
Corn I understand. It's mostly whole kernels. I know that corn isn't a very desirable rabbit feed ingredient, but I've never seen a feed that didn't have it - and in significant amounts - being sold around me. While it may be second on the ingredients list, it doesn't look like it should be.
Oats are really what you see most of in the feed, and then also alfalfa pellets. I imagine soybean meal ups the protein a bit. Wheat bran is excellent fiber and has some nutritional value as well. I had to look up the Manna-Pro spur pellets. Apparently, looks to be something you mix with feed to provide more nutritional content. Then, of course, the trace minerals and salt, and lastly molasses.
The other horse feeds had molasses higher in the list, but this one had it dead last. And indeed, while you can detect a slight hint of tack to the feed if you really feel it, and you can certainly smell it, there is very little molasses in this feed. It's almost a little sticky, but it's also almost dry.
So it's not completely grains after all, but very interesting.
I mixed some more alfalfa pellets in with the feed, and grabbed some cheap Glad plastic bowls and some wire fence ties. A couple of slits in each bowl, and some of the new feed, tie the bowl to the cage, and I was in business.
Until they started trying to flip the bowls. So then I added another set of slits and ties to the bowls. :roll:
So far, all seem to like the new feed. I'm also providing some of the Purina in the J-feeders, so they have about half a ration of each.
I will average about $11.50 per 50 pounds, less if this works and I buy it in larger quantities.
It may not be ideal, but I believe it will probably work out. And it may be a stepping-stone toward me going totally into grains for the buns.
