Rabbit food

We have been raising a few hoppers,1 male 2 3 female's.....what is the suggestion on feed for good eatin?I heard of calf something til maturity......I'm a greenhorn at this and google don't really help me ...??

All greens and other veggies. You know, stuff that they would eat in the wild. Carrots are sweet, If I had rabbits that were raised for eating I may feed them alot of carrots to sweeten up the meat a little bit.

honestly you need to come on ats and ask us this?
you have got to be joking
if you dont know what to feed a rabbit how can you even be smart enough to look after one

Green and non commercial.
I worked in the pet food industry and found out enough to know I'd NEVER feed an animal commecial food.

NOT LETTUCE. it turns into liqiud on its way through

Go out into the wilderness and get lots of grass and supplement with vegetables. Grass stops their teeth getting too long because they have to chew it a lot.
Bear in mind that they only partialy digest the first time thats why they eat it again and its the reason lettuce should not be given. So if a food makes them squirt it means they cant eat it again and wont get the essentials.

reply to post by stopmakingsense


their not play toys....and i only joined this site for good informative information....and i got it

reply to post by saroncan


I had a rabbitry when I was in high school. Don't feed your rabbits grass, carrots, lettuce or anything else like that. Feed them commercial rabbit food that you find at the country stores in the 50 pound bags. When you get lots more rabbits, buy a ton of alfalfa and have it pellitized at a grain mill with an online formula for rabbits. Don't feed domestic rabbits food that wild rabbits eat, because its not good for them. Also, don't over buy too much food at any one time because it does get old, and then old tasting and they won't like it.

I also started off with a buck and three does. My black doe had 13 babies everytime she gave birth, and my other 2 new zealand white does had about 6.8 babies per litter. They had 6+ litters a year and I was selling over a 100 young babies a month weighing around 4 pounds apiece to a truck that sold them in Arkansas. Rabbits reproduce very quickly.

I really didn't like the taste of rabbit, but I do like the taste of Jumbo Brown Coturnix Quail, and they will make you a lot more money a lot faster than rabbits, and you'll like the taste better too. Their cheaper to raise and their reproduction is way faster, and they can be kept in a very small area. You can sell the meat, the eggs; and even live birds to hunters.

Good luck with your project.

ETA: Never mind, I didn't read the poster above me. I apologize

reply to post by RussianScientists


Very nice Quail I would taste...Wild turkey or what not....thanks bud.

reply to post by kimish
[mor

Run along Mr.Helper....I'm sure you have better discussions .

reply to post by saroncan


DO NOT GIVE THEM GREENS AND VEGGIES!!. They can cause diarrhea very easily and it kills them. Give them rabbit pellets. Get advice from a feed store, pet store, website information. And now I see.....the above poster

Originally posted by RussianScientists

Don't feed your rabbits grass, carrots, lettuce or anything else like that. Feed them commercial rabbit food that you find at the country stores in the 50 pound bags.

Whome do you work for???

When you get lots more rabbits, buy a ton of alfalfa.
Also, don't over buy too much food at any one time because it does get old

A TON!!!

Don't feed domestic rabbits food that wild rabbits eat, because its not good for them.

Yes it IS!!! They are exposed to small amounts of NATURAL bacteria etc and allows them to build a healthy immune system.

Dont mean to affend but you sound just like the reps I used to deal with.
Depriving them of a healthy immune system leads to suffering and/or large bills.

reply to post by saroncan


People raise rabbits for a number of reasons...
1.Pets, rabbits are as smart as a cat and can be litter trained.
2. Sometimes they are sold to labs for experimentation but those are a particular pink eyed breed,
3. I know people who raised them for eating
4. and others who raised them because they were feeding a big snake.

Rabbits eat rabbit pellets with Timothy Hay and Bales of Timothy Hay along with plenty of water. There are mineral blocks you can buy. Pine chips as bedding but never ceder. They eat carrots, apples and bananas, romaine lettuce and sunflower seeds. You can tell the health of your rabbits by their droppings which if they get small and round you are feeding too much or too little. They also have to digest some of their own droppings and since they are vegetarian this isn't as bad as it seems at first. Rabbit dung does not stink like other animals...course enough of anything will stink.

Make sure you let them out to run around, keeping an animal in a cage 24/7 is inhumane

Staple should be combo fresh hay & lots of it with special formula pellets. Timothy Hay & Orchard grass sold by Oxbow are the best here in Oz. Supplement with lots of green leafy veggies, fresh herbs like basil, coriander, but carrots & sweet fruit only in very minute amounts as treats. Look up more on the web, rabbits are very fragile in regards to diet and I hate ill-formed animal owners.

Originally posted by VoidHawk
Originally posted by RussianScientists

Don't feed your rabbits grass, carrots, lettuce or anything else like that. Feed them commercial rabbit food that you find at the country stores in the 50 pound bags.

Whome do you work for???

When you get lots more rabbits, buy a ton of alfalfa.
Also, don't over buy too much food at any one time because it does get old

A TON!!!

Don't feed domestic rabbits food that wild rabbits eat, because its not good for them.

Yes it IS!!! They are exposed to small amounts of NATURAL bacteria etc and allows them to build a healthy immune system.

Dont mean to affend but you sound just like the reps I used to deal with.
Depriving them of a healthy immune system leads to suffering and/or large bills.



I'm no rep., what I wrote above was correct. I raised rabbits as a kid for years and belonged to ARBA; www.arba.net...

As a scientist, I study earthquakes.

When you get enough rabbits, like 20 does or more that are producing 6-8 litters a year of 6.8 babies per litter, of course you will want to cut your feed costs and buy a ton of quality alfalfa for $130 and have the mill add molasses and other ingredients which will bring your total cost down to around probably $350 or less for just a little over a ton; which cuts your costs.

Like I said, don't feed domestic rabbits stuff that wild rabbits can eat, because it will give them the drops, and they can also die from other foods that wild rabbits eat. The best thing to do when raising rabbits in a rabbitry type situation is to build your own wire cages to the correct sizes and wires (see arba).

Put your feed in a little red wagon and pull it down the rows and scoop out a cup full of feed and put it in the metal feeders that hang on the outside of the cages, takes about 10 seconds per cage. Use bottles that hang upside down outside of the cage to water the rabbits, they unscrew very quickly and then you can dunk and fill them in about 10 seconds in a 5 gallon bucket pulled behind you as you go down the rows pulling your little red wagon.

Feeding and watering time is fast. Breeding time is the only time you should take the does out of their cages and put them in with the buck. Always wear welders gloves or some other thick gloves when putting your does in with the buck or taking them out of the bucks cage because there is the chance that the buck will attack and bite your hand when you reach in to get the doe. The bucks have large teeth, and yes, they will attack and if they bite, their long teeth will go deep into your hand.

I grew up on the farm and own one. I've raised cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, turkeys, quail, pheasants, chukar, chickens, geese, ducks and ostriches. So, I know a lot about how to take care of animals.

Take care.