Alternative Rabbit Food

[Andrei]

It is Christmas tree time.
So I get branches and feed the rabbits.
It takes them a bit to get used with the flavor but after that they clean the wood of bark and needles.
Have done that for 40 yrs and always wandered if the meat tasted different because of fir.

 

[secuono]

I am also interested in trying to grow an all natural diet for my meat rabbits right now they do get pellets but I would love to slowly move away from that and use hay,veggies,fruit,tree branches and pasture for them instead they get all of the above now but not as their main food source.
I want to make sure I am feeding them the right stuff to meet their needs is there a website or research paper I could look up that will give me a decent start so I know what I need to plant for them?
P.S. they will not be with the chickens if pastured

These are rabbit safe, most grow wild.
Growing some of them in a 20g long aquarium right now.
http://randomfarmramblings.blogspot.com/2013/07/safe-plants-for-rabbits.html

 

[Andrei]

You have some powerful medicinal plants on your list.
For humans too.

 

[Southern by choice]

These are rabbit safe, most grow wild.
Growing some of them in a 20g long aquarium right now.
http://randomfarmramblings.blogspot.com/2013/07/safe-plants-for-rabbits.html

Nicely done!

 

[Citylife]

Another year of raising rabbits and more to say on this. I have learned for best efficiency in raising rabbits staying with high quality pellets of the correct protein will grow your rabbits to fryer weight the quickest. I have pastured fryers and given them pellets, on clover and grass moved 3-4 times a day. Food cost is cut in 1/2 but the rabbits take weeks longer to get to fryer size. I have had clients feed their rabbits greens, hay, fruits and what not and call me with aborted litters and rabbits of poor body condition (not enough weight). I do believe this has a lot to do with not enough protein. The rabbits most of us use have been breed for years to thrive on pellets. The only real big change I plan on making is using some fodder as a supplement to their diets. JMO after more trial and error
Like you said, there are people who raise rabbits the way you want to, you just have to find them to get stock from. This is also an older post, so hopefully you have found a breeder already.

 

[VickieB]

What is it in the pellet that adds the protein? And why can't that be done naturally? I've used nothing but pellet up till now, giving alfalfa and some vegetables from the kitchen as treats, but I have considered going with more natural feeds.

 

[Beekissed]

What is it in the pellet that adds the protein? And why can't that be done naturally? I've used nothing but pellet up till now, giving alfalfa and some vegetables from the kitchen as treats, but I have considered going with more natural feeds.

Looks like most are using soybean, alfalfa and distillers grains to provide the protein sources in formulated rabbit feeds.

Here's a list of feed ingredients and their relative nutritional values...you can see the menu for ingredients to the right side of the page:

http://ingredients101.com/alfpellet.htm

 

[VickieB]

I'm not a big fan of soybean, but couldn't someone just feed their rabbits alfalfa and the grains to give them what they need in protein? I'm not questioning it, I'm just wondering why they grow faster on the pellet (I have heard many experienced breeders say that is true). What is it in the pellet that makes them grow faster? We live in town, and my space is limited. I want to get them to dispatch weight as soon as possible, so I'll probably stick with the pellet. I'm just curious as to what's in the pellet that helps them do that.

 

[Andrei]

We are getting close to Christmas time so fir branches are being tossed everywhere.So again I grab a hand full and give them to my rabbits. At first they nibble a bit and do not like them but in the morning the bark is gone. They like the bark more then the needles.
Pellets are good to grow rabbits fast but they are not natural food and some can be harmful. They grow fast because of the soy protein just like the market turkeys, chicken, pigs, cattle, etc.
But in the Natural world we have plants with high protein for the rabbits and even grains if one is in a hurry.
And on top of that is the cost.
This year I spend on my rabbits food ZERO and are fat and 7 - 10 lbs when I send them to the freezer.
That is the advantage of raising rabbits.
They eat garden "trash".

 

[alsea1]

I'm going to say that without alot of study it is difficult to reach to right balance feeding this and that versus pellets.
I'm sticking with pellets. Its tried and true and the rabbits are healthy and prolific.