Manna Pro versus Manna Gro

[VickieB]

I have 6 week old buns (meat rabbits) in a grow out cage that I'm feeding Manna Gro. Is that what most of you would feed a bunny in this stage of his growth, or would you have him back on Manna Pro? I'm wondering if the Gro has too much protein for a rabbit that is headed for the table...

 

[VickieB]

And a friend is taking a couple of them as breeders. When do you go from free feeding the babies to the 1 cup a day feeding?

 

[animalmom]

When I make the decision to keep a kit or two as potential replacement stock AND put the rabbit in its own cage, as oppose to being in the grow out pen, that is the time I put that rabbit on adult rations.

For example if I had 8 kits in the grow out pen and they are at least 8 weeks old they are collectively eating 4 cups of pellets per day. So when I take one kit and put it in its own cage I'm sure its is just fine with 1/2 cup of pellets each day. This is for my Cali/NZ kits. My Altex kits are going through about 2/3 cup per rabbit per day.

I know you said your kits were free feeding, which is fine, it is what I do, you still add pellets to their feeder so if you track how many cups you put in the feeder every day and divide by the number of kits then you have what a single would eat.

Helpful?

 

[VickieB]

That does help! The next question is on the feed itself. The Manna Gro is 18% protein, and it says to give to growing rabbits. I'm assuming this will help to build more muscle mass for growing rabbits. If the rabbits are headed to the table (unlike the ones I'm setting aside for my friends for breeding) should I put them onto the Manna Pro, which is 16% protein? In the end I would rather have a nice tender rabbit than a big tough one.

 

[animalmom]

All my rabbits get the same pellets, moms, pregnant does, bucks, kits old enough to nibble pellets. I use an "all purpose" rabbit pellet from a local milling company. It lists the crude protein at a minimum of 16% and we have been very satisfied with the weight gain on weaned rabbits, and how the grown rabbits maintain their condition.

The advise given to me when I started with my Cali/NZ group was to look at the protein amount, and at that time 16% was the highest on the market. The breeder also said that if I could find a local milling company that did 16% rabbit pellets to stick with that as you could be more assured that the pellets were fresher. Nothing if for sure 100% certain anymore, but I like the idea of supporting a local mill.

OK just checked out the website for Manna Pro and Manna Gro, and found the analysis very similar to my local pellets.

Pro Formula My Pellets
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein Min 16.00 % 16.0%
Crude Fat Min 2.50 % 2.0%
Crude Fiber Min 16.00 % 11.0%
Crude Fiber Max 21.00 % 13.5%
Calcium Min 0.75 % 1.15%
Calcium Max 1.25 % 1.4%
Phosphorus Min 0.50 % .45%
Salt Min 0.25 % .85%
Salt Max 0.75 % 1.15%
Vitamin A Min 3,000 IU/lb 2000IU/lb

Gro Formula
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein Min 18.00 %
Crude Fat Min 2.50 %
Crude Fiber Min 16.00 %
Crude Fiber Max 21.00 %
Calcium Min 0.75 %
Calcium Max 1.25 %
Phosphorus Min 0.55 %
Salt Min 0.25 %
Salt Max 0.75 %
Vitamin A Min 3,000 IU/lb

OK, now here is where I really could have used some animal husbandry courses in college, but what the heck.

I think the higher fiber is a plus for the Manna products where as I wonder why the difference in the calcium min and max. Seems to me more calcium would be better especially for nursing does and growing kits, but I am not a vet (nor do I play one on TV). I like the higher salt level in my pellet if for no other reason that it promotes the rabbits to drink more. Again I am not a vet and I flunked chemistry (really).

On the Gro Formula I really like the 18% protein while the kits are learning to eat, but would shift them to 16% once they get to 8-10 weeks, or go to a new home. Do I like the idea enough to stock a second pellet? Ummmm, no. Even in Texas, storage space is limited so the idea of stocking two pellets even for just the kitting season is hard to justify.

We have yet to come by a tough rabbit no matter how we cook it. A suggestion for you, when you do harvest your rabbits, let the dressed rabbit sit in your refrigerator at least overnight. You can freeze it right away, if you want, but if you want to have it for dinner let the meat rest. Otherwise it will be tough -- it is a rigor mortis thing. Remember you know where that meat came from, you know how fresh it is, so if it lurks in the fridge for a day or two it is still exponentially fresher than what you get in the store.

What the heck, go love on a bunny. You are doing just fine as a rabbit rancher, really!

 

[VickieB]

lol... Thanks, AnimalMom! You have helped me soooo much. I like the idea of paring down to just one feed. I'll probably just drop the Gro after I run out of it. I know you once told me you like to harvest your rabbits later than the 10 week date. About what age or weight do you prefer harvesting them?

