Feeding question again

[Nao57]

Since I'm new to rabbits, I keep getting this feeling of uncertainty about how many ounces (weight ounces) of food to give them per day?

Hopefully you can reply to this?

I think I've been over feeding them, but the rabbits seem happy.

But what should I feed in weight per day per rabbit again? And also is it different for each rabbit breed? (With ducks, which I'm used to the breed changes it a lot.)

And for a pregnant doe?

Also can you condition certain breeds to eat sage brush? (In my state people do this for cows, goats, and sheep...because much of the state is desert. So it just sort of made me wonder...why couldn't they do that for rabbits too, there are wild rabbits in those places too.)

 

[Grizzlyhackle]

Average rabbit 6-10 lbs quarter of a cup under 5 lbs 1/8th of a cup. Pregnant and lactating free feed.
University of Miami says 1/8 cup per 4 lbs of weight. I googled all this. My answer, I bought big bowels from klubertanz equipment in Wisconsin. They have a tab on the bottom that catches the wire. I filled them 3/4 of the way. Too much left I decreased how much I gave. Winter add a little more, say tablespoon worth. If you think they're overeating cut back. If the bowls empty everyday I add more. But if you're giving them plenty of hay and they eat it
(not all do) you can cut back some. Isn't this marked on the bag?
Sage brush, don't know anything about it. With that rhdv2 in states near you I wouldn't.

 

[Niele da Kine]

If you plant a garden, you can raise a lot of fodder for buns. They like to eat a lot of the plant parts we don't eat. But, there's also a lot of plants out there poisonous to buns, so check each type of plant first to make sure it's non-poisonous to rabbits before feeding.

Can you grow mulberry? That's very nutritious and it grows well in may area, but I don't know about in a desert. We grow mulberry, ti, mint, rosemary (some like it, some don't), citrus leaves, most fruit tree leaves but avocado is poisonous, assorted grasses, etc. Make a chart of what you have available in your yard that's bun friendly and then plant more bun friendly plants if you can?

We check the condition of the rabbit to determine if they're getting enough feed. If you can feel bumps on their spine easily, then they probably need more feed. If there's food left in their dish, then probably too much feed. We give them unlimited forage, though.

 

[Grizzlyhackle]

Can you grow mulberry? That's very nutritious and it grows well in may area,

Mulberry spreads worse than gossip at least it does in the mid atlantic. But yes they like the new leaves and branches I give them. I have tried to kill it. Cut it down, even burned the stump and that rascal keeps coming back.

 

[Niele da Kine]

Perfect! Feed the mulberry sprouts to the buns! We have a ti hedge (cordyline terminalis) next to the bunny hutches for forage as well as a small mulberry tree near the hutches. So far it's not tried spreading anywhere, not sure why if it's invasive in the Mid-Atlantic states it should be all over Hawaii, but I don't see it spreading. Rather a pity, I'd rather have mulberries than Guinea grass.

 

[Kusanar]

Perfect! Feed the mulberry sprouts to the buns! We have a ti hedge (cordyline terminalis) next to the bunny hutches for forage as well as a small mulberry tree near the hutches. So far it's not tried spreading anywhere, not sure why if it's invasive in the Mid-Atlantic states it should be all over Hawaii, but I don't see it spreading. Rather a pity, I'd rather have mulberries than Guinea grass.

Just an idea, I think the mulberries spread by seeds that have been eaten and pooped by birds. Do your birds eat them?

 

[Grizzlyhackle]

Just an idea, I think the mulberries spread by seeds that have been eaten and pooped by birds. Do your birds eat them?

That would make sense. Everywhere it's in my yard it popped up thru another bush. It's too dark to take the picture now ,hedgerow at work all yew bushes and mulberries trees are coming thru . Also in the deep ditch behind the parking lot. Tough to kill.