Help!

[Pink]

I'm having a hard time finding pellets for my rabbits. All of the local feed-shops, either don't carry rabbit food or they contain corn and have an extremely low protein content. If I were to order a 50 lb bag of pellets, Manna Pro for example, it would be $22.98 + $56.00 shipping. I can't afford to be paying $78.98 once/twice a month. And all of the pellets at our pet shop are extremely overpriced and are filled with mystery products.

Sigh.

Does anyone have a recipe or a guide for natural feedings?

What and how much do I feed?

At their current stage, my plants aren't going to be filling a rabbits belly... Let alone 10.

Pictured are 4 Sparkler White Tip Radish plants and 1 carrot plant. I also have about 9 sqft of dandelions growing for them.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I believe akane has fed the alfalfa pellets for horses in the past. You could also free feed hay- alfalfa and a grass hay would give some variety. You will need to provide a mineral block for them- the reddish brown type, not the white which is just salt. You can buy the ones made for horses and break or saw chunks off. Make sure to put it in some type of container because the salt will rust your cages.

They will also need grain- my recipe is 2 parts oats to 1 part each of wheat, barley, BOSS, and beet pulp. I need to look at the nutritional values of each to figure out exactly what percentage of protein etc. my mix actually is, but haven't done so. I feed 1/4 cup each to bucks, dry does, and growouts. Nursing does get bumped up to 1/3 cup, and when the kits start coming out of the nest I bump the amount up even more depending on how many kits there are.

In addition to that you should feed them a wide variety of fresh greens/weeds. The natural feeding forum has lots of discussions on safe weeds to feed, as well as the list of safe weeds for rabbits.

My rabbits still get pellets, but I am trying to go the natural feeding route this year. I think I covered the basics, but since I haven't actually fed a pellet-less diet, I most likely missed something!

 

[Pink]

Thank you, MamaS.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

You are most welcome, Pink!

I like your little garden- lovely selection of stones! Dandelions are excellent for rabbits. I have been collecting seeds when we go into town since we don't have many dandelions up here.

 

[MaggieJ]

Well, MamaSheepdog leaves me with very little to add!

You may find that your rabbits take better to alfalfa cubes than to the alfalfa pellets. They are compressed alfalfa hay cubes intended, I think for horses. If you can get some baled hay that will help a lot too. Try Kijiji for hay... I've had good success with it. Once you find a good source of hay, save the contact information for the future!

Perhaps you could remind us of some of the details of your rabbitry and how much land you have to work with. It makes a big difference to how you will go about choosing feed options.

 

[Pink]

Perhaps you could remind us of some of the details of your rabbitry and how much land you have to work with. It makes a big difference to how you will go about choosing feed options.

To be quite honest, I'm quite befundled about the details of the property and such. In about a month I am moving to a 100 acre farm, which belongs to a friend of mine. Unfortunately, I have very little say on how/where I want things to be done. Ideally, I would have a decent sized gardening area, a spacious sheltered rabbitry and a predator-proof outdoor rabbit enclosure for grazing.

90 acres of 100 are forested, with mostly Birch and Oak trees. I believe there are Weeping Willows as well. We have three large ponds, so the soil remains cool and moist all throughout the year. I didn't see a single Dandelion while on the tour around the farm - it will be interesting to see if the "hardy" weed thrives.

 

[MaggieJ]

With acres of space you should be able to grow common weeds in a corner somewhere. Dandelion, red and white clover, plantain, chicory, shepherd's purse, sow thistles, Queen Anne's lace and prickly lettuce will grow just about anywhere once they get a start. I'd be very surprised if most of these are not already there and just weren't growing yet. Weeping willow is excellent for rabbits and you can feed birch twigs and leaves as well. It puts you in a good position to feed naturally if that is your preference.

You should be prepared for slower growth (five pounds by 14-16 weeks instead of 10-12 weeks). Gathering for rabbits also takes some time, as you can imagine. But it is perfectly feasible for a small rabbitry if you are committed to the idea.

 

[Pink]

Y'all are a wealth of knowledge! I'm very glad I found this forum.

__________ Thu Apr 19, 2012 10:16 am __________

Has anyone every heard of Rolling Acres Rabbit Pellets, by Masterfeeds Inc.?

The breeder is currently feeding it, but I can't seem to find any information online.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

Rolling acres is from masterfeed pacific for Tsc store only.I really dont think any pellets are good in my eyes.

 

[trinityoaks]

Here's what I do:

trinity-oaks-grain-feed-mix-t6809.html

 

[Freddie]

What a wonderful article from yours about rabbit facts! I like your post very much because I am so interested about your topic. Thanks for your nice sharing.