Rabbit Feed Choices....

[tm_bunnyloft]

I see so many different feeds that people are using and I am trying to make sense of it all.

Some say they feed 16% protein Rabbit feed pellets, Others 18%.

Some say they feed Alfalfa pellets, others dont. Some feed Boss and some don't.

Some feed actual hay and some feed cubes.

Some feed a pellet free diet.

What feeds and Brands and amounts are you feeding your Rabbits and why? Maybe this will help me figure out what is best to feed my BUNZ!!

I bought a bag of producers prime rabbit feed 16% from TSC and they seem to like it well enough and all seem fat and healthy. Maybe to fat even.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I no longer feed rabbit pellets because of the experiences of other raisers who have had bad batches of feed and lost all or most of their herd.

I now feed a grain mix, alfalfa hay, and fresh forage as available. Sometimes I feed bermuda, rye, or 3-way hay to them, but since we just bought 174 bales of alfalfa, they wont be getting anything other than that for a few months.

I feed anywhere between 1/2 and 1 cup of grain mix to each rabbit depending on their consumption. Does with kits get more. I have "creep feeders" in the doe cages, and those are kept full for the kits. Weaned growers are free fed.

My mix is:
4lbs Oats
4lbs Barley
2lbs BOSS
2lbs Beet Pulp.

I also buy plain alfalfa pellets and feed those every couple of days but do so separately because I have had issues with feed scratching when I added it to my grain mix. I also give hay cubes about once a week for variety, and I give Apple/Oat horse cookies as a treat after nail trims, breeding, nest checks, and once or twice a week to everybody whether they deserve it or not!

 

[Tegan]

18% pen pal. Why? Cause it was cheap and the guy at the feed store said if I'm breeding heavy (for meat) that's what they should be on. They'll also get alfalfa/grass mix hay. Honestly, I don't know what the heck I'm doing LOL, but I'll let ya know how it works out!<br /><br />__________ Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:10 pm __________<br /><br />Hey MSD, do you need to give salt/mineral block with your mixture?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Ideally I would like to have two or more feeders in each cage so I could offer different feeds at the same time, but that hasn't happened yet!

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

:bunnyhop:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

When I used pellets, all I could find was 16%, and they did fine.

 

[tnelsonfla]

I feed a mixture of Mazuri's timothy feed and Purina's Fibre3 both are around 15% protein, 2% fat and have high fiber of over 20%. I supplement with approx 1 tablespoon of a grain/seed mix (barley,oats,boss,flax&safflower). If you wanted to add more protein you could add calf manna which I believe is 26% protein.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

i free feed pellets (producers pride, $13 per 50# bag at my TSC) and my rabbits have all done good with it.
i feed lots of hay. they dont have it constantly though because i've found they just stample it and waste 60% or more when i do. now i just toss in a decent handful at morning and evening feedings instead of sticking a whole bunch in at once. even in hay feeders mine seem to be all play and no eat with the hay.
i feed BOSS when i have it. and oats when i have it. i hope to start feeding more of homeharvested things. i was cutting grass everyday but with the heat and dry its just dry grass and the rabbits dont like it. but with the rain seeming to come back now hopefully i can start cutting grass for them again. they really eat alot of it and stayed bigger on it.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

I started with producers pride but usually get feed from my local feed mill. Not TSC. I called today and they said they have a 16% feed for $10 a 50 pound bag. I figure I will start feeding that and suppliment with calfmanna which is 25% protein.

What all do you use for supplementing more calcium before doe delivers. And at what time do you recommend giving this?

my rabbits also get as much hay as they want, fed free choice. I know its wasteful but I don't mind.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I called today and they said they have a 16% feed for $10 a 50 pound bag.

Find out the ingredients. That seems very inexpensive for a quality feed.

What all do you use for supplementing more calcium before doe delivers.

Berry flavored Tums. I put a tab in a couple of days before they are due. I only started offering them recently, and never had any problems before. But better safe than sorry.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Both are purina feeds. I called them to verify.

Purina Rabbit Chow Complete $10

Purina Rabbit Chow Show $15

They have really great prices there and That is why I usually buy from them. My grain costs $13 for 100 pounds for my horses even.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Wow! Lucky you! Care to babysit a few horses for the winter? :lol:

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

I just paid $2.50 a bale for hay and if I need more it will be $3 a bale. There are advantages to living in the middle of know where. lol

Do they come with a bunch of Rex bunnies?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

We just paid $13 each for 2' x 4' bales of alfalfa. It is nice hay- they started growing it 17 years ago to feed their own livestock hay that was pesticide and herbicide free, so I am especially happy to have it for the rabbits since we eat them. It is not certified organic, but they do grow it organically.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Mine is grown organically too. I love it. I have friends who's horses colic and such all the time it seems but mine haven't since I lived in Florida. I just helped a friend with a colic horse 2 days ago.

I like not having to worry about chemicals they may be getting. I also have my horse grain mixed with locally grown grains. Im considering dropping the pellets for the rabbits and just feeding hay and grains.
But not sure which grains to feed.
Oh I would supplement calf manna separately though for extra protein when needed.

So I see from your post I could mix 50 lb oats, 50 lb barley, 25 boss, and 25 beet pulp. Do you have to suppliment anything else like calf manna to your does or kits?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Oh I would supplement calf manna separately though for extra protein when needed.

I used to give a little Calf Manna to does when they had litters and never had any issues. But I don't want to feed corn to my rabbits for fear of the mytotoxins that moldy corn can have- and calf manna contains a lot of corn. I still feed it to our horses though.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Could I just use barley? or do they need the oats nutritionally? And should I feed the pellets or shreds?

__________ Thu Aug 09, 2012 6:31 pm __________

I know that moldy corn can cause a number of issues with horses. colic or diarreah come right to mind. But what does it do to rabbits?
If it is in a processed pellet is it something that will take effect over time or right away if you get a bad bunch of feed?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I like to give a mix of grain just because they have a different nutrient profile, so I am just trying to "cover my bases"... I have also fed wheat when I was rotating it out of our food storage.

Rolled oats are a great first food for baby bunnies too, so I just include it in the mix.

The mytotoxins cause neurological issues and sometimes leads to death. I would imagine that a small amount of contamination would cause a gradual increase in symptoms, whereas a really bad batch would cause a more immediate and severe reaction.

 

[skysthelimit]

I have used MannoPro, Producers Pride and Buckeye. They are all about $15 a bag. I am trying Purina because it's all the local store had. I feed whatever I can get my hands on, what's reasonable priced and seems ok. I have not had any difference in feeds, I have seen no affects good or bad from using BOSS or oats, kind of an expensive waste of money, as they are the same price or more expensive than pellets. No reason to supplement pellets when I can use that money to buy a higher protein pellet.
I try to give some forage when available, but it lowers the protein % and slows down the growth of my already slow Rexes.

 

[Piper]

So I see from your post I could mix 50 lb oats, 50 lb barley, 25 boss, and 25 beet pulp. Do you have to suppliment anything else like calf manna to your does or kits?

There is a good feed sticky, that has several different grain mix - recipes. I found that getting barley or wheat around here is hard, unless I want to buy human grade. I have been having to do a modified pellets, oats, hay and grass.