Help figuring out how much pellets to feed

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

What quantity of pellets do you feed your large-breed does while they are not pregnant or lactating? Do you give more pellets in winter? Does anyone have recommendations for how to balance pellet quantity with supplements of oats because we use oats to entice our rabbits inside their shed in the evening. They love their oats. Assuming we continue to feed oats in the evening, should we then feed less pellets in the morning? I'm assuming yes, but not sure if we should consider oats and pellets equally, or if one is more calorie dense than the other.

Up until this point, we've mostly had just pregnant/nursing does, so even though we've had rabbits for a year, I don't know how much pellets to feed our does now to prevent them from getting fat. Our does get a little exercise - they have access to the outdoors and hop around a fair amount during the day. We provide mixed grass/alfalfa hay at all times. The proportion alfalfa varies, but probably averages 20-30% of a bale.

Our does are American chinchilla and hybrid Rex-Chinchillas.

I see some suggestions on-line about feeding rabbits this size about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup pellets per day, but these websites don't make a distinction between indoor and outdoor rabbits. I'm also a little distrustful of what I read from google searches, LOL. I trust rabbittalk a lot more. Please let me know how much pellets you recommend we feed our does.

Thanks everyone!

 

[MnCanary]

My rabbits have quite a bit of space, in pens of about 48 square feet per doe One doe per pen. I keep their pellet dishes full, and they also have however much straw they want to eat (I don't have access to hay). They have 3-4 litters per year. I find some fat, but I don't find extra fat on them.

The bucks have cages, 16 square feet each, plus sometimes they spend time on the main floor of the building and move around a lot. Again, I don't find extra fat on them.

I'm curious about rabbits raised in a colony. The owners can't regulate feed there. Do they find extra fat on their rabbits?

 

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. We don't plan to breed any doe for 5-6 months. We have so much rabbit meat we need to eat. So we are probably going to average just 2 breedings per year - our does will have more time off than yours.

 

[Alaska Satin]

What quantity of pellets do you feed your large-breed does while they are not pregnant or lactating? Do you give more pellets in winter? Does anyone have recommendations for how to balance pellet quantity with supplements of oats because we use oats to entice our rabbits inside their shed in the evening. They love their oats. Assuming we continue to feed oats in the evening, should we then feed less pellets in the morning? I'm assuming yes, but not sure if we should consider oats and pellets equally, or if one is more calorie dense than the other.

Up until this point, we've mostly had just pregnant/nursing does, so even though we've had rabbits for a year, I don't know how much pellets to feed our does now to prevent them from getting fat. Our does get a little exercise - they have access to the outdoors and hop around a fair amount during the day. We provide mixed grass/alfalfa hay at all times. The proportion alfalfa varies, but probably averages 20-30% of a bale.

Our does are American chinchilla and hybrid Rex-Chinchillas.

I see some suggestions on-line about feeding rabbits this size about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup pellets per day, but these websites don't make a distinction between indoor and outdoor rabbits. I'm also a little distrustful of what I read from google searches, LOL. I trust rabbittalk a lot more. Please let me know how much pellets you recommend we feed our does.

Thanks everyone!

It has always served me well to give each rabbit what it will eat in 24 hrs. You can figure this out by feeding the rabbits at the same time each day, and noting whether there are pellets left (reduce the portion the next day by 1/8 cup), or if the rabbit is raving hungry (up the portion the next day by 1/8 cup). Adjust as needed by watching the rabbits' behavior when you go to feed them. This allows for seasonal adjustments.

For Satins that is usually just under a cup of pellets a day, but Satins do tend to be slightly more feed efficient than many other meat breeds. It's amazing to me that most individuals eat the same amount, but I do have a few that eat more or less than the others. As for oats, they are high in fiber and fat, which is good for your does but can still contribute to obesity. It would be best to keep the oats to the minimum necessary to tempt them to go home.

If your rabbits are overweight, you'll need to get them down to their healthy weight before figuring out a good maintenance ration. Like people, if they're used to eating too much, their bodies will tell them they need that much. When a rabbit is on a diet, I gave them reduced ration of pellets but as much hay as they want to fill them up and give them something to do to distract from hunger pangs.

However, if you're running a colony, it will be hard to effectively minimize pellet use. Rabbits maintain a dominance hierarchy and the top animals will guard the feed, and sometimes water, from the lower-ranking rabbits. So, if you put a cup of feed per animal in a common feeder, it's unlikely all the rabbits get their fair share; the dominant rabbits will still overeat and the lower ones will go without.

If you're feeding pellets, you might think about switching to hay made of something other than alfalfa. Rabbit pellets already contain a significant proportion of alfalfa, which is high in protein and calcium, so adding more alfalfa could give you problems eventually. I variously use timothy, brome, orchard grass, etc. I especially like timothy because it is lower in protein and calcium but higher in fiber (I feed pellets as well).

