Feeding bunnies (cost and how much)?

[Heartofagirl]

I was thinking of feeding a bunny Oxbow Bunny Basics/T rabbit food, in the title it says bunny on the bag it says adult so I'm confused. Is it for both or just adult? And I figured 5 lbs food with 1/2 cup of pellets a day would last about 20 days? or almost 3 weeks? And then I was looking at the hay and it says a 5lb pet would go through 40 oz in 10 days. Does that sound right? It's about $15 for the pellets and $12 for the hay and neither would last a month. That sounds expensive..On another site they recommend small pet select and there's a code for free shipping. Anyone try that? If I did the math correctly 10 lbs of hay would feed a 5 lb rabbit for a month? Or about $40 a month for 10 lbs hay, 5 lbs pellets.

 

[skysthelimit]

Hmm.

I can't remember back to the time when I had only a few buns. I think I had three and it was a bag a month, at $20 for 50lbs.

I buy 50lb bags of food, right now I go through 1 bag every 3 days.

A bale of hay cost $10, and it lasts me two months.
Oxbow and hay from the pet store are going to be way more expensive than any feed store.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Do yourself (and your wallet) a favor: buy from a feed store. Pet store brands are ludicrously expensive. just bought 100 lb. of pellets for about $30. The pet store brands can be $10 for a five-pound bag!

Avoid any feed that looks pretty...all those added things that look good to our eyes is like feeding your bunny junk food instead of real nutrition.

 

[ckcs]

I've got about 60lbs of rabbits (14 rabbits) not counting the babies which were birth to 3 weeks for this calculation. I went through 50lbs in about 3 weeks. That is on unlimited pellet and some hay, sunflower seeds and greens. I would suggest going to something like Tractor Supply or a feed store. I paid $17.41 for 50lbs of mana pro with tax. Bales of hay cost me $7.50 which lasts me several months.

I came up with 3 weeks based on the date between my last bags. Depending on how full a bag is before I purchase a new one my rate could vary. No more than 2 bags a month though.

That calculates to
$27.54 - $36.32 per month for food
46-61 cents per lbs of rabbit per month

My numbers kind of surprise me because with my calculation you'd spend about $3 a month for a 5lb rabbit. Bulk of my herd are lionhead but I do have 2 8lb rabbits and some 4-5lb rabbits.

 

[Secuono]

50 pound bag, 1 cup a day, feeds one rabbit for 66 days.
You don't need hay. Feed high fiber pellets, other foods with high fiber and there you go.
Don't buy from pet stores, buy in 50 or ever 25# bags if you don't have many rabbits.

 

[TheLittleBunny10]

definitely don't buy from pet stores, their food is crazy expensive, and is junk for the bunnies...

I buy a 25 lb bag for $10. 50 lb is $ 20 I think...
I have 3 bunnies, and the bag lasts a little more than a month.
I give my bunnies DE (Diatomaceous earth, the food grade kind) every other month, mixed in with the pellets.
oh, I also give them alfalfa, every once and a while

 

[Heartofagirl]

I found 1-2 feed stores around me, no prices. Went to Tractor Supply and found Purina rabbit chow, Producers pride, and Mana Pro..any of those good brands?

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I use Mana Pro, I love it. Nice dense coats, healthy gleam to the eye. Producer's Pride is okay, but I just didn't see the same vigor as Mana Pro. My herd also seems to relish Mana Pro more...they always love pellet-time but they tuck in really happy when it's Mana Pro....s'all I feed these days.

 

[Heartofagirl]

And for the hay I only found hay bale of alfalfa 50 lbs. Or timothy hay cubes..do you the cubes work or is it harder for the rabbit to get at?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I feed mixed grains now, no pellets, but I have used both Manna Pro and Purina Show in the past. The rabbits did well on it.

As for hay, with only one rabbit, I would probably stick to hay cubes because they are compressed and take up far less space than a standard bale of hay.

There are also many plants that you can feed to your rabbit to provide variety. You will want to start with very small amounts if the rabbit has not been raised getting fresh foods, because it will gorge on them and probably develop enteritis otherwise.

Here is a list of rabbit-safe plants:

safe-plants-for-rabbits-list-t55.html

 

[ckcs]

I found 1-2 feed stores around me, no prices. Went to Tractor Supply and found Purina rabbit chow, Producers pride, and Mana Pro..any of those good brands?

Producers Pride is a house brand I believe and I haven't used it. I used Purina Rabbit Chow for a while and thought it was fine. I switched to Mana Pro Pro Formula and am pleased with it to. I switched partially as I planned to buy their Gro formula for nursing does and their babies.

And for the hay I only found hay bale of alfalfa 50 lbs. Or timothy hay cubes..do you the cubes work or is it harder for the rabbit to get at?

I bought a bag of the cubes quite a while back and have gotten mixed results. Some of my rabbits eat them and some do not. I've been lazy with the cubes and don't feed them often. If you have a Southern States around you they sell bales of hay as do most feed stores. I haven't tried that hay bale at TS.

 

[jessie15273]

I found 1-2 feed stores around me, no prices. Went to Tractor Supply and found Purina rabbit chow, Producers pride, and Mana Pro..any of those good brands?

I use manna pro. They sell that in a 25lb bag too, so that would be more convenient for you.

 

[Dood]

the title it says bunny on the bag it says adult so I'm confused. Is it for both or just adult?

young growing rabbits under 6 months (and nursing does) should have an 18% protein feed. Once they are adults it can be lowered to 16%. If they are house pets they can have 12% and plenty of hay or hay cubes of Timothy or grasses. If they live outside I would offer more protein in the colder months but not the summer.

Buying in bulk is cheaper but please make sure you can keep it dry and "fresh "- NEVER feed anything that smells musty or damp to a rabbit, unlike cows, goats and horses a tiny about of mycotoxin in can kill a little 10 pound rabbit.

 

[SatinsRule]

I found 1-2 feed stores around me, no prices. Went to Tractor Supply and found Purina rabbit chow, Producers pride, and Mana Pro..any of those good brands?

Producers pride is a junk filler food with a "brand" that's specific to TSC. Really not much in the way of identifiable nutrition in the feed, and that's why so much of it collects dust on shelves around here.

Manna Pro makes a good feed, but getting it from TSC turns into a real crap shoot because it sits in their warehouses for extended periods of time before it's shipped to the store that ordered it. That results in a lot of dust and waste. It also can be a rather difficult feed line to switch from if you decide to move them over to something else.

Purina is hit or miss, but pretty much the same problems buying it from TSC as Manna Pro is. Sometimes, Purina feed lines are fresh and are good product. Other times, it can be hard to find and purchase, and that presents a real problem if you buy large quantities of feed for an operation of any size.

There are local mills in this country which mill their own feed lines. Their biggest advantages are that they're affordable and fresh. They are also more likely IMHO to listen to what their customers want from the product, and will be more willing to improve it. In a little over a week, I am picking up a few bags of Bluebonnet feeds to experiment with and do some info gathering with a small portion of my herd. Not planning on switching over to it full-time, just wanting to get a feel for what their feeds are like in the event that I find myself having to switch over due to flooding or any other natural disaster.