Feeding for optimal growth

[BoxerMom]

Now that we have out very first kits on the ground, my next step is to figure out what to feed the babies when they are ready. Right now the rely on msms for food, and mama gets fresh greens every day, has access to alfalfa hay and limited on pellets. When the kits are ready to eat, they will also be getting greens, but I am wondering if there is something I can add to their diet to help them grow big, fast. I picked up a bag of oats and tomorrow I'm getting a bag of black oil sunflower seeds. I've heard people mention BOSS and am interested in getting some, but I know I wont be able to find it here, so I am hoping someone has a link to a website.

Is there anything else I should get to feed the kits? I'm hoping for fast growth, but lots of muscle and not fat.

 

[Anntann]

BOSS = black oil sunflower seeds. so you've already got it

The fastest growth on kits will come from straight pellets. no hay. nothing else. Pellets (a 17 or 18% diet particularly) are a complete feed..balanced nutritionally.

If you want to feed the fresh diet, just keep shoveling alfalfa at them (it's high in protein) and your fresh greens (dandelions, plantain, and mulberry are particularly high in proteins and minerals), a combo of barley/wheat/oats perhaps will give them other nutrients and will cut the high protein from the alfalfa. BOSS, IN THE HULL, is only 12ish % protein (it's the kernel that's super high protein...the hull is almost pure fiber), but has a lovely oil that will help put on weight. Careful with it in hot weather tho.

Keep them with mom as long as possible..let her wean them...you avoid weaning stress that way. (that's my opinion, at any rate)

 

[akane]

Depends what you call optimal growth. Slow and steady is actually better and what you'll get feeding greens and grains. Fast growth and maturity has been proven in pretty much every animal to be bad for long term health but if you are butchering them then it doesn't matter so most people raising livestock for food push their growth with high protein foods. Some people raising horses for show push their growth with lots of high protein feed and hay and end up with unrideable animals or horses that are retired before they hit 10 because of lameness issues while areas of the horse world that stress being patient will often have horses still competing at 18. If you want fast then a high protein rabbit pellet and shelled sunflower seeds (with shells they are not very high in protein) would accomplish it better than fresh foods and grains. Legume hay will also provide a lot more protein than grass hay and is usually a good idea if you are feeding young rabbits without a high protein rabbit pellet. A benefit to slower growth even for food animals is that they tend to put on better muscling and more flavorful meat. You just might have to wait an extra month to butcher.

 

[BoxerMom]

Well now I feel kind of dumb. Here I was thinking BOSS was some specialty brand name food and it's just sunflower seeds. =/

Thanks everyone for your help!

 

[MaggieJ]

I agree so completely with both Ann and Akane on this topic that they really leave me with nothing to add!