Rabbit diet

[RichinOregon]

I am going to experiment on myself and start a Rabbit, Fish, and juicing diet. I will document my progress on video. What I am having a hard time understanding is this talk all over the net about rabbit starvation. Chicken has 2% more fat then rabbit and yet you never hear about chicken starvation. I looked for any information on rabbit starvation and found there is not one documented case of a human starving to death on a rabbit only diet.

Any ways I started putting my rabbits on Fodder Feed (Barley,Black oil sunflower seed) diet along with a few supplements and it is like they are becoming different animals. Does are producing more or better milk not sure what is going on but the kits are growing much faster (first 3 weeks when only nursing. My does have went to a average of 12 to a litter to 15 and I have even seen 16 in a litter. More kits are surviving now. All does and rabbits have more energy and seem to be happier, go figure healthier rabbit/ happier rabbit.

I am happier because I have cut my feed cost down hugely. So after seeing the effects a healthier diet and what it had done for my rabbits I thought why can I eat fodder also? Guess what People put fodder into a juicer and tout how happy and healthy they are also. So why not let nutrition in my bode and delete all the sugar and processed junk out of my diet. I mean look at how fat Americans are now, not many of us a very healthy any more. We are depressed and our minds do not think as clearly now. Just look at the average weight of Americans compared to now, somethings got to give. I am not trying to change anyone else I am just trying to be good to my state of being here on earth.

I am going to experiment on myself with a healthier diet, and it all started from researching the best diet for my rabbits. I guess except for the fish in my diet I will truly be eating a rabbit diet.

Thanks for listening to me
Rich

 

[AnnClaire]

Veerrrrry interesting ... please keep us posted!

I would also be interested in your rabbit feed ... I want to get away from pellets too, but have limited access to fresh forage, but do have access to quality grains and alfalfa.

 

[3mina]

"Rabbit starvation" means if the ONLY substance in your diet is rabbit you will starve eventually as rabbit has very little fat, unlike chicken, beef or pork. This doesn't mean that if you ate only chicken or beef or pork the same thing wouldn't happen but it would probably happen faster with rabbit. If you make rabbit your main protein and balance it with the rest of the things one needs you shouldn't have a problem. Good luck with your experiment

 

[akane]

You can live on just fruit, there's a whole fruitarian diet movement, so adding juice to a diet balances it quite a bit. The only thing you are missing is some fiber since the juice is strained and not straight fruit. You can also live on seafood alone as proven by those in very cold climates. So you really aren't testing anything.

 

[MaggieJ]

So you really aren't testing anything.

I don't quite agree, Akane. Rich is testing whether this rabbit/fish/juicing diet will be beneficial to his own health and well-being. I do think that his chosen diet is short on fibre and I think he would be well advised to add some whole vegetables to the diet.

 

[Frecs]

As a nutritionist (and former rawfoodist), eating a diet of just fruit (since fruitarianism was mentioned by a responder) is a recipe for disaster. Rawfoodism (fruits/veggies) is also a risk for nutritional deficiencies (ask me, I lived it in myself). Eating a diet of rabbit/fish/juicing might actually cover your protein, fats, and carbs but you are still going to run short on several things: fiber and B vitamins are the first two to come to mind. Depending on what you juice will determine what vitamins/minerals you will be short on.

Fiber is very important. Unless you have gastroparesis, I would recommend eating most of your fruits and veggies in their whole form...raw or cooked or both is better. I'd also recommend adding in some whole grains -- brown rice, sprouted wheat, quinoa, etc.

A few simple rules:
1. Eat real food (not processed frankenfood)
2. Mostly plants
3. Not so much of it
4. As close to the way God made it as possible (brown rice rather than white for example)

 

[OneAcreFarm]

As a nutritionist (and former rawfoodist), eating a diet of just fruit (since fruitarianism was mentioned by a responder) is a recipe for disaster. Rawfoodism (fruits/veggies) is also a risk for nutritional deficiencies (ask me, I lived it in myself). Eating a diet of rabbit/fish/juicing might actually cover your protein, fats, and carbs but you are still going to run short on several things: fiber and B vitamins are the first two to come to mind. Depending on what you juice will determine what vitamins/minerals you will be short on.

Fiber is very important. Unless you have gastroparesis, I would recommend eating most of your fruits and veggies in their whole form...raw or cooked or both is better. I'd also recommend adding in some whole grains -- brown rice, sprouted wheat, quinoa, etc.

A few simple rules:
1. Eat real food (not processed frankenfood)
2. Mostly plants
3. Not so much of it
4. As close to the way God made it as possible (brown rice rather than white for example)

:goodpost:

 

[Dood]

I started putting my rabbits on Fodder Feed (Barley,Black oil sunflower seed)

THATS IT! you must be letting them graze or give them hay or something. I do not believe it if you are sayiing your rabbits are living on ONLY barley and sunflower seeds and IMPROVING production.

Chicken has 2% more fat then rabbit

where did you get this fact?

Certain PARTS of chicken will have less fat than rabbit but a whole raw ground up chicken has ALOT more fat than a whole raw ground up rabbit.

If you are just going to eat the white meat of the chicken and not the dark tissues or skin then yes, you could die of chicken starvation.

 

[skysthelimit]

This thread made me smile. I am a very bad eater, eating mostly things that can go in the microwave for 5 minutes or less. My dogs eat better than I do. I would really like to try much harder to eat real food. I think I might be ready to eat my buns, only if I could get some litters to eat

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Quote:
I started putting my rabbits on Fodder Feed (Barley,Black oil sunflower seed)


THATS IT! you must be letting them graze or give them hay or something. I do not believe it if you are sayiing your rabbits are living on ONLY barley and sunflower seeds and IMPROVING production.

