Interesting 1947 article on feeding rabbits.

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Sounds interesting! But the link doesn't work for me. It's probably just my phone so I will try again later
 
Holy Cow-- there is a mention of the weed fed rabbits having NICER coats than those of the pellet fed rabbits!!!
 
Interesting article :) Really supports the idea of feeding plants instead of pellets :) nice find.
interesting about potatoes..and CABBAGE. I can grow cabbage easily, and potatoes. I believe I shall test a few subjects this summer :D

Boxermom, the link opens a PDF file, so I'm not surprised it doesn't work on your phone.
 
Remember that rationing was still in effect in Britain in 1947.

We also must remember that:
Pelleted feeds were not actually as perfected in 1947
as they are today! It took many more years to produce a
more perfectly balanced diet for Rabbits.
While the article states that the Rabbits were
doing better on a Weed diet than the Rabbits fed a Pelleted diet
it may be that the Pelleted feed in the year 1947 was just not
good enough yet. I would not jump too quickly to a Weed diet which
may raise create more problems than you really want.
As always, JMPO.
Ottersatin. :eek:ldtimer:
 
Uh... Dennis, my rabbits have been eating a weed/hay/grain diet for years and doing just fine. Natural feeding is not a good choice for everyone, but it is a perfectly valid way of raising rabbits for those who have access to sufficient weeds and the time and knowledge to do a good job of it. But I agree... no one should jump too quickly into any changes in their rabbits' diets.
 
Interesting article. I agree a natural diet can work for some as long as they have the means, they know what they're doing and are providing the right amount of nutrients for the rabbits however I think there are a lot of people that equally have no idea how to properly feed a natural diet and only feed it because it's cheaper.

Pellets on the other hand back in 1947 are definitely not as good as the pellets we have today in fact pellets 10 years ago cannot compare to the ones we have today in most places. In Canada our pellet quality definitely cannot compare to what they have in the United States.

I would be interested in an up-to-date article about natural vs. pellet diets
 
I'd be interested to see an up-to-date article too, Devon. I posted this link not to suggest that one should follow the methods described to the letter, but more as "food for thought".

The number and types of weeds fed during that study fell woefully short of the abundance available. Sow thistle and shepherd's purse are excellent weeds but why did they feed so little of such wonderful weeds as dandelions, chicory, prickly lettuce, curly dock, purslane, clover, wild carrot and so on?

Some people may feed a natural diet because it is cheaper, but I think that most people who stick with it do so for other reasons. Not to be overlooked is the fact that every year on forums like this one, we hear of people losing rabbits to bad feed and weaning enteritis. When was the last time you heard of either of these problems from someone who is feeding naturally?

We have fourteen kits that have emerged from the nest tunnels in the past few days. They are still nursing when they can catch a doe, but they are also nibbling away on the greens. Already they come running when it's feeding time. :) It's a pleasure to see them doing so well on forage gathered from our own acres. Yes, it's free, but I couldn't buy anything as good at the feed store.
 
MaggieJ":1h6238y5 said:
Uh... Dennis, my rabbits have been eating a weed/hay/grain diet for years and doing just fine. Natural feeding is not a good choice for everyone, but it is a perfectly valid way of raising rabbits for those who have access to sufficient weeds and the time and knowledge to do a good job of it. But I agree... no one should jump too quickly into any changes in their rabbits' diets.

By no means was I saying that natural feeding is/was a BAD choice,
I was just mentioning that things should not be changed so abruptly
as to upset the apple cart. I have myself added some grains and
wild forage to my own feed regimen. This in an effort to offset
the high cost of supporting rabbits. I have found that the herd
has taken to it quite easily. By next year I should have an accurate
assessment of the effects good or bad.
Ottersatin. :eek:ldtimer:
 
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing Maggie. Even if some of it is out of date and not relevant, you can still learn from it.
 
The Internet is beginning to bring us documents and books from the past, so we can learn how rabbits were raised before pelleted feed was manufactured. Not all the methods used were ones we would choose to use today, but there is a great deal to be learned from them if we approach the information with a critical mind.

Members interested in Natural Feeding are reminded of our great selection of antique and vintage ebooks which you can "buy" with those BunnyBucks most of you have accumulated. You will see a tab marked EBOOKS in the menu bar at the top of the index page.
 
re: the question of why the research only fed sow thistles, etc....My guess, from watching other researchers is twofold: 1)they had an abundance of sow thistle and shepherd's purse, and only small amounts of the other vegetation.
The species of weeds used depended partly on the preference of the rabbits and
partly on their availability at any particular time. Sow thistles were by far the most
palatable of the kinds fed, and were, therefore, given in preference to other weeds so
far as the quantity obtainable allowed.

The other thing might be that they wanted to limit it to what they could easily control...If you feed a gazillion weeds, you won't know if one in particular is harmful if a rabbit dies.
 
'Controlled Study' is just that-- the controls are established in order to lessen the affects of extraneous influences. One of my professors would have given that research paper a 'B' grade. Why? because the rabbits used were not 'related' enough. It would have been best if every forage collection had everything fresh in the same proportion for each rabbit, and each rabbit ate everything on its plate. That way, choosing one 'weed', or type of feed over another would not be as great an influence on the results.
 
I understand how controlled studies work... but they do not tell you very much about the day to day reality of feeding your rabbits with gathered forage. Still... does establish that it is a viable practice and that the fryers can grow out well on forage alone.
 
I've turned a couple of new people onto the whole "feed greens" thing. Thanks to Maggie, I have a lot of info for them to peruse and use as reference. The Americans seem to do REALLY well on it, btw. Of course...they do pretty well on ANYTHING. Very adaptable critters, those americans.
 
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