Grass-fed Rabbits for Human Health?

[Rabbits by Accident]

I spend a lot of money to buy grass-fed beef and organic food. I got my rabbits with the intention of eating them, but so far I have sold all the kits and haven't butchered any. I just realized the other day that they are being grown on commercial pellets.

Anyone know if there is any difference in the composition of the meat from rabbits fed commercial pellets vs grass fed? I know there is a difference in the omega 3, etc in beef. I guess this has just made my decision about using rabbit tractors a lot easier. I think I will raise my grow-outs on our organic yard.

. . . what are your thoughts??

- Liz

 

[JG3]

I don’t know about the composition of the meat, but I’ve heard naturally fed rabbits taste better. We plan to transition ours to natural feeding this summer. We cannot source organic pellets and I refuse to raise them on pellets containing GMOs for my family to eat. It seems naturally feeding is much cheaper than pellets too. The book beyond the pellet is really good on this topic and mentions some issues with conventional pellets.
There is also a natural feeding forum on here with lots of info on it.

 

[Ashes]

I switched mine from pellets and hay to hay and barley sprouts. Much cheaper, I get a 50# bag of barley seed from a local mill for $8. It will be a few more weeks before the ones that have never eaten a pellet are ready for processing, but I can't wait to taste the difference!

 

[Olbunny]

We do pellets but they are just ground up grains. And locally grown timothy hay, local brouse. To get 5 pound friers in 12 weeks, our goal, we need to use pellets. Our rabbits contain no hormones or steroids.
The goal of having 5 pound live, 2-1/2# dressed friers in 12 weeks produces a more tender meat. And is an industry standard for a frier.
We have rabbits for meat production. And insure that they are all humanly raised.
In thinking this through, I feel that by using the pellets I can get a better balanced diet of whole ground grains. But this is what works for us. Also kinda different living in ak where we have snow on the ground for 6 months.

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

We do pellets but they are just ground up grains. And locally grown timothy hay, local brouse. To get 5 pound friers in 12 weeks, our goal, we need to use pellets. Our rabbits contain no hormones or steroids.
The goal of having 5 pound live, 2-1/2# dressed friers in 12 weeks produces a more tender meat. And is an industry standard for a frier.
We have rabbits for meat production. And insure that they are all humanly raised.
In thinking this through, I feel that by using the pellets I can get a better balanced diet of whole ground grains. But this is what works for us. Also kinda different living in ak where we have snow on the ground for 6 months.

The issue is are the grains gmo? Just about all corn except organic is. I don't know about others. Oats might be and they spray glyphosate on them before harvest. (it has the highest residual glyphosate of the cereal grains, think of all the cheerios fed to babies!!!!) I haven't done much research into this because I just thought of it. I get regionally produced rabbit feed, but I am sure the grains are not organic and probably have glyphosate residue. (Of course, my little 3 acres are surrounded on 3 sides by gmo corn & glyphosate so really, what's the point? My front door is 20' from corn field)

Anyway, I do what I can to reduce our exposure. Sometimes I think I should just wear a hazmat suit when I go out into the yard

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

I switched mine from pellets and hay to hay and barley sprouts. Much cheaper, I get a 50# bag of barley seed from a local mill for $8. It will be a few more weeks before the ones that have never eaten a pellet are ready for processing, but I can't wait to taste the difference!

How do you grow the barley? Grains are more expensive here, and going up, up, up. (Go Brandon!!) I sprouted wheat for the rabbits over the winter, worked okay, but was time consuming for the results.

How do you do it? I would love to know how to do it better.

thanks

 

[Preitler]

Well, can't tell about differences in composition because I grow mine mostly on forage. One thing is for sure, no way I will ever get them to butcher weight in 10 weeks, it's more 20-24 weeks. I get old bread from coworkers that I feed to, and pellets at treat level to get them back into their hutches (they can graze outside during daytime hours).
Over here GMOs are not such a big issue yet, and raising prices are a worldwide thing, with a huge resource dropped away now. Pellets are an issue, I can only 2 brands that are ok, one of those organic and rather expensive, the 3rd is laced with antibiotics labeled as Coccidiostatica or so (but pretty useless at that, they are in there to promote meat growth) which I definitly do not need.

