Trinity Oaks' grain-feed mix

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

Thanks , I started tonight. They sure went for grains right off the bat...Is it ok for the small babies with mom to have it too?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Is it ok for the small babies with mom to have it too?

I start giving it to mine while they are still in the nest, and have had no problems.

 

[WildWolf]

Can any type of vinegar help with digestion? I've never heard of using vinegar before- then again I'm very new to all this.

 

[Piper]

trying to figure out requirements of all my animals. I have worms and black solder flys for chickens - so that is why they are in this too. Are any of the rabbit - or - grain percentages off?

18% Rabbit nursing mama's and growing kits
18% Chicken
17% Guinea Pig
16% Rabbit (RT recomend)
13% Rabbit
-feed % can decrease when feeding hay, factor in hay protein

Protein
76 % Dried earthworms
58 % Mealworm
42 % Dried black soldier fly
28 % Earthworms (fresh)
26.3% boss
14 % Oats
12.5% wheat
12.3% barley
7 % Beet Pulp - can be as high as 10%

[Rabbit - base of two diff formulas - there are extras: salt, ect.]
Trinity Oaks' grain-feed mix
6 parts oats
1 part barley
1 part wheat
1 part BOSS (cold weather only)
Goat Drench - lactating

MamaSheepdog
4 lbs barley
4 lbs oats
2 lbs BOSS
2 lbs Beet Pulp (shreds)

 

[trinityoaks]

Piper, if you're grain-feeding, the bulk of their protein will come from alfalfa (hay, cubes, pellets). If you want to use alfalfa pellets, you can add four parts of that to the mix I described. My buns don't care for the pellets. I used to give them free-choice alfalfa hay, but I haven't been able to get the hay since I moved, so I've switched to cubes.

It's been a while since I looked at protein percentages. I'll have to see whether I can dig up the info I found.

Just to clarify, hopefully you already know not to give the worms/flies to the rabbits, just the chickens.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I use 6 parts oats
one part...wheat
one part...barley
one part ....shredded beet pulp with mollass. I am going to increase that to 2 parts
2 parts of alfafla pellets
3 cups of Boss . I will be increasing that to one part in the fall
One part.... peas.
every other day i give old fashion oat meal and sunshine supp.

Along with veg and grass clippings weeds, apples, bananas, leaves off trees ,, is one tree i am not to sure what it is . But they love the leaves off of it. Also lots of hay. alfalfa hay mostly if i run out of that. I give them grass hay. MOm on the same day of delivery gets one tum in her water. I also give tea in there water for a day when i think of it. It does better than the vinegar. They like it better too.

 

[Piper]

Tums or molasses - I was on the fence, on that - until I saw this in another thread.

If it contains molasses more than a teaspoon will cause diahrea.

- hay - I knew that hay had 's o m e' protein, but I saw this

clover hay which can be over 20% protein.

and I will need to get the protein content of hay, to have a better idea of the formula

Just to clarify, hopefully you already know not to give the worms/flies to the rabbits, just the chickens.

I am trying to have a print off that I can keep with the feed - That list is not bad, I still have the ducks and geese to add, for when the grass is too dry.
Black Solder fly seems to have too much fat - 35% fat, it is being seen as an alternative to adding fish meal, so it may start turning up in some pellets - in the future.
http://www.extension.org/pages/15054/re ... d-fish-oil
- "Researchers in China, the USSR, the USA, Mexico, and Eastern Europe have fed these to poultry, swine, shrimp, several species of fish, turtles and frogs; with no reported health problems."
When it is too dry, I cut up the hay - 12 inches or less - and put it in the ducks and geese water. The water fowl have a lower protein requirement and I an trying to get an hold on how much feed / hay I will be buying.
edit: excuse - no, I'm not thinking of using them for the rabbits. Re-read this and realized I was a bit short, I apologize - feeds and planning where to space them, for different animals - frustrated!

give tea in there water for a day when i think of it. It does better than the vinegar.

They may like it better, but unless they refuse to drink the vinegar ("Braggs" with the mother or homemade kombucha vinegar),
I will stay with the vinegar - has more benefits than just tea. Thank You, though - but why would you add tea? I use the vinegar for the probiotics and to deter bad bacteria.

 

[WildWolf]

My rabbits are on greens(wild weeds and sometimes veggies), grains (6 parts oats, 1 part barley, 1 part wheat,1 part BOSS {cold weather only}) and they have alfalfa hay (it's shredded- the only hay i could find) and they don't eat much of the hay... are they still getting all the protein they need?

 

[Piper]

My rabbits are on greens(wild weeds and sometimes veggies), grains (6 parts oats, 1 part barley, 1 part wheat,1 part BOSS {cold weather only}) and they have alfalfa hay (it's shredded- the only hay i could find) and they don't eat much of the hay... are they still getting all the protein they need?

from what I know - they should be. Those are the ratios that have been recommended.
It is also recommended that you have a salt/mineral block or spool for (free access) for them to use. Pellets have the salt already added.

 

[ReiLossefalme]

Protein
76 % Dried earthworms
58 % Mealworm
42 % Dried black soldier fly
28 % Earthworms (fresh)
26.3% boss
14 % Oats
12.5% wheat
12.3% barley
7 % Beet Pulp - can be as high as 10%

I was looking up BOSS nutrition and I was surprised to see it listed at between only 15 and 16% because it has less protein and more fat than striped sunflower seeds.

