Alternative Rabbit Food

[aggieterpkatie]

I supplement my rabbits with lots and lots of greens. In the spring especially, when things are easy to find. They love dandelion, plaintain, clover, orchardgrass, and I have an abundance of an invasive plant called paper mulberry. They love pretty much anything I give them. Just make sure to introduce new things slowly so they can get used to them. And look up poisonous plants online so you know what to stay away from. I found out this year that some of my rabbits can tolerate cabbage, but some can't, so I just avoid it now. I also feed lots of hay. I can't afford to feed straight pellets, which have gone up to almost $18/50 lb bag.

 

[terri9630]

Thanks, Terri9630. This was a general feeding question, but if I have any directly about meat rabbits I'll make sure I get the right section. I don't want to post about rabbit fryers in the pet section!

I stay far, far away from the pet people. I know it was a feeding quiestion, I was just letting you know there was a section for meat rabbits because of this quote. Correct me if this is a forum about keeping backyard herds of pets, and I will direct all future questions elsewhere (I don't want to offend anyone).
No need to go anywhere else. There are lots of helpful people here.

 

[ruthless]

There is a good thread here with lots of info already on it:
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14776

 

[mama24]

My rabbits love oak leaves. I made a rabbit tractor for my meat rabbit grow out pen, and we move it daily, usually several times a day. They attack the new grass as soon as we move it even if it's mid day and they were sleeping, as if they were starving even though they have free choice pellets. But if there are fallen oak leaves, they eat those first.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

I know its a no-no to direct people to other forums but rabbittalk.com has a super awesome section on natural feeding and lots of people who feed all natural or as natural as they can get.

 

[Beachbunny]

I feed mainly fodder feed with a small amount of pellets and free feed hay. You have to introduce any changes into their diets very slowly to avoid digestive upsets. I also supplement any weeds from the yard. You can google eatable weeds and get a wealth of info.
I grow blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, a few pear and peach trees and a multitude of herbs all of which the rabbits love but in small amounts as " treats". By the sound of your post you are in a cooler climate, find some pine cones to give the rabbits, they love to play with them and help pick up all the lose hair in the cage...like a lint brush. And yes most people on this forum raise some type of critter for meat so your in the right place and everyone is very helpful

 

[Andrei]

I feed my rabbits ONLY greens and have no problem even after 100 rabbits raised.
The main issue is to feed them consistently a diverse diet to create a digestive flora that can process anything.
They went thru quite few pumpkins in the last 4 weeks.
I have a large Chinese elm tree that is the main source of food for 20 rabbits and sometimes that is all they get in one day.
Lettuce is their desert and quite often dried yo pizza dough.

 

[Andrei]

I feed my rabbits ONLY greens and have no problem even after 100 rabbits raised.
The main issue is to feed them consistently a diverse diet to create a digestive flora that can process anything.
They went thru quite few pumpkins in the last 4 weeks.
I have a large Chinese elm tree that is the main source of food for 20 rabbits and sometimes that is all they get in one day.
Lettuce is their desert and quite often dried yo pizza dough.

 

[lacasse farms]

I grow wheat fodder for my rabbits and chickens (see here lacassefarms.blogspot.com ). I also grow my own lettuce, spinach, arugula, and kale in Kratky method hydroponics systems. I feed them as much timothy hay as they want, 3/4 lb of fodder, and 1-2 cups of vegetables everyday. Not only are my rabbits looking much healthier, I have cut my feed costs down by 90%! Everything I grow is completely organic and the rabbits had no problem switching over from the pellets in a two week span.

 

[Andrei]

I have tried kelp and they liked it.
I have learned that kelp is very rich in minerals and nutrients and I have used it few years back to grow record size tomatoes or food for racing pigeons.
So one day at the beach I grab a trunk full of kelp and took it home.
I rinse it to get the salt and sand off and them hang it on the clothes line to dry.
I gave the rabbits few fresh leaves and they ate it.
2 days later I broke the dry one and filed a box.
Every now and then I give them some and they eat it with pleasure.