 

[Ashes]

How do you grow the barley? Grains are more expensive here, and going up, up, up. (Go Brandon!!) I sprouted wheat for the rabbits over the winter, worked okay, but was time consuming for the results.

How do you do it? I would love to know how to do it better.

thanks

I soak the seeds for 12 hours in water with a teaspoon of white vinegar. Then I put the seeds in these 10x20 seed trays with drainage holes - 3 cups per tray. Water twice a day. By day 7 I have 5-6 pounds of fodder per tray. Put solid trays underneath to collect drained water. Takes less than 10 minutes a day. These are the seed trays I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08377R818?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

[Bunnies4me]

Has anyone already tried an experiment of raising meat rabbits in cages vs raising them in tractors with space to jump around? And then decided which way is better? My thought is that if growing rabbits for meat, meat = muscle, muscle is developed by exercise. I would be interested to know the pros and cons of each, what weights the same rabbits get to within the first 10-12 weeks if brought up one litter in cages and one litter on the ground? Also be interested to know if there was any difference in taste of meat as a result of exercise? Or is this more to do with diet?

I don't have a big farm, so would struggle to move tractors on a frequent enough basis (tractors are really out of the question, it would be more having a permanent grass space set up or a raised grow-out cage). I don't know how keen I am on having them on the same bit of dirt, no matter how big an area it is, as I am thinking it would become a breeding hotspot for all the parasites and things I don't want in my rabbitry?
I have thought of building my grow out pen up off the ground and having it slatted or solid wood floor, and a couple of layers so the buns can run around on each wooden floor and have space to jump and grow. First litter born yesterday, so still new to rabbits and still getting set up, hence I haven't already had a grow out pen.
I thankfully live in an area where there aren't wild rabbits in the immediate vacinity (that I'm aware of, but I wouldn't rule them out completely), but I know flies and mosquitoes can carry viruses and diseases and coccidiosis, so I am still a bit wary and careful about letting little buns out on the grass when they don't have as strong an immunity as an adult rabbit. I let the breeding stock rabbits out on the grass for exercise on a regular basis, but if I lived in a more rural area where coccidiosis was everywhere I wouldn't.
Be interested to know everyone's proven results and thoughts from their own experiences!
Thanks all

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

This is my first experience with grass-fed. I figure 2 weeks of grass should be enough to change their chemical make-up - cows are fed grain for 2 weeks before butchering... ? But really that's all the time I had, so it is what it is.

My grow-outs are all in 6'x3' pens. One cage is hung in the rabbitry and one cage is outside in grass. I don't know how people have rabbit tractors with lots of rabbits in them. I only have 4 kits outside and they eat the grass bare 2x a day. They are not quite 5 lbs - they are PETS that didn't sell. I sold all my meat rabbits, but I have to do something with these guys so I guess we'll butcher them anyway. I got rid of my last pet producer, so from here on out I will have only meat rabbits which will make my life easier LOL.



Anyway, here is the pen - it is one of my cages from wire shelving with wide fencing on the bottom so they can reach the grass. There were holes in the side for feeders, so I used them as access to hides where they can escape coyotes, dogs, etc. I just pick up one end and drag it. I have it divided into 2 sections because the rabbits were from different cages and as one set is almost 4 months old and one is 3 months I didn't want fights.

Tacky, eh? LOL but they need the shade.

Here is a better view when I had attached a nice wooden hide that I designed to slide on and off with brackets and was painted and pretty and WEIGHED A TON hahah so thus the buckets which, while tacky, are a HUGE improvement when I go to move it 2x a day.