Kaytee labels their BOSS as 15.5%
http://www.kaytee.com/products/black-oil-sunflower.php

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

They may like it better, but unless they refuse to drink the vinegar ("Braggs" with the mother or homemade kombucha vinegar),I will stay with the vinegar - has more benefits than just tea. Thank You, though - but why would you add tea? I use the vinegar for the probiotics and to deter bad bacteria.

I really dont believe in the vinegar i have done it and it dosnt claim for what it does. Also if you do more research on it . The mother in it is just for you can make your own. It is a live culture so you can continue making it yourself .It has no affect on the rabbits in anyway. People are using this stuff thinking this. IT changes the PH level . To much of this stuff will harm the rabbit . THe tea is good for the stomach you make as if you are making a pot of tea except you use cold water and dont boil it. I have to find the link for it.

 

[Piper]

Thank You, made some changes

I was looking up BOSS nutrition and I was surprised to see it listed at between only 15 and 16% because it has less protein and more fat than striped sunflower seeds.

Kaytee labels their BOSS as 15.5%
http://www.kaytee.com/products/black-oil-sunflower.php

Protein
76 % Dried earthworms
58 % Mealworm
42 % Dried black soldier fly
28 % Earthworms (fresh)
22.78% Sunflower Striped can be as high as 26.3%
15.5% boss - Black Oil Sunflower
14 % Oats
12.5% wheat
12.3% barley
7 % Beet Pulp - can be as high as 10%

Protein ref http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/Pro ... gredients/
Sunflower Striped http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_seed<br /><br />__________ Tue Jul 24, 2012 12:29 pm __________<br /><br />

They may like it better, but unless they refuse to drink the vinegar ("Braggs" with the mother or homemade kombucha vinegar),I will stay with the vinegar - has more benefits than just tea. Thank You, though - but why would you add tea? I use the vinegar for the probiotics and to deter bad bacteria.

I really dont believe in the vinegar i have done it and it dosnt claim for what it does. Also if you do more research on it . The mother in it is just for you can make your own. It is a live culture so you can continue making it yourself .It has no affect on the rabbits in anyway. People are using this stuff thinking this. IT changes the PH level . To much of this stuff will harm the rabbit . THe tea is good for the stomach you make as if you are making a pot of tea except you use cold water and dont boil it. I have to find the link for it.

The Kombacha that I refer to is homemade.
half a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or Kombacha to about a half a gallon of water.
Helps with probiotics.
- Googled using "rabbits tannins tea" and found a lot. I will have to wait to see what you have, since each link seems to list a different plant that they are making the tea from.

 

[GBov]

How do your rabbits perform with the grain diet?

Mine are doing really well on pellets and hay but I am considering switching a few and seeing how they compare.

 

[ReiLossefalme]

Is there any particular reason to do 1 part wheat to 1 part barley in these grain mixes? I find wheat to be several dollars more per 50 lb bag here than barley which drives cost projections up quite a bit. Is the wheat superior in some way to barley or would less of it be perfectly acceptable as well?

 

[Piper]

Is there any particular reason to do 1 part wheat to 1 part barley in these grain mixes? I find wheat to be several dollars more per 50 lb bag here than barley which drives cost projections up quite a bit. Is the wheat superior in some way to barley or would less of it be perfectly acceptable as well?

from post66698.html#p66698
Trinityoaks has a LOT of experience with this. This is her reference

I use a grain mixture based on the one specified by the late Oren Reynolds ("Mr. ARBA"), as outlined in the Storey book, "Raising Rabbits".

That being said - I have the opposite problem. Barley: feed stores do not carry it, here.
It looks like (even with hay) I am going to have to learn how to sprout grain. I still need to research the nutritional values for the grain - I can get.
That may also bring the overall costs down, for me.
I was told (by a feed store) that they only have gmo grain...

 

[skysthelimit]

That being said - I have the opposite problem. Barley: feed stores do not carry it, here.
It looks like (even with hay) I am going to have to learn how to sprout grain. I still need to research the nutritional values for the grain - I can get.
That may also bring the overall costs down, for me.
I was told (by a feed store) that they only have gmo grain...

Same problem here. No one carries barley, wheat or anything but whole oats, which cost more than a bag of pellets. Definitely not economical. Feeding a grain mix, if I could find it, would not cost less at all.

 

[MaggieJ]

Grain is about the same price per bag as pellets here, but because I feed alfalfa hay at $3.50 a square bale, the grain goes a lot farther and my overall feed costs are less. Grain is a relatively small part of the rabbits' total diet.

 

[WildWolf]

We were lucky to find a bulk source of grain... it was a while ago, I've forgotten where we got it. When I think of it, I'll post.

 

[crystalineshadow]

What about "soft wheat bran"... I know it's no where near whole wheat, but would it work? So far all I've found is that and the beet pulp with molasses. Oh yeah, and that the feed store I was expecting to have what I wanted is now nothing but an empty building and a 'for sale' sign.

I'm going to check the other local feed store, but I don't like buying from them as the only bag of pelleted feed I got there was several years old (and I thought I read that the nutrients degrade over a much shorter time than that) and that's what I'm blaming for the ridiculously small doe I'm now working with (NZW x FG and weighed in at 3lbs at the vet today, but in her defense she has been a bit off with her back leg being out of socket for almost a month now).

 

[Maxine]

I was able to get alfalfa hay at the local feed store in town. It is compressed alfalfa. The gentleman that assisted me said it is equal to a regular bale of hay. Is compressed alfalfa hay the same as cubes?