Natural Feed

[baefull.wolfbunnies]

Hi Guys.

So from the beginning I wanted to feed my rabbits a natural diet because from the research I did before even thinking of getting rabbits; which was between 4 to 6 months between me starting research and deciding that it was time to get rabbits, it seemed the best for the rabbit. I have a rather simple fodder system set up and my garden is in the seedling stage, if the almanac is correct I will have 220 days for a growing season.

Again from the research I did I will need to figure out how to get my rabbits 18% protein in their daily food. To accomplish that at the moment I feed them unlimited Timothy hay, the fodder grass (which is a Foragemax Pasture Grasses [a mix of Savory Tall Fescue, Amba Orchardgrass, Calibra Ryegrass, Tetraploid Ryegrass, and a little bit of clover]) However if I want my husband to help I need to change the hay, he can only help or visit the bunnies for >10 minutes at a time before his eyes start to water and his nose plugs up. But the only other hay in my area is Alfalfa, and I read that it isn't necessarily the best thing to feed adult rabbits because it is too high in protein.

My other question is since I will be feeding them from the garden and hay will I need to pick them up salt/mineral licks? I bought 1 before but it got relegated to a corner of DaBunnah's cage and left to melt. Which being in the Pacific Northwest didn't really take all that long. Any suggestions?

My garden seedlings so far (for rabbit consumption)
Blue Curled Kale
Italian Parsley
Chantenay & Scarlet Nantes Carrots

:all-ears:

 

[Rainey]

We just started last spring so don't have as much experience as many folks here--and don't have your long growing season. If hay is a serious allergy issue I wonder if you could use trees for some of the roughage and chewing. We fed willow from just budded last spring and dried a bunch when it was in new leaf in May which we're feeding this winter. The willow is good protein as is mulberry. Lots of other trees also edible, leaves and twigs--see Maggie's safe plants list. We fed apple, poplar, ash, and sumac last summer. This winter we're feeding wheat fodder to replace some of the fresh forage. And don't forget the weeds as soon as they emerge in spring--don't know what all you have there but dandelion is great feed and grows pretty much everywhere.
Good luck--I look forward to hearing about what you find works for your rabbits.

 

[baefull.wolfbunnies]

Thanks Rainey, I have skimmed Maggie's plant list (but I need to read it more in depth), we have a few trees but not many. There is a hill near our house that becomes overgrown with dandelions but I know my neighbor who's property borders the hill sprays them shortly before they sprout with roundup so I'm not sure I want to feed them that. I am planning on growing buckwheat as well I just haven't found the seeds locally yet. We have Apple, Plum, Peach, and Pear saplings we planted last year and might be due for a trim, I had planned on those trimmings going to the bunnies. I also have roses and a blueberry bush that will get pruned this week. Most of whats in my yard is Ivy, Morning Glory, Holly and a bit of clover I'm not sure I want my bun's eating ivy (I've heard it gives them then runs).

 

[MaggieJ]

My natural diet for rabbits was based on alfalfa hay, small amounts of whole grain (usually wheat but sometimes barley) and as much fresh feed (or dried greens) as the season allows. In winter, the "fresh" portion was limited and included more vegetables than the summer diet, which leaned heavily on the weeds and trees in my list. My rabbits have always done well on this, but they take 14-16 weeks to reach butchering size compared to 10-12 weeks on pellets. But the meat tastes better.

Edited to add:
Apple and pear trimmings are fine, but peach and plum (and any other single stoned fruit trees like cherry, nectarine etc.) are not desirable for rabbits.

Rose bushes and blueberry are safe, but ivy is somewhat toxic and I think, also, morning glory and holly. Clover is fine, except for sweet clover, which can be problematic. I would not feed any plants that have been sprayed. Pity about those dandelions.

Please add your state or province to your profile. It will help us to make suggestions that you may find helpful.

 

[baefull.wolfbunnies]

Ok, Thanks Maggie. I will have to test it and see. There is a city law where I live that any livestock (ie: rabbits, ducks, chickens, quail, goats, etc) over 12 weeks of age is considered an "adult" and having 6 or more adults requires a special city permit. I may have to adjust their feeding method a bit. Do you give your doe raspberry tea to help them with their pregnancy or no? I've heard it does wonders for does just like how raspberry is good for us girls.

 

[MaggieJ]

Check my previous post for edits I made to it.