 

[Treelove]

I like your question and would wonder the same thing. Animals will produce the healthiest meat, I believe, when they are on their *natural* diet. For cattle, this is absolutely grass, with maybe a small amount of grain (like when they would nibble on tall grass with seed in the field). Chickens eat a more varied diet with a lot more grain, so it's normal and healthy for them to have that, but pasture-raised chickens are healthier and taste better.

So what's the natural diet for rabbits? Mostly grass, right? I'm still new to raising rabbits and haven't read any real info on this, so I'm just speculating, but that's what makes sense to me. Commercial and pet rabbits are recommended to eat mostly grass/hay with smaller amounts of pellets, which are mostly alfalfa, but do have grain in them. It's my understanding that the pellets are supplement rather than the main bulk of their diet. I'm trying to offer lots of hay to mine so they don't need to eat as much pellets. My friend has hers in a tractor all day, but they get some pellets, too. I would aim for simply encouraging more hay/grass feeding but still allowing pellets until you have more information on the topic. (Please update if you do get more information!)

By the way, I thought rabbits were extremely lean, but when we raised meat rabbits before (I should say my husband raised them--I was busy raising little humans), he fed pellets only, and there was fat on those rabbits when he slaughtered them. I suspect it was from so much pellets/grain. But again I'm just speculating. I'd love to hear from anyone if that fat is normal.

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

I like your question and would wonder the same thing. Animals will produce the healthiest meat, I believe, when they are on their *natural* diet. For cattle, this is absolutely grass, with maybe a small amount of grain (like when they would nibble on tall grass with seed in the field). Chickens eat a more varied diet with a lot more grain, so it's normal and healthy for them to have that, but pasture-raised chickens are healthier and taste better.

So what's the natural diet for rabbits? Mostly grass, right? I'm still new to raising rabbits and haven't read any real info on this, so I'm just speculating, but that's what makes sense to me. Commercial and pet rabbits are recommended to eat mostly grass/hay with smaller amounts of pellets, which are mostly alfalfa, but do have grain in them. It's my understanding that the pellets are supplement rather than the main bulk of their diet. I'm trying to offer lots of hay to mine so they don't need to eat as much pellets. My friend has hers in a tractor all day, but they get some pellets, too. I would aim for simply encouraging more hay/grass feeding but still allowing pellets until you have more information on the topic. (Please update if you do get more information!)

By the way, I thought rabbits were extremely lean, but when we raised meat rabbits before (I should say my husband raised them--I was busy raising little humans), he fed pellets only, and there was fat on those rabbits when he slaughtered them. I suspect it was from so much pellets/grain. But again I'm just speculating. I'd love to hear from anyone if that fat is normal.

I actually just butchered 4 rabbits that were on 100% grass (tractor) - no pellets at all for about 1.5 weeks before butchering. They lost a little weight but when I butchered them, there was NO fat on them. They also tasted fantastic

I notice that in my normal pellets there is corn. I hate that because all commercial corn is GMO. I would think that pellets would cause an unnatural amount fat. Many pellets have molasses which encourages them to eat more than they would otherwise. I avoid those. But if you're just aiming at 'weight gain' and not overall health, they would work.

I am going to try to get enough going to feed 100% natural, no pellets, but that's a lot more work and having just brought home a lonely 3 1/2 week old bottle-baby goat, I've got a full plate right now LOL. So probably not happening any time soon.

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

Has anyone already tried an experiment of raising meat rabbits in cages vs raising them in tractors with space to jump around? And then decided which way is better? My thought is that if growing rabbits for meat, meat = muscle, muscle is developed by exercise. I would be interested to know the pros and cons of each, what weights the same rabbits get to within the first 10-12 weeks if brought up one litter in cages and one litter on the ground? Also be interested to know if there was any difference in taste of meat as a result of exercise? Or is this more to do with diet?

