# Free Ranging and experimental feeding regimes



## dbunni (Feb 19, 2011)

I have a local fellow who is interested in meat rabbits (he will be using NZs) but is interested in the free range and non pellet diets.  I remember a discussion on this out here, but cannot seem to find it ...

HELP!  Wanted to forward him the information... 

thank you, in advance ...


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## Weedchick (Feb 19, 2011)

Hi dbunni, there's a thread over on TEG that discusses this. Started by a breeder who raises rabbits on pasture (iajewel, whom I believe I have seen on BYH also ). Anyway here's the link to that thread.
http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=30335
 Hope this is what you were looking for!


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## rabbitgeek (Feb 25, 2011)

There is a lot of discussion about natural feeding and moveable pens at the Homesteading Today rabbit forums.
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14


Have a good day!
Franco Rios


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## chinbunny1 (Feb 26, 2011)

The person mentioned on the first link allows their rabbits to run loose, and is very anti caging. Ran onto them on a couple of email lists. They tend to have a nasty attitude towards anyone who pens, or cages their rabbits. I would caution against following their setup, since you can't control rabbits like that, and they will setup feral colonies, and can cause a lot of damage to the local environment,if their numbers were allowed to get out of control. Its something that should be thoroughly researched to be sure your rabbits won't dig out, or cause problems. Contrary to what this person says, both bucks and does will dig when they feel like it. they don't have to be pregnant. I free range my rabbits during the summer, in large dog cages. Have had to bury plenty of holes the rabbits dug out of boredom. True free ranging doesn't mean the rabbit is allowed to roam loose. Free roaming is never a good idea. you can't keep track of your breedings, and there is no way you'd be able to catch them all since rabbits will go feral. The rabbits are placed in nice big tractoring pens, that allow them a lot of space so they can do whatever they want, and act like rabbits. You have to build them to prevent them from digging out.

I second homesteading today. Lots of good information on free ranging. There is also alot of good information on it on rabbittalk.com. There are also breeders that free range, and grow their own food for theirs on the meat rabbits yahoo group. Again most of these breeders keep theirs, in very nice, large pens. 

So if he wants to do it right, encourage him to build some nice escape proof tractor pens for them.


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## chinbunny1 (Feb 26, 2011)

Also, good sturdy dog cage, make excellent free ranging pens, as long as they are escape proof.


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## Weedchick (Feb 26, 2011)

chinbunny, I think to be fair there needs to be a little clarification on the link I posted. I read this persons explanation of their setup, and :
1) They do not have a colony type setup. The bucks and does are kept separate
2). Does are taken out of the pasture to kindle, and caged until the kits are weaned.
3) Apparently they are on top of any digging problems.

I don't have a horse in this race, and personally am not interested in this type of arrangement, but it seems to work for them, and they seem to be responsible animal owners. I don't want to offend, I just think they shouldn't be misrepresented.
And , yes, I did pick up the anti caging attitude too. :/


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## dbunni (Feb 26, 2011)

At this point, I am not really interested in the pros and cons.  For me, the whole idea is a con.  But, I understand why they want to try it.  If the economy fails any further, they want to be able to produce feed for the rabbits and in turn themselves without needing to find a pellet supplier.  I am helping them with the thought.  I did not pass my opions on to them, they are just my opinions.  As an intelligent adults they can make that decision.


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## chinbunny1 (Feb 26, 2011)

@weedchik, yeah I wanted to caution against something like that, because there is no possible way it work. With that type of setup I would suspect there would be feral rabbits from it. There are always more cons, then there are pros. There is no possible way you can catch all these rabbits, and keep accurate records on them in a setup like that. Its just not ethical. This same person has admitted on a couple of lists that they have a pet rabbit that keeps getting pregnant, and they have no idea why. They are convinced that the rabbit breeds with local wild rabbits. That's not even possible, since domestics and north american wild rabbits can't breed. The only way it can happen is if there is a feral domestic population in the area. I am not trying to bash this person, but I really caution against recommending such a setup, since so many things can go wrong with it. Esp with newbies. You don't want to encourage them to let them to let their rabbits run loose like that. Since they have a rabbit that keeps getting preggo like that, chances are some have gone feral, and their way of doing things may not be as ethical as they want you to think they are. 

@dbunni. I hope they can find whatever works for them, there are ways of safely free ranging them without buying pellets. Its not something that I would do, but there are those that have had quite a bit of success raising them like that. When he gets ready, direct him the meat rabbits yahoo list. there a bunch of people on there that free range. There is a lady named tara that is very knowledgeable on accomplishing such a setup. She also puts a lot of work into making sure they get a balanced diet. She raises show quality silver fox,and they look great. She also grows some of the food for them.


