here's what's available to me, what do yall think?

[ohiogoatgirl]

I am contemplating when I get back into the rabbits startin right off with younger rabbits and natural feed. wondering what yall think about the things I can get here. some stuff I checked the protein and all on but others I forgot cause dad was naggin me :roll:

prices of things at store I was in today:
alfalfa/timothy pellets ($14.50 40# bag) crude protein min % 12
beet pulp pellets ($15 40# bag) crude protein min % 7.5
alfalfa cubes ($14 50# bag)
alfalfa pellets ($13.50 40# bag)

and prices I need to check with where I used to buy from:
wheat, whole ($15 50# bag)
oats, rolled ($13.50 50# bag) crude protein % 9.5
I used to order these and its been a couple years now. so I need to go by there and see what he gets in regularly and what I might be able to order. barley would be nice because it seems like from reading it is good and high protein but i think last time i was ordering feed he couldn't get it. lol he used to love me! small town and I go in and spend tons of money and getting plenty of feed! 2 bag goat mix, 2 bag oats, 2 bag wheat, 3 bag rabbit pellet. each month or two! yeesh... anyways...

So I am kinda thinkin I know what I could try but I am really hopin if I do this I can get a good handle on the plan and work most things out before I would have to worry about the actual feedin the rabbits yet. With my past rabbits I never could get any of em to eat a hay cube! so thinkin to go with something like:

2 part alfalfa pellets
2 part wheat
1 part oats

2 part alfalfa pellets
1 part wheat
1 part oats
1 part beet pellets

ugghhh I feel like this should be so much easier than it seems right now :?
I am also wondering if I could run the wheat through my small meat grinder and crack it.. hm..
Or if it would be worth it to try the "fermented grains" like I have seen done with chickens and cows and goats. with my rabbits before when I tried sprouting and fodder it seemed like the rabbits mainly like the grain better after they had been soaked and just hardly started to sprout.

 

[ottersatin]

I believe that you would do better by purchasing
Bags of a nutritionally balanced quality pelleted Rabbit feed.
Why go through all the trials of trying to develop a properly balanced Rabbit feed,
when there are already so many excellent choices available?
Oh well, everything is worth a try, I suppose.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[Dood]

:yeahthat:

I feed "naturally" because here alfalfa hay is $6 per 50 pound bale and barley/oats/wheat grains are $8 per 50 pound bag, which are only fed sparingly in the summer to supplement all the free forage/vegetables I pick every day for my herd

If my feed costs were the prices you've listed it would be cheaper AND safer just to buy rabbit pellets :shrug:

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

sooooo lets say a 200# mix.
100# wheat ($30)
50# oats ($13.50)
40# alfalfa pellets ($14.50)
10# BOSS (~$9)
total 200# ($67)
So for 50# it costs $16.75

that's the same price within cents of the rabbit pellets here. producers pride is $14 for 50# bag is the cheapest and is 15% protein. its the feed I started with my very first rabbits. the dutch and lionheads did fine on it but the other rabbits I had after them didn't do good on it.

really I want to be able to work toward something a lot less dependant. if I did a grain mix type deal I can work on growing more forage and veg for winter keeping and feed lots of wild forage from the farm here in the summer. then later I can work on growing grains enough to at least start offsetting the cost more. My aim being to work my way to close as I can manage to not having to buy anything. of course I realize cage wire etc things like that I cant make.

I haven't completely decided on it yet but after all my issues before with moldy feed and mystery deaths I could never pin to anything. It's something I would really really like to do.