I have never given the does raspberry tea (although I can't see it being a problem) but raspberry and blackberry leaves are a standard part of the summer diet and I have often dried the canes, with leaves, for winter feeding.

Mulberry and willow are well worth planting for their leaves. Both are very nutritious for rabbits and fast growing and can be fed fresh or dried.

 

[baefull.wolfbunnies]

i will try to find someone with either a willow or mulberry. I don't have room for anymore trees. Being in the middle of the city I am lucky to have as large of a property as I do (1/4 acre) last year I planted 5 fruit trees and they took up most of the backyard. Now more of my back yard is taken up by my wonderful bunnies. Thank you Maggie for your post, it had a few on it that I didn't know about.

 

[Marinea]

We also grow a lot of items for our buns. Kale, parsley and carrots, as you do (carrot tops for the buns- the carrots themselves as treats only), but we also grow turnip greens, romaine lettuce, mint, beets (tops), plantains (a "weed" that you can buy seeds for and is an excellent bunny plant), and spinach.

By the way, not sure where you live with that long growing season, but if you happen to have any of that awful kudzu around, the buns LOVE it. <br /><br /> __________ Mon Feb 02, 2015 5:59 pm __________ <br /><br />

We also grow a lot of items for our buns. Kale, parsley and carrots, as you do (carrot tops for the buns- the carrots themselves as treats only), but we also grow turnip greens, romaine lettuce, mint, beets (tops), plantains (a "weed" that you can buy seeds for and is an excellent bunny plant), and spinach.

By the way, not sure where you live with that long growing season, but if you happen to have any of that awful kudzu around, the buns LOVE it.

Oh, as to the mineral block melting- some here break off a piece at a time and put in a container in the cage (like an empty tuna can or something). That way the salt hopefully won't affect the cage metal.

 

[baefull.wolfbunnies]

I live in the Pacific North West, about an hour north of Seattle, and 5 hours from the border of Canada. So most of that growing season is damp, but useful. I had the salt lick on a stoneware plate but he kept taking the slat lick off and playing with the plate. Which I was afraid would hurt his teeth so I took it out. Oh well.

 

[LPH_NY]

Most weeds can be dried during the growing season and stored for winter, if you want to replace the hay altogether. In addition to all the great suggestions, if you live in a pretty wet area, you might want to look for some cattails (Typha latifolia). I wait until they are a few feet tall, then pull them out as close to the base as possible. Then with a pair of scissors I snip them into 2 inch long pieces. My buns LOVED them, last summer. Only one out of 35 rabbits turned his nose up at them, but he was super picky about a lot of forage. This year I'll be planting some strips of rabbit forage as soon as it starts to thaw. I'll be able to gather chicory, winter peas (greens only), birdsfoot trefoil, vetch and sunflowers (another one that is a HUGE hit with the rabbits - they love the massive leaves and thick stalks!). I'm hoping that the willow cuttings I planted last year will thrive this year, but the ducks have stripped them down to twigs.

Purely anecdotal, so don't take this as medical advice... but I had HORRIBLE hay fever in the past everytime I handled hay. (I had pet rats years ago that were supposed to get hay cubes, but being in the same room with them made me miserable, so I had to stop giving them the hay cubes.) Both timothy and alfalfa bothered me tremendously and I avoided them like the plague. My husband also suffered from hay fever everytime the local farmers cut the fields. Fast forward to moving to NY and getting rabbits... we started using RAW, LOCAL honey every single morning (in our coffee or on a spoon.) Neither of us had any seasonal allergy symptoms this past year and I have had NO issues giving the hay to my bunnies. The hay is also locally grown.. and I think that helps. It might be worth trying if you don't want to give up hay altogether and happen to like the taste of honey. I used to have to take Zyrtec daily from spring until the end of fall... I think I took maybe ten pills during 2014 and those were needed only when I actually got sick with a cold and had sinus issues.

 

[baefull.wolfbunnies]

Most weeds can be dried during the growing season and stored for winter, if you want to replace the hay altogether. In addition to all the great suggestions, if you live in a pretty wet area, you might want to look for some cattails (Typha latifolia).

we started using RAW, LOCAL honey every single morning (in our coffee or on a spoon.)

I would use local weeds, however being in the middle of a city I know a lot of my neighbor use pesticides and roundup. I really don't want the buns eating that. As to the raw honey, the local honey around here are from the same areas as I know the city sprays for weeds; also the local bee keepers like to charge about $30 a pint for there honey.