Feed changeup a success

[phillinley]

When we started out last year with Silver Fox we began with some young-uns and they were barely reaching senior weight when they got to adulthood. We started supplementing feed with oats and barley and recently started working with some Oxygen pellets each day with two of our litters.

The black and chocolates in the picture are the parents of the blue. They are over a year and a half old, and the blue is 5 and a half months and he's already surpassed them with two and a half months still to go til senior class. So I don't know if it was the Oxygen, the oats/barley or a combination of the two, but for those looking into Oxygen it looks promising to us. We're definitely going to take the next step and introduce it to our Flemish blues and black to see if we can get them from 13-14 to 16-17 pounds.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Phillinley, those are amazing results! Congratulations!

Looking at the OxyGen....I don't really see anything in it that would account for such a change, but there must be something it does....anyone see something I am missing?

INGREDIENTS
Grain Products, Plant Protein Products, Forage Products, Brewers Dried Yeast, Wheat Germ Meal, Vitamin E Supplement.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein, min
16.00%

Crude Fat, min
2.00%

Crude Fiber, max
4.00%

Calcium, min
0.10%

Calcium, max
0.30%

Phosphorus, min
0.30%

Phosphorus, max
0.80%

http://oxyinfo.com/zen/index.php?main_p ... ducts_id=5

 

[phillinley]

I don't see anything different either, and that's why we were hesitant to try it. All we're told to give is like 4-5 pellets a day on top of our usual supplements. We started trying it after we got some samples from the rep at the KY Cup. Because it's like $20 for a two and a half pound bag we only gave it to two litters. The other two litters don't have it. There is a striking difference, but with such a small sample size, it could easily just be genetic. It is also important to point out, this can't fix your genetics. It helps with size and coat, but if the parents peak late or have poor depth, the babies will too, just at a larger size. We figured if we were to give it to all of our animals at 4-6 pellets a day depending on size, it would cost about $20 extra in feed a week which would double our weekly feed costs. Definitely not ready to take that step.

Phillinley, those are amazing results! Congratulations!

Looking at the OxyGen....I don't really see anything in it that would account for such a change, but there must be something it does....anyone see something I am missing?

INGREDIENTS
Grain Products, Plant Protein Products, Forage Products, Brewers Dried Yeast, Wheat Germ Meal, Vitamin E Supplement.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein, min
16.00%

Crude Fat, min
2.00%

Crude Fiber, max
4.00%

Calcium, min
0.10%

Calcium, max
0.30%

Phosphorus, min
0.30%

Phosphorus, max
0.80%

http://oxyinfo.com/zen/index.php?main_p ... ducts_id=5

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I wonder if it wasn't more related to the extra protein from the oats and barley...? I really cannot see 4-5 pellets of ANYTHING doing that much for a rabbit.

 

[phillinley]

yes but the other litters don't have these growth rates. They also don't have as nice of fur. Again, genetics probably here, but still worth our time to try some more stuff.

 

[ckcs]

I'm a big skeptic when it comes to supplements for people or animals. I tend to feel they tend to have a theoretical basis but no real unbiased proof. None the less your rabbits look great.

 

[MaggieJ]

Next set of litters, try switching who gets the OxyGen. Keep the breeding pairs the same. That should tell you quite a bit about the effectiveness of the product for your rabbits.

 

[Secuono]

Glucosamine suppliments can make a person or other animal gain weight like crazy, heard that it's better to go with gelatine for joints instead.

 

[phillinley]

Next set of litters, try switching who gets the OxyGen. Keep the breeding pairs the same. That should tell you quite a bit about the effectiveness of the product for your rabbits.

That's a dang good idea. Although it is risky since I'll be experimenting with what will be our juniors for nationals next spring.

 

[SatinsRule]

Looking at the OxyGen....I don't really see anything in it that would account for such a change, but there must be something it does....anyone see something I am missing?

Gotta back up Phil on this one. I first began tossing around the idea of trying this stuff at last year's convention, and I've been using it ever since. Doesn't take more than just a few crumbles per rabbit, and all I can say is that the rabbits eat it readily. The sheen has never been more evident. It really brought out the best in my satins.

I don't feel it's done quite as much to enhance weight gain as maybe I'd hoped, but during stress times when their apetites waned a bit, the Oxy-Gen was in the portions they did eat. That means a lot during an extended hot summer in the sticky south.

 

[phillinley]

The sheen has never been more evident. It really brought out the best in my satins.

The rep was telling me some people just use it during show season for the coat or when their does are being bred and kindling for the higher survival rates. We might go that route if we decide to stick with it.

 

[SatinsRule]

The sheen has never been more evident. It really brought out the best in my satins.

The rep was telling me some people just use it during show season for the coat or when their does are being bred and kindling for the higher survival rates. We might go that route if we decide to stick with it.

Were you talking to the blonde or Ms. Bond?

 

[phillinley]

Were you talking to the blonde or Ms. Bond?

The blonde with long hair. Didn't catch their names.

 

[dangerbunny]

nice looking buns!

never heard of this stuff and I find it hard to believe that such a little amount of something would make that much difference but it is interesting.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Looking at the OxyGen....I don't really see anything in it that would account for such a change, but there must be something it does....anyone see something I am missing?

Gotta back up Phil on this one. I first began tossing around the idea of trying this stuff at last year's convention, and I've been using it ever since. Doesn't take more than just a few crumbles per rabbit, and all I can say is that the rabbits eat it readily. The sheen has never been more evident. It really brought out the best in my satins.

I don't feel it's done quite as much to enhance weight gain as maybe I'd hoped, but during stress times when their apetites waned a bit, the Oxy-Gen was in the portions they did eat. That means a lot during an extended hot summer in the sticky south.

Oh, I am not discounting it, just trying to figure out WHAT exactly it is that is IN the supplement that would account for the change...I am sure there are cheaper ways of providing whatever it is.... <br /><br />__________ Fri Oct 04, 2013 10:10 am __________<br /><br />Phillinley, are you using the regular OxyGen or the Extreme?

 

[phillinley]

Oh, I am not discounting it, just trying to figure out WHAT exactly it is that is IN the supplement that would account for the change...I am sure there are cheaper ways of providing whatever it is....

__________ Fri Oct 04, 2013 10:10 am __________

Phillinley, are you using the regular OxyGen or the Extreme?

I agree, there is most likely a cheaper method. We are using the regular, not the Immunize formula.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

These are the three things that stand out to me:

Brewers Dried Yeast, Wheat Germ Meal, Vitamin E Supplement

I know that these can be purchased much less expensively.

 

[SatinsRule]

Were you talking to the blonde or Ms. Bond?

The blonde with long hair. Didn't catch their names.

Yeah, the other girl (Ms Bond) probably has more rabbit-specific in-depth knowledge because her parents are big Dwarf breeders. The blonde is very personal and knowledgeable in her own right. They're both good people to work with.

 

[dangerbunny]

Anymore feedback on this stuff? heard other rabbit raisers talking about it but the name makes research difficult, lol.

 

[Zass]

I'm just happy to see adorable pics of your foxes!
Loving the chocolates and blues.

http://www.oxyinfo.com/oxy-gen_rabbits_cavies.html
says the active ingredient is Octacosanol
and for fun:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/southfacts_octa.htm
There are lots of sites talking about the stuff for human use.