Kelp

[cereshill]

I starting feeding canadian kelp last night. Free choice in little crocks; one cage of does ate the whole thing overnight. I have a litter with mom and they are mowing it down...

Interesting eh?

 

[MaggieJ]

Yes, it is. What does it contain and are there any concerns about the rabbits getting too much of any one nutrient. I'm asking because it is not a source of nutrition that I would expect wild European rabbits to have access to and therefore it requires, in my opinion, a close look at its compostion. Can you post a link so I can look into it a bit more?

It will be interesting to see if it helps your rabbits' fertility problems. I hope so!

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

http://www.bio-ag.com/products/feedsupplements/kelpmeal.html

Now this link has to be taken with a grain of salt, lol because it is a feed company link, but they do cite other sources as well. It does sound very interesting though!

 

[cereshill]

Acadian Seaplant Ltd
Nova Scotia, CA<br /><br />__________ Sun Apr 03, 2011 9:10 am __________<br /><br />Devon,
Your link mentions the manufacturer I have.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

They had quite a bit of info on that site, which is why i used it, normally don't like to use the link of a company selling whatever it is because they obviously won't say much bad... lol but this seems to be an informative company looking to improve livestock yields. Do you think your rabbits may have underactive thyroids? It says that is associated with low fertility. something i have never thought of before... thanks for posting!

 

[cereshill]

Devon
I do not know, however we are moving towards our own feed:
organic dairy alfalfa ground with naked oats and kelp.

Cost will be around $300/ton---1/4 less than current feed cost--and organic to boot!

 

[hoodat]

Let me know the results. Our beaches are littered with the stuff but I suppose I'd have to wash out the salt; that's why I never bothered with it for the garden. I do know that kelp is one of the few natural sources that is high in iodine. It's sold for that purpose by natural food stores.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

I think that all the kelp that is used is sun-dried. So you could rinse off any dirt and the hang it in the sun on some sort of rack! I doubt you need very much per rabbit!

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Kelp as an addition to the diet of many animals has proven beneficial-- there are micronutrients present that are lacking in many soils. Using the bunny berries in your garden also helps get those kelp related nutrients into YOUR diet- it is called 'importing fertility' by those of us who are interested in boosting soil health!!!

 

[Frecs]

I starting feeding canadian kelp last night. Free choice in little crocks; one cage of does ate the whole thing overnight. I have a litter with mom and they are mowing it down...

Interesting eh?

An old topic but I wanted to ask...how did the kelp benefit (or not) your rabbits? I've read multiple websites that have said not to feed kelp to rabbits but wanted to see what your experience was over a period of time.