Trying to find the cheapest way to feed

[Legacy Lane]

Okay first, I am not trying to starve my rabbits, just want to cut back on costs so I can feed a raw mainly rabbit diet to my dogs

Right now I am feeding TSC 5# rabbit pellets,$14 a bag plus grass hay, (I pull it off of my round bales for the horses costs me $20 for 1200 # bale)....


I can get 50# oats for $12 a bag, an 40# alfalfa pellets for $11, amazing quality alfalfa hay for $6 a bale 65+#

In the spring I am putting out a garden so the rabbits will get scraps, and yard clippings, I am also raising in an outdoor colony,... I plan to build a raised "plant bed" in the center, and put wire on top so the rabbits can only eat down so far, I will also rotate pens so they will have graze on the ground too. (They are currently in a colony, but I can't build the bed till it warms up)

So should I stick with pellets or try something different ? I want to reduce my costs as much as possible

 

[Dood]

If pellets are only $2 to $3 more than alfalfa and oats then stick with it as you"ll need to add salt and mineral blocks to the diet as well and your growth will slow down with alfalfa and oats so they eat more during a lifetime.

In the summer you can supplement a lot with fresh greens - my feed cost went down to practically zero when I was free feeding the rabbits "weeds" harvested from local fields last summer growth slowed but since food was free I didn't mind waiting until 16 weeks to butcher.

 

[Comet007]

$14 sounds like a LOT of money for just a 5 pound bag! I paid 32.98 for a 50 pound bag of organic pellets. Do you have an animal feed store near you where you can buy the larger bags? The pet store pellets in the small bags seem like they are geared toward getting people with just one or two rabbits to overspend on their food.

 

[Legacy Lane]

$14 sounds like a LOT of money for just a 5 pound bag! I paid 32.98 for a 50 pound bag of organic pellets. Do you have an animal feed store near you where you can buy the larger bags? The pet store pellets in the small bags seem like they are geared toward getting people with just one or two rabbits to overspend on their food.

oops its a 50# bag of feed

 

[Comet007]

Oh! Ha-ha, that makes a lot more sense! $14 sounds like a bargain to me, since we're paying 32.98 and drove all the way to Seattle to get it! Although if we can find an alternate source for organic hay, we can buy the pellets in a different city for the bargain price of $27.17 plus tax.

 

[Legacy Lane]

Well looks like I have a pretty cheap source of feed... I can't wait for all of this snow to melt and the grass to grow I think I miss it more the livestock! I will definitely supplement a lot with fresh greens...

A can't imagine spending that much on feed, I don't think I would do it.. I can't stand buying calf manna to add to my goats feed its $28 for 50#

How much should I feed them,.. How many cups or oz per # of rabbit? I know nursing and grow outs get pretty much all they can eat.

Thank you for the replies

 

[Comet007]

The prices that I pay are because I buy organic pellets - it would be cheaper here if I bought non-organic. I guess it's all in what you're used to paying for the kind of food you want to eat. I don't know if it's cheaper, but I found a recipe somewhere for an alternative to calf manna. Since calf manna contains corn and soy and is not organic, I can't use it. If I think the kits need a boost, I might try this recipe I found:

3 lb Rolled oats
1 1/2 lb red wheat bran
1 lb rolled wheat
1 lb rolled barley
1 lb wheat germ
1/2 lb flax seed
1/4 lb shelled unsalted sunflower seeds

I haven't yet done a strict comparison with this recipe to the calf manna ingredients, but I plan to do so sometime before we get any doe's knocked up.

This is the "formula" for how much to feed that I am starting with - though of course i will have to watch as I go along:

Bucks: (Med Breed) = 3 to 6oz. (Large Breed) = 6 to 8oz.
Does: (Med) = 4 to 6oz. (Large) = 8 to 9oz.
Does (when bred and between 1-15 days): (Med) = 6oz. (Large) = 9oz.
Does (when bred and between 16-30 days): (Med) = 7 to 8oz. (Large) = 10 to 11oz.
Doe (with a litter of 6-8 kits / 1 week old): (Med) = 9 to 10oz. (Large) = 12 to 13oz.
Doe (with a litter of 6-8 kits / 1 month old): (Med) = 18oz. (Large) = 24 to 30oz.
Doe (with a litter of 6-8 kits / 6-8 weeks old): (Med) = 28oz. (Large) = 36oz to full feed.
Doe (after litter is weaned): (Med) = 4 to 6oz. (Large) = 8 to 9oz.
A young and weaned rabbit: (Med) = 3 to 6oz. (Large) = 6 to 9oz.

This is info from a commercial NZW breeder's site http://www.crossroadsrabbitry.com/rabbi ... formation/. I really like how they actually estimated how many ounces of pellets per day that you will be giving a doe and her litter at the various ages of the kits. I know we will be "free feeding" but I find it helpful to have SOME idea of what that entails!

This is what they wrote about feeding a pregnant/nursing doe:

On average, a weaning (nzw) rabbit will gain approximately 1 pound for every 3.25 to 3.5 pounds of feed consumed. So, they will consume approximately 15 to 18 lbs. of feed to reach a weight of 5lbs. Also as an average, you can expect the doe and her litter together, up to the market delivery date, to consume 3.5 to 4 pounds of feed per pound of the total litter’s weight gain.