 

[hotzcatz]

The rabbits here are smaller English angora, but we don't measure feed, anyway. We usually go by the 'feel' method. As well as watching how hungry they act at feeding. If they feel bony, they get fed more. If they have a nice layer of flesh over their back and loins, then they've got enough to eat. If they rush up to the feed dishes, then we give them more, but check to make sure they're not bony,

 

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

It has always served me well to give each rabbit what it will eat in 24 hrs. You can figure this out by feeding the rabbits at the same time each day, and noting whether there are pellets left (reduce the portion the next day by 1/8 cup), or if the rabbit is raving hungry (up the portion the next day by 1/8 cup). Adjust as needed by watching the rabbits' behavior when you go to feed them. This allows for seasonal adjustments.

For Satins that is usually just under a cup of pellets a day, but Satins do tend to be slightly more feed efficient than many other meat breeds. It's amazing to me that most individuals eat the same amount, but I do have a few that eat more or less than the others. As for oats, they are high in fiber and fat, which is good for your does but can still contribute to obesity. It would be best to keep the oats to the minimum necessary to tempt them to go home.

If your rabbits are overweight, you'll need to get them down to their healthy weight before figuring out a good maintenance ration. Like people, if they're used to eating too much, their bodies will tell them they need that much. When a rabbit is on a diet, I gave them reduced ration of pellets but as much hay as they want to fill them up and give them something to do to distract from hunger pangs.

However, if you're running a colony, it will be hard to effectively minimize pellet use. Rabbits maintain a dominance hierarchy and the top animals will guard the feed, and sometimes water, from the lower-ranking rabbits. So, if you put a cup of feed per animal in a common feeder, it's unlikely all the rabbits get their fair share; the dominant rabbits will still overeat and the lower ones will go without.

If you're feeding pellets, you might think about switching to hay made of something other than alfalfa. Rabbit pellets already contain a significant proportion of alfalfa, which is high in protein and calcium, so adding more alfalfa could give you problems eventually. I variously use timothy, brome, orchard grass, etc. I especially like timothy because it is lower in protein and calcium but higher in fiber (I feed pellets as well).

I really appreciate your details and depth of experience. Thank you! We will start with a heaping cup per day and adjust following your recommendations.

 

[Olbunny]

Ak satin is correct. We feed our New Zealand, Californian cross rabbits 1 cup pellets per day. Sunflower seeds are a supplement. A small handful in the winter. And a bit for our pregnant does.
Timothy hay all the time. Boxes have hay in them also, rabbits always chew. Willow, birch, popular cottonwood tree branches. Timothy hay daily feed consists of a ball of hay the size of a the rabbit. But always available in a seperate hay bin.
1cup pellets, timothy hay, sticks containing needed trace minerals for health, water.
For a toy I put larger pieces of branches 2" thick 3" long in with them, they will toss it around. Grandkids stuff hay into toilet paper or paper towel inside tubes cut a couple inches long for toys.
Proper diet is good but rabbits won't eat properly if overly stressed.

 

[MnCanary]

However, if you're running a colony, it will be hard to effectively minimize pellet use. Rabbits maintain a dominance hierarchy and the top animals will guard the feed, and sometimes water, from the lower-ranking rabbits. So, if you put a cup of feed per animal in a common feeder, it's unlikely all the rabbits get their fair share; the dominant rabbits will still overeat and the lower ones will go without.

I'm curious if rabbits in a colony actually end up overweight or underweight.

Most of my adult rabbits are in semi-colonies (pens with 2 or 3 rabbits) and I don't seem to have overweight rabbits. I am judging that by feeling the rabbits, as I haven't dressed out an adult rabbit in quite a while. This has been my guide: Is my rabbit too fat or too thin? Monitoring Your Rabbit's Weight

 

[Alaska Satin]

I'm curious if rabbits in a colony actually end up overweight or underweight.

I'd be interested in hearing about that too!

I've never raised rabbits in a colony, but I raise grow-outs in a tractor during the summer. Both groups of bunnies are free-fed pellets, but I have found that the tractor bunnies eat roughly half the amount of pellets as the caged ones, and have far less fat on them at butchering than the cage-raised ones. The tractor doesn't give them much more room than the grow-out cages, but there is definitely a lot more opportunity for them to "eat their greens" which we all know is healthier for everyone.

This has been my guide: Is my rabbit too fat or too thin? Monitoring Your Rabbit's Weight

I would not agree with this assessment rubric based on my experience with my rabbits, but I raise purebred Satins and Champagne D'Argents, breeds which are heavily-selected for meat type.

In a well-bred meat rabbit, the spine, ribs and hip bones should not be easy to feel. In fact, in a meat breed, the ideal is rabbits that are "very smooth, covered with firm flesh, plump, full, well-rounded" (that's from the ARBA Standard of Perfection for Champagne D'Argent pre-juniors, i.e. fryers). If you can easily feel the spine or pin bones (hip bones), especially in a meat breed, the rabbit is considered either poorly built or in "rough condition." I've found that the shoulder-flab test is better for my rabbits, especially for the adult rabbits.

The Rabbit House rubric may be more applicable to crossbred rabbits, which combine some or many other breeds' typical characteristics, which are not necessarily meat attributes.

 

[MnCanary]

I would not agree with this assessment rubric based on my experience with my rabbits, but I raise purebred Satins and Champagne D'Argents, breeds which are heavily-selected for meat type.

That is good information. I hadn't considered the difference between rabbit mutts and meat-type rabbits that are selected for more meat. Thanks!