SatinsRule, paper_crane_2 is asking about natural feeding (without pellets)... so there are no manufacturers from whom to get information.
Paper_crane_2, I find myself adjusting for the seasons. My rabbits always have hay (mostly alfalfa) free choice. This ensures they get sufficient protein and need never feel overly hungry.
I also feed a small quantity of grain - usually wheat but sometimes barley. (About 1/4 cup per adult rabbit, a bit more when I have nursing does.) This spring past I was feeding sprouted grain or fodder instead of straight grain. We quit doing this for the summer due to some issues with mould in the hot humid weather and went back to whole grain. By this time, the weeds and other greens were plentiful so the fodder became less desirable to the rabbits anyway.
From May to October, I feed a lot of greens, mostly weeds and cuttings from safe trees. Early in the season the quantities are quite small but the increasing abundance as the weather warms up provides a smooth transition to summer diet. I find that they always finish the greens I give them. Right now they are getting about a five gallon bucketful a day for a small colony of 3-4 adults and perhaps 12-15 youngsters of varying ages. When they are getting lots of greens they are really much less interested in the hay and grain. They still eat them, but not first and not in such quantity.
As the greens diminish in fall, I will probably go back to feeding sprouts or fodder, but I also feed small quantities of fresh foods throughout the winter: cabbage, carrots, beets, pumpkin etc. plus vegetable trimmings from the kitchen. These must be eased in slowly: root crops are rich and cabbage can be "gassy" if the rabbits are not accustomed to it. That said, I've never had problems and often see kits just out of the nest chowing down on cabbage. Start off as you mean to continue and all should be well.
Naturally, the rabbits also have constant fresh water and a trace mineral salt block.
I have had very pleasing results with this method of feeding. Alfalfa hay is $3.50 a small square bale of about $40 pounds and whole wheat is about $10-12 per 50 pound bag, so it is very economical for me -- but that is not the main consideration. I use about 20 bales of hay a year, but the chickens get a bit of that in the dead of winter. The quantity of grain is harder to calculate because whether it is fed as is or as sprouts and fodder, the poultry are eating from the same bin.
I should mention that the rabbits grow a bit more slowly on natural feed (this is normal) and reach sexual maturity a bit later. I can keep them all together in the colony and have seldom seen signs of even a mild skirmish; nor have I butchered a fryer that turned out to be pregnant. I usually butcher at 14-16 weeks instead of the 10-12 typical of pellet-fed rabbits. The meat is firm and flavourful with just a little fat around the kidneys in most cases. Very occasionally there is a bit over the shoulders as well, but not often and not much. You do lose a bit of tenderness, perhaps; the meat is comparable to turkey or pork rather than fryer chickens. I don't fry meat very often anyway, so this is not a problem for us.
I started with natural feeding in the spring of 2007, so by now I have considerable experience with it, but I am always learning more. It's not for everyone, of course, and it does not work as easily in larger rabbitries or in more urban settings where foraging is minimal, but there
are commercial rabbitries in France that feed rabbits an alfalfa and grain based diet. They raise a special strain of Rex rabbits, so have both the meat and furs to sell, both to high end buyers. The fur accounts for 60% of their profit and the meat for 40%. I've provided a link for you, but I must warn that the Google translation leaves a lot to be desired.
http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl ... 26hs%3DbUg
Anyhow, it seems to me that with green foods like fresh cut fodder, garden greens, weeds, and also with hay, it's impossible to feed too much--you just give as much of these things as the rabbits will eat. The only caveat to that I can think of off-hand is that you would want to provide a decent amount of fiber in the diet (so plenty of grass and stuff, not just lettuce). Rabbits can much all day on foliage and it's natural for them to do so.
