Trying Natural Again...

[SMR]

I'm taking another look at moving to natural feeding. Slow growth rate is fine, doesn't bother me. Actually may be a plus considering I wish my juniors would some times take it slower in growth. The last time I tried was a failure, every one switched over just fine with out any poop or GI issues but weight/flesh would not stay on and was lost so I switched back. I'm tired of the poor quality of feed, keep getting bad bags, so looking into again.

I've started feeding grasses/weeds in limited quantity and as much mixed grass hay as they will eat. There is no alfalfa or clover hay in the area that is high quality so I'm forced to use the mixed grass hay we use for the horses. They are still getting regular pellets but not as much as usual. I am going to add the mineral licks to each for their use just as soon as I can get to a store that has some. I plan to replace the pellets with a whole oat/boss or flax seed oil (both?)/beat pellet/alfalfa pellet/touch of molasses mix increase greens to unlimited/as much as they'll eat (same as hay). Is there any thing else I can add/change/watch for? Some thing else I can add to the mix or some thing I can do to avoid the problem I had the last time? They get twigs/branches to chew on as well. Right now being winter conditions yet there's not a great deal of variety outside.<br /><br />__________ Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:44 pm __________<br /><br />Ugh..tried to post in Natural Feeding for Rabbits and for some reason it got stuck in the wrong cat...sorry! If this can be moved please do..again sorry about that...

 

[curlysue]

My mother fed mixed hay and chicken scratch feed which is a mixture of oats,wheat,corn and im not sure what else.plus veges.we never had flesh condition issues.although we were raising Dutch crosses.no pellets at all.

 

[MaggieJ]

If clover and alfalfa will grow in your area, SMR, I suggest you plant a patch of each this spring. You can feed it green along with a good mix of grasses, weeds, tree twigs and leaves etc. and can also cut it and dry it to add protein to the mixed grass hay in winter.

 

[SMR]

Did some checking in area...I can get Alfalfa/clover/timothy mixed hay but nothing pure alf or pure clover....how would that fair as far as hay goes? Would it be better then just mixed grass?

 

[Secuono]

You can get clover online, but I would think a mix of grass would be more well rounded.
Unless you have no grass in your yard, you shouldn't have to plant anything. Just let alternating strips of grass/lawn grow long and feed to the rabbits.
My rabbits don't like the grass hay I made last year, only the horse hay.




I thought corn in rabbit food was bad, how can you feed chicken scratch if it's mostly corn, curlysue??

 

[MaggieJ]

SMR, if you can get an alfalfa/clover/timothy mix, that might work very well, assuming the proportions are fairly even. Don't overlook tree leaves as a source of rabbit food. Apple, pear, sugar or silver maple, willow, poplar, sycamore, hackberry, elm are all edible for rabbits. Many tree leaves have high protein levels.

ChickiesnBunnies, grass is not nearly as nutritious for rabbits as a mix of weeds. The rabbits will eat it, but they need more if you are planning to go pelletless.

 

[SMR]

Well closer to 50% alfalfa 25% clover and 25% timothy is what it actually shows on the testing slip when I went to check it out. I found out that I can get whole wheat, whole oats, shredded beat pulp (w/ or w/o), whole boss, and flax seed oil on a regular as well which I couldn't before. Amazing what a new group of people n shop will do for things. Is rolled oats better then whole oats? Rolled are slightly higher, but if they're better I'd rather get better.

 

[MaggieJ]

You should do just fine with that hay.

I'm going to let someone else deal with your question about oats. The rolled oats I once got seemed to have an awful lot of chaff in them and the rabbits wasted a fair bit. I feed mainly wheat now as their grain, sometimes barley. I like whole grains because you can also sprout them and grow grain grass for winter greens.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Is rolled oats better then whole oats? Rolled are slightly higher, but if they're better I'd rather get better.

Whole oats are really skinny (smaller diameter than rice) so I don't use them because my J feeders have a mesh bottom, and a lot of my barley falls out as it is. If you were feeding from a solid bottomed container, they would be fine- I read up on them for my horses, and a lot of people mistakenly believe rolled/crushed are more digestible because it looks like the whole oats pass right through intact. In actuality, all they are seeing is the husk. I imagine rabbits would nibble theirs into small bits anyway, but if not you may see husks in their feces but it is of no concern.

 

[SMR]

Another thought...how would you figure protein for such hay? And on mineral blocks, how do you break them apart with out having them powder? I never could get a clean break of any kind...it all went poof when I tried to break of pieces.

Ah okay...I have one holland who hulls out every thing, so that's not a surprise really. He *must* hull every thing, doesn't matter what it is...strange behavior I never did figure out. He's healthy/happy other wise though...so I just left him to his madness lol.


Thanks for all the help....

 

[MamaSheepdog]

on mineral blocks, how do you break them apart with out having them powder?

Use a saw instead- salt can't be very hard to cut.

 

[MaggieJ]

A saw might work. I've never had a problem knocking chunks off with a hammer, striking near the corners for starters. Sure you lose a little to dust and there are some small chunks, but if you use a dollar-store ramekin to serve them to the rabbits, two or three small chunks work as well as one large one.

As for the protein amount in your hay, if it is 75% alfalfa and clover, it is good hay. I don't calculate protein for my rabbits, just feed a good variety and keep in mind which plants have good protein levels. Your rabbits will not grow out quite as fast as on pellets, but they will attain good weights by 14-16 weeks. If not, you may need to review their diet. I do feed small amounts of BOSS a couple times a week, especially in winter. It is another high-protein feed, but you have to be careful not to feed much because it is very fattening.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Racehorse oats, with the hulls on them, are nice and large-- never had an issue with their quality t the two places I have bought them-- the brands I have purchased have indicated Canadian origin.-- why pay for rolling or crimpling, o even 'steaming'-- as opening up the seed like that can open up the product for extra damage as it is stored...

 

[SMR]

I was wondering, a few sites I'd looked into said that rolled was better then whole as more digestible that way. But I'm happy to go with the whole oats, cheaper and kept in stock more then the other.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

I was wondering, a few sites I'd looked into said that rolled was better then whole as more digestible that way. But I'm happy to go with the whole oats, cheaper and kept in stock more then the other.

What makes a 'rolled, crimped or steamed' oat better is the fact that the seed is opened up-- the animal does not have to chew through the hulls to expose the seed itself it becomes moreeasily digested, a faster release of it's energy into the rabbit--The hulls provide much needed fiber, and protect the nutrient dense part of the oat against some moisture issues-- TO A POINT!!
In winter, I liked to soak the grains I fed-- made them extra palatable to the rabbits, and increased water intake.