Should alfalfa hay be green?

[FurryFiasco]

@FurryFiasco, I grew up in rural Indiana, the son of a farmer. I left all the farming behind when I went to study Conservation Law Enforcement at Vincennes University the Fall of 1993. After abt a decade of dabbling in law enforcement and security work, my bad back finally made it clear to pursue other things. While dispatching nights, I earned an online ministry degree and am an ordained minister that really wanted to get back to the farm.

My folks sold the farm ground in their early 70's when I was in my 30's, but I am sitting on church property that has an acre out back that I use for hay. I went back into meat rabbits twenty years after my mom finally gave up the ones we raised for abt 12 years in the 80's and 90's.

There are quite a few farmers in my congregation and neighbors that have cattle and sheep requiring hay. I trade work with one that has both and has round bales as well as rectangular bales we call squares. He mows, rakes, and bales mine and drops them for me to pick up. And, I help bale his fields.

You do not need to feed alfalfa hay with the alfalfa pellets. It is too much protein. All my rabbits get a handful of grass hay at night to munch on. The kits get the nutrients through Mom's milk, and then begin nibbling on her hay as they begin to nibble on her pellets and sip her water.

I also use Calf Mana which is high in protein. My rabbits get a tsp. each morning with a tsp. of black oil sunflower seeds BOSS. My lactating does get a Tb. each day, and my grow outs get abt 3Tb. This is for meat rabbits. Pets do not need it, and there are others that can give you a good regiment for Show bunnies. I also like using ACV cider vinegar. 1-2Tb per gallon water for drinking water. Helps urinary tracts and guves Vit A. Tastes good to them to drink more.

Hope this helps some.

Wow, that's a really cool story. I'm glad you found the life you were looking for, it sounds very nice!

That makes sense about the hay, and it's convenient too! Thanks for clearing up my confusion. I'll have to try out the ACV, I didn't realize that they would actually like it. Thanks so much for all of the advice!

 

[Pastor Dave]

Any time. Happy to share

 

[Sundragons]

I also use Calf Mana which is high in protein. My rabbits get a tsp. each morning with a tsp. of black oil sunflower seeds BOSS. My lactating does get a Tb. each day, and my grow outs get abt 3Tb. This is for meat rabbits. Pets do not need it, and there are others that can give you a good regiment for Show bunnies. I also like using ACV cider vinegar. 1-2Tb per gallon water for drinking water. Helps urinary tracts and guves Vit A. Tastes good to them to drink more.
Hope this helps some.

I feed pet / show rabbits Calf manna too at the same proportions. I had been pondering BOSS as a treat as well, are the rabbits OK eating them whole? Also, just a tsp like the calf manna or is there a different portion size I should look at? Again, not as a daily supplement, but just as an occasional treat.

 

[Pastor Dave]

I use a tsp. daily. They love it. I give it whole. It is an estimated pinch that should be abt a tsp. When they eat the BOSS and Calf Mana out of their feeders, it encourages additional feeding of the alfalfa pellets. It gives a great coat. IMO

 

[Pastor Dave]

For occassional treats I give red clover, dandelion leaves, abd rose blooms when in season. The dandelion leaves are higher in certain vitamins and minerals than even spinach.

 

[FurryFiasco]

I feed pet / show rabbits Calf manna too at the same proportions. I had been pondering BOSS as a treat as well, are the rabbits OK eating them whole? Also, just a tsp like the calf manna or is there a different portion size I should look at? Again, not as a daily supplement, but just as an occasional treat.

Maybe you could help me out with another question I had. I'm keeping my rabbits (Holland Lops) as pets, and I'll be breeding them a few times a year too, but I won't be showing them. Would the calf manna be helpful as a supplement for my bunnies? I read something about it helping with milk production; do you have an idea what would be a good routine (same as Pastor Dave's rabbits, a tsp. daily or a tbsp. for moms?) or would you suggest it at all? Thanks!

 

[Sundragons]

Maybe you could help me out with another question I had. I'm keeping my rabbits (Holland Lops) as pets, and I'll be breeding them a few times a year too, but I won't be showing them. Would the calf manna be helpful as a supplement for my bunnies? I read something about it helping with milk production; do you have an idea what would be a good routine (same as Pastor Dave's rabbits, a tsp. daily or a tbsp. for moms?) or would you suggest it at all? Thanks!

All of our rabbits get a tsp a day as part of their feed, from the day they're weaned. We see a noticeably better overall body condition and a glossier coat than without it, so we keep it up. One thing we do notice is that some rabbits will eat only the calf manna and not their pellets, so for those buns we'll feed it separately. Little twerps. It's like rabbit crack. Does who have babies get a tbsp a day, and we start that about a week before they're due to kindle so they have enough nutrition to get that milk in. Once they've weaned out their litter, back to a teaspoon.

 

[FurryFiasco]

All of our rabbits get a tsp a day as part of their feed, from the day they're weaned. We see a noticeably better overall body condition and a glossier coat than without it, so we keep it up. One thing we do notice is that some rabbits will eat only the calf manna and not their pellets, so for those buns we'll feed it separately. Little twerps. It's like rabbit crack. Does who have babies get a tbsp a day, and we start that about a week before they're due to kindle so they have enough nutrition to get that milk in. Once they've weaned out their litter, back to a teaspoon.

Thanks for the information! That's just what I had wanted to know. I'll get a bag of Calf Manna next time I'm at the feed store. It's nice that it's both healthy and delicious, I'm sure my rabbits will love it!