Dood, she * I mean HE... Sorry Rich! MSD is hogging the brain this morning!* said FODDER, which is first sprouted and then grown for 5-9 days, not just the dry grains. There are numerous studies which indicate this to be an excellent way to feed livestock in general. Although, I agree that they also need the roughage that hay provides, as is also indicated in much of the research I am reading.

 

[Dood]

Oh, I thought fodder meant like a scratch mix or something.

That sounds healthier, I was worried they would soon be coming down with enteritis and all start dying.

I would think that all that green barley and sunflower seed sprouts, since it is only 9 days old, is not a complete diet either, better than just grain, but not complete and certainly not much roughage.

Sprouting grains is not cost effective for me and my 9 hole rabbitry, plus I only get 6 hours of daylight in the winter and I am not converting a room into a green house, but if his rabbits are thriving then great.

 

[skysthelimit]

At 9 days old, it is actually at a very high nutritional peak, and the nutrients are more readily accessible and digestible.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Oh, I thought fodder meant like a scratch mix or something.

That sounds healthier, I was worried they would soon be coming down with enteritis and all start dying.

I would think that all that green barley and sunflower seed sprouts, since it is only 9 days old, is not a complete diet either, better than just grain, but not complete and certainly not much roughage.

Sprouting grains is not cost effective for me and my 9 hole rabbitry, plus I only get 6 hours of daylight in the winter and I am not converting a room into a green house, but if his rabbits are thriving then great.

Take a look at these, just for you own info....

http://grannysbest.blogspot.com/search/ ... art%201%29

http://pacapride.wordpress.com/2012/11/ ... roduction/

I found both journeys to be excellent reading!

 

[Dood]

Thank you for the links and I am impressed!

I thought there would be soil or fertilizer involved and I didn't think they would grow an inch a day.

I may give this a try.

 

[RichinOregon]

I am sorry I did not mention that my rabbits are also given meadow grass hay. As far as the diet I will be starting for myself I have a bit more research to do before I start. The general Idea is to eliminate store bought meats. I raise my own rabbits so I know exactly what they are being fed. Luckily I live on the coast in Oregon so I have all the shell fish, salmon,trout,bass, and whatever is migrating around our coastal waters. We have a lot of rain so my animals are fed rain water most of the year. I am 5'9 and weigh 245lbs, I just want to cut sugars, unhealthy fats and get myself off of the carbs. Of course I will eat vegetables, so I will get plenty of fiber. But I believe we were meant to eat live foods, or close to live as possible. So I will use the rabbit manure and earth worms that I raise to help nourish my veggies in the green house. If you think i am making a big mistake let me know, but what I have been doing to myself the last 49 years is making me sick.

 

[Dood]

I would eat the pulp as well as the juice from the plant matter in your diet, fibre is very important for intestinal health. You need to keep the good bacteria happy or the bad will take over, good bacteria eat fibre.

 

[3mina]

I am sorry I did not mention that my rabbits are also given meadow grass hay. As far as the diet I will be starting for myself I have a bit more research to do before I start. The general Idea is to eliminate store bought meats. I raise my own rabbits so I know exactly what they are being fed. Luckily I live on the coast in Oregon so I have all the shell fish, salmon,trout,bass, and whatever is migrating around our coastal waters. We have a lot of rain so my animals are fed rain water most of the year. I am 5'9 and weigh 245lbs, I just want to cut sugars, unhealthy fats and get myself off of the carbs. Of course I will eat vegetables, so I will get plenty of fiber. But I believe we were meant to eat live foods, or close to live as possible. So I will use the rabbit manure and earth worms that I raise to help nourish my veggies in the green house. If you think i am making a big mistake let me know, but what I have been doing to myself the last 49 years is making me sick.

I don't think you're making a mistake at all in working to improve your diet. Real food is always preferable to store food

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I am sorry I did not mention that my rabbits are also given meadow grass hay. As far as the diet I will be starting for myself I have a bit more research to do before I start. The general Idea is to eliminate store bought meats. I raise my own rabbits so I know exactly what they are being fed. Luckily I live on the coast in Oregon so I have all the shell fish, salmon,trout,bass, and whatever is migrating around our coastal waters. We have a lot of rain so my animals are fed rain water most of the year. I am 5'9 and weigh 245lbs, I just want to cut sugars, unhealthy fats and get myself off of the carbs. Of course I will eat vegetables, so I will get plenty of fiber. But I believe we were meant to eat live foods, or close to live as possible. So I will use the rabbit manure and earth worms that I raise to help nourish my veggies in the green house. If you think i am making a big mistake let me know, but what I have been doing to myself the last 49 years is making me sick.

Rich, you should look into the Paleo way of eating...sounds similar to what you are wanting to accomplish. Basically, you eat the following:

Lean meats
Fish
Shellfish
Fruits and vegetables
Nuts and seeds

Here is a link to a site that you can check out....

http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/

 

[BroodCoop]

Congratulatons on your resolution.

This link might help in your research even though they seem to have incomplete information for domestic rabbit. If you are not on blood thinners eat all of the greens you can tolerate.

There is a lot of bad information out there on diet but we all know pretty well what we need to do. Admit that you are addicted to bad food and that addiction is a human trait and not a disease. Deal with it.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/lam ... cts/4646/2

 

[coffeenutdesigns]

Those are great blog posts, OAF! I recently saw a man on craigslist selling fodder "starter kits" and was wondering how the fodder thing works. I think all my animals could benefit from something similar.