newbie needing help!

[yolosenger]

Ok, so in my post in introductions I stated that the rabbits got out of my pen, I have caught the young ones and I have 9 that I'll do for fryers.

I'm not exactly sure how old they are, but they're from two different litters.
They are around 2lbs each at current.
I'm hoping to have some bunny ready for Xmas but no problem if not.
Any tips on feeding them up?
What would be the optimal way to do this next time round? Feeding wise.

 

[Zass]

In your other post, you mentioned willow, pellets and veggies. This sounds like a good diet to me. Do you know what percentage protein your pellets are?

It's often cited that 18% is optimum...but...Sometimes my mutts get to better weights faster on 16% than some people's NZ get on 18%. So...I strongly suspect that genetics and how adapted your rabbits are to the feed is more important than exact protein percentage.

The only real hard and fast rule I can give you when it comes to feeding fryers is NEVER change up what they get. Let them finish on whatever you started them on. Preferably, the same feed that the doe was on during pregnancy.
Any digestive upset from introducing a new food can potentially cost you a week or more of growth.

I've actually seen an inexperienced rabbit owner kill off his fryers by trying to find richer and richer feeds to give them. That's just not how rabbits work.

 

[akane]

Fast growth is what high protein rabbit foods were made for. Any 18% pellet has about an equal chance of working. If you select one and feed it consistently while keeping the best rabbits then your rabbits will start to do better on that pellet than some other brands. Even if you use other things I would start with the pellet. Grains and oils can put on weight but often more of it is fat which doesn't work as well on a rabbit because the meat does not marble. The fat just forms it's own layers and clumps. I dislike corn in particular and found calf manna is not an improvement over straight grains with even more potential to cause health problems. The risks for digestive tract upset increase as you look at the high carb, high fat, low fiber foods. Sunflower seeds have a whole lot of kcals and good protein if you get the hulled packages sold for birds instead of whole seeds. The hull adds lots of fiber and greatly lowers the protein percentage. I'm not sure the meat quality you would get from much sunflower seed use though. Usually it's given in whole seed as a coat and cold weather supplement in amounts around a tablespoon.

 

[yolosenger]

I will be buying some rabbit pellets today as they have been on grass, willow and veges with some horse pellets that I had laying around.

I just looked up the pellet I was planning on buying and it says you should stop feeding it 5 days prior to slaughter, does that sound right to you guys?

 

[WhiteWingRabbitry]

I personally would be leery of any pellet you have to stop feeding x-days before butchering. That usually means there there is something in the pellet (medication, steroid, etc) that is not good for you to ingest and will be present in the the meat prior to completing the withdrawal period. I've personally never seen a RABBIT pellet with that (at least here in the USA). I would strongly suggest looking for a non-medicated/steroid pellet, but I'm raising mine to get away from medicated/steroid meat.

 

[yolosenger]

Just popped into the feed store and got a different (and cheaper) feed.

It is 17% protein and the babies are tucking into it well.

I felt the same as you about those other pellets, something a little concerning about them having a withholding period.

Today is the first day I haven't seen my does or bucks, I'm a bit miffed off to be honest, I'll give it another week and I might have to go looking for some new stock.

I was hoping to have a new litter soon but these things happen.

__________ Thu Dec 04, 2014 10:51 am __________

<br /><br /> __________ Thu Dec 04, 2014 1:33 pm __________ <br /><br /> Ok and just like that I'm picking up two new does today, exciting!

I'm thinking I'll get another buck at a later date if Earl doesn't ever show up again.

Still bloody annoyed that my favorite doe is gone, at least her sister is still hanging about.

I post photos later today of the newbies and also of my buns in the grow hutches.