Doe ate all the fur out of nestbox

[Amy]

Is it protein that rabbit's are lacking if they eat fur? She has literally eaten every bit of fur that she had pulled for the
kits in the nestbox. I had to add a towel for the kits to lay on and it covers them a little, luckily they have fur it's been getting into the 20's again at nite.
I've been adding more protein in lately, she is taking fine with the new alfalfa I bought (b/f she'd get soft poo when eating alfalfa) I'm tempted to test her on pellets to see if she would improve, maybe some rabbits just don't do well on grain.
I'm feeding grain mix w/alfalfa pellets and alfalfa hay. I also give them mineral block and branches of willow.
I wouldn't say she has the best condition, but considering she just had 10 kits 2 wks. ago, she's
looking pretty good. But, with this litter she has been more aggressive then ever, she even bit my daughter (when she tried to pet her shortly after kindling) and me when I was handling a kit that was about to die and did from not getting fed (that was the only one lost from this litter). She's my sweetest rabbit, so this was a big surprise.
I'm going into town today, any suggestions? Does Timothy Hay have more protein than alfalfa? I'm not excited about the alfalfa I got last wk, as it's compressed so it's lots of stems and leaves are powdery. Plus, I need something for the nestboxes, either straw or hay. Maybe I'll break down and buy a bag of pellets for this doe.

 

[3mina]

Alfalfa is usually the highest protein but that can change with which cutting your bales come from apparently. I use compressed hay cubes, a Timothy/alfalfa mix and I prefer straw in my nestboxes rather than hay but you use what you can get.

 

[Miss M]

Have you approximated the % protein they are getting? Alfalfa averages ~17%, I think.

Some does just eat their nestbox fur. :shrug: I have a doe that does it, no matter what feed or protein % she is on.

 

[coffeenutdesigns]

I give my does and chickens a little black oil sunflower seeds. Do you give that at all?

 

[ottersatin]

What they are lacking is Fiber!
Do you give them ample amounts of grass-hay
at least two or three times per week?
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[Amy]

Actually, hay is a large part of their diet,more like 2-3 x's per day.
I picked up a bag of Timothy based pellets to try her on, that way I can continue to give alfalfa.
She just seems to be missing something from her diet, so maybe the pellets will give her what she needs.
I have to say though, that she has had a litter of 11 (her 1st litter) and this time 10.
And I got a bale of straw to use in nestboxes. Good hay around here is $20, straw is $9.