Overfeeding?

[Nao57]

So I found out I was overfeeding my rabbits.

They don't look unhealthy. And they don't look too fat. They even surprisingly enough had looked a bit thin with some of them. I guess the overfeeding was absorbed by the energy being put into surviving the cold winter. And it was really cold in our area until a few days ago.

Anyway,...

I'm wondering, how much damage potentially can come out of overfeeding?

I wasn't doing it for very long I think. And I think I caught it early. But still, I'm wondering...

And how do you detect and tell if you are overfeeding & what the damage is?

I haven't been able to get them pregnant yet. I was trying to get them pregnant for a few months now with no success. But our winter was extra cold this year. So I don't know if that's because it was just too cold or because of overfeeding( if this is possible?)?

Curious if you have any thoughts on this, and how to improve.

Thanks.

On the plus side, now that I know I was overfeeding I realize I could adjust it and even support other animals. (To become steak dinners! )

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

How old are your rabbits and have they had babies before? If they are both inexperienced they may have trouble figuring out what goes where. Is the buck getting good fall offs? I aim for 3 good fall offs when I breed my rabbits and then I assume the doe is pregnant, usually that results in a good size litter.

How much light is your buck getting? They can be less fertile in winter with the shorter days.

Too much fat on a doe will make it difficult to conceive and carry kits as the fat will build up around the internal organs.

 

[HornyToadAcres]

I watch the dewlap under my rabbits' chins. Too much fat will interfere with breeding bucks or does. However, my buck got free-fed during the super cold weather and is fine. He is now back to his daily portioned out pellets (and coastal hay and sprouted BOSS). I guess what I am saying is that if they didn't get fat, you weren't overfeeding. I am a newbie as well, however.

For my rabbits, TAMUKs, they need to be bred fairly young. I got lucky with a 10 month old virgin doe. She conceived and raised 5 kits. Not too bad, hoping for a larger litter this time. Had 4 definite fall offs with my two year old buck. I will be breeding some younger new does in a couple weeks so cross my fingers. I was fortunate to get a proven buck so that took one factor out at least mostly.