I don't have a big farm, so would struggle to move tractors on a frequent enough basis (tractors are really out of the question, it would be more having a permanent grass space set up or a raised grow-out cage). I don't know how keen I am on having them on the same bit of dirt, no matter how big an area it is, as I am thinking it would become a breeding hotspot for all the parasites and things I don't want in my rabbitry?
I have thought of building my grow out pen up off the ground and having it slatted or solid wood floor, and a couple of layers so the buns can run around on each wooden floor and have space to jump and grow. First litter born yesterday, so still new to rabbits and still getting set up, hence I haven't already had a grow out pen.
I thankfully live in an area where there aren't wild rabbits in the immediate vacinity (that I'm aware of, but I wouldn't rule them out completely), but I know flies and mosquitoes can carry viruses and diseases and coccidiosis, so I am still a bit wary and careful about letting little buns out on the grass when they don't have as strong an immunity as an adult rabbit. I let the breeding stock rabbits out on the grass for exercise on a regular basis, but if I lived in a more rural area where coccidiosis was everywhere I wouldn't.
Be interested to know everyone's proven results and thoughts from their own experiences!
Thanks all

I have cages large enough for them to jump around That is one thing that is great about the long cages made from shelving, especially if you add a second story. At this point I only put my grow-outs on the ground. Although my buck has escaped a couple times and LOVES to be loose. I feel so sad when I have to put him in his cage (he is more sad than me LOL)

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

I soak the seeds for 12 hours in water with a teaspoon of white vinegar. Then I put the seeds in these 10x20 seed trays with drainage holes - 3 cups per tray. Water twice a day. By day 7 I have 5-6 pounds of fodder per tray. Put solid trays underneath to collect drained water. Takes less than 10 minutes a day. View attachment 29710These are the seed trays I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08377R818?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Thank you for all this info! Do you have any extra lighting, or just the window. Seems like that system would work great just about anywhere. Have the seed trays gone up in price? Just curious. Thanks again.

 

[KelleyBee]

I switched mine from pellets and hay to hay and barley sprouts. Much cheaper, I get a 50# bag of barley seed from a local mill for $8. It will be a few more weeks before the ones that have never eaten a pellet are ready for processing, but I can't wait to taste the difference!

Please let us know how these non pellet babies turned out!

 

[Bunnies4me]

I have cages large enough for them to jump around That is one thing that is great about the long cages made from shelving, especially if you add a second story. At this point I only put my grow-outs on the ground. Although my buck has escaped a couple times and LOVES to be loose. I feel so sad when I have to put him in his cage (he is more sad than me LOL)

Yes my cages are the same. Some people might say they are too big! What size is yours? Mine are largely 1200x600mm, and I've built a 'maternity ward' that is 1800x600mm so that there is space for mama with 6-8 little 5 week old babies to still be comfortable.

Your grow outs are the setup in the photo above aye?

I'm growing seed and feeding sprouted grains/ barley and wheat grass as well. Currently using bleach to prevent mould, by the time the seed grows and it's ready to be fed out the bleach has fully broken down (scientifically, bleach breaks down in the presence of sunlight and water.) After a week it's safe to feed with no presence of bleach there. They start to grow mould once sprouted if not fed out soon enough.

How much white vinegar to seed do you use? Can you use apple cider vinegar instead? We get some ants and little fruit flies attracted to vinegar, so I'm a bit hesitant as it will probably become a fabulous breeding area for any bugs... And rabbits aren't meat eating bug eating omnivores! Or at least mine are herbivores

Regarding pellets, it would depend hugely on what you have available. Another breeder and myself joined together and both consistently buy enough pellets from an independent feed store that they now make a pellet specially to have all the things that we asked for. (Actually it's more the other breeder that dealt with that part, because she is closer to the feed store than I am.) That pellet has become standard lines that the feed store now stocks, but it's fully natural and everything we want in a pellet. I have no qualms about feeding it, it's everything they'd get in the wild compacted into a pellet.

 

[Burelka]

I am so glad I found this thread, I have been trying to grow fodder for weeks and they mold up right away! I will try the vinegar method and if this fails I will try bleach. thank you so much!!

