oats

[ohiogoatgirl]

my local place i get my goat feed at has oats 50# bag for $13. is that a good price for oats? this is the first i've seen them. its a small place and they cant always order all the same things so things kinda come and go as per what they stock.

any precautions when feeding oats?
thanks

 

[akane]

That's a little lower than we get them here. We quit doing straight grains because it turned out straight grains were near the same price as rabbit pellets which are $15 now so it was pointless provided we could find a good pellet. Maybe some year if I get my big rabbit barn and have the money I will do bulk orders from the grain mills and get custom grain mixes much more cost effective.

 

[skysthelimit]

Same thing here. Oats are now $18 a bag. Might as well buy MannoPro show formula for that price.

 

[MaggieJ]

I don't see it that way. On a natural, hay-based diet, the grain is only a small part of the total feed. It goes a lot farther than the same amount of pellets. In summer, especially, with lots of free greens, it is FAR cheaper for me to feed hay/greens/grain than pellets.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

See if there is a local feed mill around. I get oats 100 pounds for $13.50. They are clean rolled oats.

 

[MaggieJ]

I just paid $10.50 for 40 kg. (88 pounds) of whole wheat. With alfalfa hay at $3.50 a square bale and free greens, that does not seem like such a bad deal to me. I realize that in other parts of North America, good alfalfa hay is far more expensive and it may be cheaper to feed pellets since they are "complete".

 

[skysthelimit]

I don't see it that way. On a natural, hay-based diet, the grain is only a small part of the total feed. It goes a lot farther than the same amount of pellets. In summer, especially, with lots of free greens, it is FAR cheaper for me to feed hay/greens/grain than pellets.

True, if I had enough land and time to gather feed 40 rabbits.

 

[MaggieJ]

Hard to gather greens for 40 rabbits. I do realize that not everyone has the opportunities that I have. I have, at present, four does, a buck and 6 youngsters. With our two horrid dry spells this summer (mercifully ended this week) gathering greens has been difficult. Another few days should see some regeneration though. Meanwhile, the rabbits have been eating more hay but the same amount of grain... Approximately 1/4-2/3 per cup per rabbit per day.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Meanwhile, the rabbits have been eating more hay but the same amount of grain... Approximately 1/4-2/3 per cup per rabbit per day.

I wonder if I am overfeeding the grain. Some of mine will eat a whole cup, others get maybe half to 3/4. Some of the bucks seem to be close to a quarter of a cup.

Of course, my herd is fairly new to this diet, and you have fed this way for years now.

 

[trinityoaks]

I don't see it that way. On a natural, hay-based diet, the grain is only a small part of the total feed. It goes a lot farther than the same amount of pellets. In summer, especially, with lots of free greens, it is FAR cheaper for me to feed hay/greens/grain than pellets.

You are right about that.

Another reason I feed grains (and would do so even if it were more costly than pellets) is that I never have to wonder what is going in to my rabbit feed. I have seen SOOOOOOO many people have issues, lose rabbits, etc. to bad feed. How do you put a price on that?

I wonder if I am overfeeding the grain. Some of mine will eat a whole cup, others get maybe half to 3/4. Some of the bucks seem to be close to a quarter of a cup.

I give each of my rabbits one small tuna-can full of grain per day. I think that works out to about 1/2 to 3/4 cup. If they happen not to clean it all up within 24 hours, I reduce it the next day. (I free-feed kits, nursing does, and does that are in their last week before they're due to kindle).

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I give each of my rabbits one small tuna-can full of grain per day.

I measured the volume of a standard sized tuna can (7oz), since a lot of people here on RT use them to measure- believe it or not, it is one dry cup.

 

[akane]

I don't see it that way. On a natural, hay-based diet, the grain is only a small part of the total feed. It goes a lot farther than the same amount of pellets. In summer, especially, with lots of free greens, it is FAR cheaper for me to feed hay/greens/grain than pellets.

Not if you feed pellets the same as you feed grains. Then you get a grain mix with added vitamins, minerals, and protein for the same price. I only feed pellets twice a week instead of a small amount daily since we check the stable rabbits every other day. The rest is unlimited hay and once a week greens with a mineral block. This is working better than trying to make up the protein and vitamin/mineral loss of grains versus complete feed pellets. Pellets are still just a little supplement but a more complete one for the same price.

 

[SatinsRule]

Grains are a good idea as a food source in most cases, but some rabbits won't eat it. That was evident to me when I tried to supplement my rabbits' diets with oats, BOSS and barley a little over a year ago. A little more than half my rabbits at it well, but a significant number of them wouldn't eat anything but their pelleted feed.

Even today, when I'm keeping hay in the rack for every cage in the barn, there are some rabbits who don't seem to care much for eating hay. Straight grain and hay feeding is definitely not an end-all/be-all method, but it does work very well for the ones which do eat it.

 

[skysthelimit]

Hay just gets wasted, no matter what contraption I try to use, nearly 50% of it falls to the trays. I can get good hay again, not sure how long that will last, but pulling off hay for them, having to open cages to put it in hay racks is even more time consuming than anything else.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

Hay just gets wasted, no matter what contraption I try to use, nearly 50% of it falls to the trays. I can get good hay again, not sure how long that will last, but pulling off hay for them, having to open cages to put it in hay racks is even more time consuming than anything else.

yes it is messy and very time consuming .... But they should have it. If you ever come down with entritis ,you know why.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Sky I wish you were closer to where I will be in a few weeks. I would bring you a few bales of alfalfa /grass mix hay.

 

[skysthelimit]

yes it is messy and very time consuming .... But they should have it. If you ever come down with entritis ,you know why.

Don't get me wrong. I feed hay, it used to be much cheaper, and all rabbits got it every day. Now they get hay 3-4 times a week, kits and weanling under 4 mos get it every day. They hay is cheaper than pellets, and I do at least one day where they get nothing but hay and maple/mulberry tree leaves to try and stretch pellets. I still get enteritis. It's in the lines. That particular doe will go to the snake man the next visit.