Wow only 2/3 per day. I thought I was being frugal with only 3/4. So do you think I can get away with only 1/2 of 18% feed per rabbit per day? We get a good soy-free feed (country acres) it is kinda expensive so we don’t want to overload if we don’t have to. Do you give expecting or nursing does more pellets?
Thanks I appreciate all your experience
Satins are a particularly feed-efficient breed, even more than Cals or New Zealands, so you may not be able to get away with as little feed as I do.
I start out free-feeding growers, but once they reach maturity or are near their senior weight, I restrict the pellets.
I generally figure out how much to give my rabbits by feeding them at about the same time each day, and measuring their feed. When I come back to feed them the next day, I want to see the feeder empty and the rabbits hungry. If they have pellets left, I reduce their ration; if they are crazy ravenous, increase the ration. In all these years, I have rarely or maybe even never had an adult Satin need more than 2/3 cup per day, though I have had individuals that got fat on that and needed much less (in the range of 1/2 cup per day for a couple of does who just stay fat on barely anything). Our Polish bunnies eat a scant 1/3 cup per day, sometimes even less than that.
I also handle and observe my rabbits a lot, and keep tabs on their body condition. If I start to see or feel spine or ribs, I up the ration a little. More often, though, the problem is fat - squishy, flabby shoulders are the tip-off. In that case I reduce the ration, but I do give them hay so that they don't feel like they're starving and miserable while they slim down.
For pregnant and nursing does, I do not increase the ration, unless the doe seems to be losing condition, when I would up the amount of feed I give her. But generally I keep them on the same ration until the kits are coming out and eating from the feeder, at which point I shift to free-feeding. However I do often supplement nursing does that have normal-to-large litters, with a tablespoon of BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) per day. The additional fat seems to help them produce plenty of milk for the kits, and they maintain their body condition nicely. A side benefit is that I give them BOSS in a treat cup when I pull the box for a nest check, and very quickly the does are all too happy to have me mess around in their nest box!
I don't routinely feed hay, because it is a headache to clean up after, especially in the winter. But I do know that when I tractor the grow-outs in the summer, they eat FAR less pellets than ones grown in cages. I still offer them pellets, but they consume about half what the caged bunnies do. Interestingly, they look smaller and have lower live weights than the caged bunnies, but at butchering, I get about the same amount of meat - the caged bunnies just have a ton more fat than the very lean tractored bunnies. So a least in this case, I'm buying some of the pellets to make fat (which I don't especially want, but do not throw away).
To answer your specific question about feeding 1/2 cup of 18% pellets, I'd say you'd have to give it a try and watch how your rabbits respond. I'm not sure that feeding less pellets of a higher protein content is necessarily a good trade-off, but you can try it and if it works, go for it. In my herd, I have found that it is less the percentage of protein and more the fat content that determines condition.