 

[Burelka]

Has anyone already tried an experiment of raising meat rabbits in cages vs raising them in tractors with space to jump around? And then decided which way is better? My thought is that if growing rabbits for meat, meat = muscle, muscle is developed by exercise. I would be interested to know the pros and cons of each, what weights the same rabbits get to within the first 10-12 weeks if brought up one litter in cages and one litter on the ground? Also be interested to know if there was any difference in taste of meat as a result of exercise? Or is this more to do with diet?

I don't have a big farm, so would struggle to move tractors on a frequent enough basis (tractors are really out of the question, it would be more having a permanent grass space set up or a raised grow-out cage). I don't know how keen I am on having them on the same bit of dirt, no matter how big an area it is, as I am thinking it would become a breeding hotspot for all the parasites and things I don't want in my rabbitry?
I have thought of building my grow out pen up off the ground and having it slatted or solid wood floor, and a couple of layers so the buns can run around on each wooden floor and have space to jump and grow. First litter born yesterday, so still new to rabbits and still getting set up, hence I haven't already had a grow out pen.
I thankfully live in an area where there aren't wild rabbits in the immediate vacinity (that I'm aware of, but I wouldn't rule them out completely), but I know flies and mosquitoes can carry viruses and diseases and coccidiosis, so I am still a bit wary and careful about letting little buns out on the grass when they don't have as strong an immunity as an adult rabbit. I let the breeding stock rabbits out on the grass for exercise on a regular basis, but if I lived in a more rural area where coccidiosis was everywhere I wouldn't.
Be interested to know everyone's proven results and thoughts from their own experiences!
Thanks all

I raise my buns in suspended self cleaning cages, I built them myself following the design from Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits. When my babes are 5weeks I pull the biggest ones out into a double size grow out pen, and by 6 weeks all the babes are in the grow out. This gives moms a gradual weaning.
I do not tractor raise because we have lots of predators in my area and I wouldn't want them to be at risk over night. That said I am sure there are lots of ways to reinforce a tractor, I just don't have the time or resources at the moment.
When it comes to flavour, I would be interested to know if there is a difference based on enclosure alone, I would hypothesize that diet would be the greatest factor in flavour and texture, but then again I have never conducted such an experiment.
My rabbits are fed hay, garden / kitchen scraps, and pellets (non GMO grain free). In my area we have very few pellet options that suit my needs and these particular pellets are rather expensive. I am looking into going pellet free by growing my own fodder.

 

[JG3]

I am so glad I found this thread, I have been trying to grow fodder for weeks and they mold up right away! I will try the vinegar method and if this fails I will try bleach. thank you so much!!

I did an experiment on what would work better to prevent mold as I don’t own bleach and refuse to buy it.
So when I soaked my grain, I tried it in nothing but water, one with vinegar added, one with apple cider vinegar and one with hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide worked best and didnt mold at all. I let it overgrow to see how long it’d take to get mold and it was by like day 9, so you definitely want to feed it on time (Day 6/7 here).
Also make sure you aren’t overfilling trays and there is airflow. You can use a fan if you need more.
I’m new to rabbits and mine are currently on pellets. I’m waiting until these last litters are weaned and then we are spending the summer transitioning them all to 100% natural feed (wheatgrass fodder, forage and hay).

 

[Burelka]

I did an experiment on what would work better to prevent mold as I don’t own bleach and refuse to buy it.
So when I soaked my grain, I tried it in nothing but water, one with vinegar added, one with apple cider vinegar and one with hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide worked best and didnt mold at all. I let it overgrow to see how long it’d take to get mold and it was by like day 9, so you definitely want to feed it on time (Day 6/7 here).
Also make sure you aren’t overfilling trays and there is airflow. You can use a fan if you need more.
I’m new to rabbits and mine are currently on pellets. I’m waiting until these last litters are weaned and then we are spending the summer transitioning them all to 100% natural feed (wheatgrass fodder, forage and hay).

Thank you so much for sharing your findings! this information is GOLD! can I ask what percentage hydrogen peroxide you used and in what ratios. Also how large are your trays and how much seed do you soak for each tray? Sorry for all the questions: you seem to have this down so please share