Can I Feed Just Oats and BOSS?

[HHRR]

I would like to know if I can feed my rabbits just Oats and BOSS? Or can I give it to them as a supplement and give them less pelleted food? They will always have a free choice timothy (or occasionally T&A) hay to nibble. If I can do this I would be growing it all myself. Does anyone know if I will be very successful down here in hot FL or would it be a waste of time? I would use the rabbit droppings as a fertilizer, if this is a good idea? Just wondering if this sounds like a good, effective, money saving idea? Also, could anyone refer me to some websites on growing BOSS and oats?
THANKS

 

[ottersatin]

You can never supply a balance diet that way,
and your Rabbits will suffer for it!
The Pelleted feed is a proper nutritionally
balanced diet and unless you have gained extensive
knowledge in how to provide a proper balanced diet
I would stick to a good quality pelleted rabbit feed,
and use anything else as a treat.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[akane]

You need a good mineral supplement. I prefer the soft horse blocks or loose goat or horse minerals, not the hard red salt blocks. The soft blocks or loose minerals provide a lot more and they don't need all the excess salt. Plenty of people do a grain, mineral supplement, and hay with success. It would be a good idea to feed a legume hay like alfalfa to any breeders for the calcium and protein. Many also add in yard forage and other high fiber plant matter to make sure they get all their vitamins and minerals. Not a bunch of watery vegetables from the store or you'll cause digestive upset. It has to be good quality forage like wild rabbits would eat. You can find a list in the natural feeding section.

They will grow slower on a pellet free diet because you don"t have as much fat and protein pushing their growth. A pellet free diet is probably around 14% protein. Slightly more if you use the horse blocks with soy in them or get hulled sunflower seeds. Most forages, grains, and hay are about 12-14% protein. You can find legume hays up to 20% protein if they are cut young and soft instead of after they go stemmy. We get 20% protein organic clover/alfalfa from this guy who really prides himself in his products and is working toward all organic meat as well.

If you want to keep growth up, not worry about any risk of mineral deficiency, and still lessen your pellet costs you can rotate what you feed. We were filling all feeders with pellets and when they emptied filling them all with oats. Then back to pellets. They eat less oats than pellets because they fill up faster on them. More kcals and fat than pellets but lacking the fiber which is why you need a hay with it.

 

[Desert Rose Rabbits]

You need a good mineral supplement. I prefer the soft horse blocks or loose goat or horse minerals, not the hard red salt blocks. The soft blocks or loose minerals provide a lot more and they don't need all the excess salt. Plenty of people do a grain, mineral supplement, and hay with success. It would be a good idea to feed a legume hay like alfalfa to any breeders for the calcium and protein. Many also add in yard forage and other high fiber plant matter to make sure they get all their vitamins and minerals. Not a bunch of watery vegetables from the store or you'll cause digestive upset. It has to be good quality forage like wild rabbits would eat. You can find a list in the natural feeding section.

What do you mean for the soft horse blocks? I'm feeding a grain mix, with unlimited alfalfa cubes (17% protien), grass hay, and have been doing rabbit pellets 2 or so times a week to make up for minerals since they don't like the mineral blocks (and I'm with you on the added salt). Is there anything particular you ask for at the feed store, or do you order yours online?

 

[Frecs]

I use a mix of wheat/oats/BOSS/flaxseed which, if I'm calculating it correctly, has 16.5-17% protein. My rabbits love it. They do not grow as fast as they would on 100% pellets but that is fine by me.

I would not try to do oats and BOSS and timothy hay alone as there is not enough protein in oats. I think with an oats/BOSS combination (depending on how much BOSS) you would be at 12-14% protein which is not enough for meat production. Even with my 16.5-17%, I am looking to increase the protein through other forages such as mulberry leaves and willow.

You will find it difficult to grow sufficient oats and/or BOSS for your rabbits unless you have a good size farm. Oat grass would be a good forage for them but I'd mix that with some clovers, rape, and chicory. Willow is a fast growing forage that IS possible to grow in abundance even on small pieces of land. You would want to grow a bush (aka basket) willow, not a big weeping willow simply due to accessibility of the leaves for harvesting. (There is a book available now on Amazon titled "Beyond the Pellet" that talks about alternative feeds including willow.)

 

[zee]

Very interesting....