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## Weedchick (Feb 26, 2011)

chinbunny, I defer to your knowledge on this. I was only going on the one thing I read, obviously not enough info. Thank you for the clarification.


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## chinbunny1 (Feb 26, 2011)

I went and had a look at her website. the pens she made for some of them don't look too bad. They could work out if they were altered with a better, secure fence,and escape proofed so they can't dig out. I wouldn't be comfortable with housing that many rabbits together, because they can fight. I wouldn't keep them outside in the snow either.


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## TheSheepGirl (Feb 28, 2011)

A simple chicken tractor with chicken wire or another similar wire bottom to prevent digging works very well for some around here. There is a completely enclosed portion with a door to keep the rabbits warm and dry. The wire rests on the ground to allow the grass to come through. 

chinnbunny, the snow does not effect rabbits very much. They are cold weather animals by nature and can handle very cold temps without much of a problem. Even kindling and raising babies they are fine as long as they pull enough hair and stay dry.  There is a ferrel rabbit population near my house and they live in the snow and cold weather full time without trouble. They are all domestics that went ferrel.


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## chinbunny1 (Mar 3, 2011)

I came acros this. this type of tractor system is worth looking into. 

http://www.raising-rabbits.com/rabbit-run.html


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## hoodat (Mar 3, 2011)

chinbunny1 said:
			
		

> I came acros this. this type of tractor system is worth looking into.
> 
> http://www.raising-rabbits.com/rabbit-run.html


I've done something like that but I make it in panels ( sides and a bottom and top panel) and then tie them together to make the pen. The advantage to that is that the run can easily be taken down and the panels stacked against a fence or wall when not in use. It works OK but it's a lot of trouble to keep up with and as someone already stated you cannot keep as close an eye on your buns as you can in cages. I also used chicken wire except on the bottom panel to cut down the costs and make them lighter.


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## chinbunny1 (Mar 3, 2011)

hoodat said:
			
		

> chinbunny1 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So do I, except the dog caes. Mine are all open bottomed. i don't leave mine in them 24/7 cause they will dig out, or something will attack them.


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## dottysfarm (Mar 8, 2011)

dbunni said:
			
		

> If the economy fails any further, they want to be able to produce feed for the rabbits and in turn themselves without needing to find a pellet supplier.


Right now I have only one rabbit and she is a pet. I am considering raising meat rabbits and have researched some of this... but I just wanted to tell you my current experience. My rabbit eats what the chickens eat. She gets grains and some corn and hay. I plan to raise alfalfa and clover for her. I have an amazing book that you might want to suggest to your friends. I also have the urge to be as self sustainable as possible and this book tells you pretty much everything. It is called "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" by Carla Emery. The book is just HUGE and is very reasonably priced for its size.

Just fyi, I am "kinda" anti-cage... and I am also very into the idea of free-range... I am also really into self sustainability and the environment... I really like the ideas of farmers like Joel Salatin. Just so you know where my biast is coming from. I do not hold anything against people for how they raise their animals as long as the animals themselves are happy and killed humanely 

Hope this helps


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## hoodat (Mar 8, 2011)

In much of Europe, and especially France, they hit a happy medium. Rabbits are normally caged but largely fed on gathered greens. You will see them alongside the roads with hand sickles cutting the grass. It's a rare road in France that needs the shoulders mowed by the highway maintainance. Families have stretches of road that are "theirs" and are very protective against "trespassers".
Of course free food is wonderful but it's hard to keep track of their diet. The quality of the wild greens varies with the time of year and weather. People that have done so for generations are experts in grasses and weeds and their nutrition values.
OTOH even the highest quality rabbit pellets contain small pesticide residues and they all contain GMO ingredients so natural greens gets away from that. The only way around that is organic rabbit pellets and they are prohibitively expensive.


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## MsPony (Mar 8, 2011)

Oxbow's regular line IS organic, they do everything organically and non-GMO. But the organic laws are hard and because the farms around them aren't organic, they can't be labeled as such.

My rabbits eat mainly hay, they "free range" in my house so I set up "hay stations" that consist of timothy, oat, meadow grass, botanical and alfalfa for the baby. They get pellets twice a day, as the baby eats everything right away. Otherwise my adult doe grazes over a couple days on *maybe* a cup total of pellets. My rabbits aren't fat at all, because I don't feed them green matter or high amounts of grain. If you want a fat rabbit, feed them greens and grain (which you will also get hairball and impaction deaths.)


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