 

[animalmom]

We've decided that the 12 week age works well for us for several reasons. First off we don't use the meat as a fryer. Absolutely nothing wrong with fryers but we don't fry much anyway -- personal preference. Most of our rabbit is used in a braise mainly because my husband does the cooking and that's what he like... ok, he can be a borderline European snob ( oh my goodness did I really say that?) about food preparation. The older rabbit roasts real nice in an oven roasting bag and we do that on occasion. We have harvested rabbits that were much older, like well over 6 months (decided we had better looking rabbits coming on line than what was kept from a previous litter). These were quite good in a stew/gumbo or included in sausage.

Since there is just the two of us old foggies we usually only take one rabbit a day so it might take us a week to work through the grow out pen. The meat we want for the next day goes to the refrigerator and anything else goes in the freezer. The dear husband does his part in the early morning so the dogs clean up the parts they get right away.

We just finished putting a bunch of 12-13 week olds in the freezer and I was very pleased that the dressed weight was right at 4 pounds each. We are going to harvest some of the first Altex litter this week and I'm very interested in the dressed weight on those rabbits. They were 2 weeks younger than that batch of the Cali/NZ and from the get-go looked as large as the older litter. I've got my eye on three from that litter, 2 bucks and a doe, to see how they mature. I've got the second Altex litter coming along nicely. The four of them are at 3 weeks now, nibbling at anything they see their mom eating, and of course pestering her every chance they get.

I think you are really going to enjoy your rabbits. The meat texture is incredibly fine, tender, and tasty. We haven't had a bad rabbit no matter how it was cooked. We learned our lesson about waiting overnight, or even two, with the chickens... talk about tough and chewy!

Having your own fresh meat is going to spoil you! Just wait until your quail come on line and you can add that to your menu. You will find you eat better than in really nice restaurants.

Probably more than you wanted to know.

 

[VickieB]

Please let me know how the Altex dress out! (I'm really looking forward to getting one!) I'm getting excited about cooking with them (I have to admit that since this is my first time I have to keep reminding myself that in the wild these babies would have had a much shorter lifespan) and I've been looking online for recipes! I'll probably be full of questions once we get to that point. My oldest babies are only 6 weeks old though, so I still have a little time. I'll probably be doing a lot of frying at first. My husband and sons love fried food (a little European snobbish-ness wouldn't hurt them any). I never fry foods at home (I'm one of those mean wives that make them eat healthy) but since they're all a little squeamish about eating "those cute little bunnies" I thought I'd better come up with some recipes really fast that they absolutely love, to get them over that first little hump. So, fried rabbit and gravy it is!

I'm looking forward to trying them in the roasting bag. I had never even given that any thought.

I don't get tired of any of the advice I get from everyone here. I'm afraid I'm a little on the OCD side and right now rabbits are what I'm focused on!

 

[animalmom]

Fried Rabbit with Gravy! Yummmmm when is dinner, and what do you want me to bring? HA, I wish. Anything you can do with chicken you can do with rabbit, only it is better with rabbit.

I totally understand the "cute little bunnies" problem which is why I RAISE bunnies but we eat RABBIT. The difference may be small, but it is enough for us. When we first started we called what was in the freezer "lapin" and "hassen." One other little trick I use is I don't name the kits I only name my breeding stock. OK I'm a wuss, I revel in my wussness and I bring wussness to an artform!

I read, in a book on rabbits, that the author didn't eat his meat culls that were in the freezer until the family forgot who it is. It is easier to just not name them.

The BIG item to remember about the meat you raise, be it rabbit, beef, pork, bird... is you know that animal had the best life it could have possibly had and when harvested/butchered you honor it by giving it the best death you can. Outside of a momentary "what the heck" moment when one is taken from a cage, we strive to ensure the rabbit has a quick end.

One can get caught up in all kinds of strange and useless angst, but the bottom line is that their purpose.

Focus on your bunnies. They are fun, worrysome, a pleasure to pet and above all a boon to your family.

One a lighter note, a true story: Louis 14 of France wanted to hunt rabbits so his game warden went out and purchase a thousand, yep 1,000 rabbits, had them all caged up on one side of Louis' game reserve and when the king and followers all showed up in carriages the warden had the rabbits released.

Problem was these were domesticated rabbits who thought someone was going to feed them so they all ran towards the king. The king and his entourage hightailed it to their carriages and took off with 1,000 rabbits in hot pursuit. Ya know when they want to eat, they want to eat!

I just love that mental picture.... no ordinary rabbit!

 

[VickieB]

lol... I can picture it. Every time I open the door to the grow-out pen the bunnies come running to me. You have to admit, they're sweet little guys.

I've done well not naming the babies. Only one has ended up with a name, Little Stud Muffin, and he's going to a friend's home to be used as their buck. (I figure if he's jumping on the does at 3 weeks he'll probably make a great little stud)