How do you feed your rabbits without pellets?greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread |
Hi! I am a reader of countryside & Small Stock Journal and learning a lot from the magazine about self reliant country living. I have started to raise small number of rabbits to feed my family. I got books about raising rabbit, but almost all of them recommend to raise rabbit with pellets. I know pellets are easy, fast way to raise rabbit but I would like to feed them with my own products or something I can clearly know ingredient. I usually feed them vegetables, oats, rice, grass from my garden and residue left after the production of tofu (bean curd) from tofu shop. I wonder is my way to feed rabbit O.K.? Here in Japan, not many people raise rabbit for meat porpose. Around my area, I am the only one and nobody to get advices. Please give me some advices and share your method with me. thank you and excuse me of my poor English.
-- Hiroe Arimizu (arimizuh@tcp-ip.or.jp), February 14, 2002
we have raised rabbits for meat for many years. we have fed them very much as you are doing. they can often have a difficult time getting all that nutrients that they need from a single source, so the mixture of fresh and dried foods will help balance it out. How long have you had the rabbits ? are they doing ok on the diet you are feeding them, are they gaining wt. do your does have healthy litters and do they make enough milk to feed them. are the young healthy and do they grow well? Good luck with them. Your english is munch better than my japanese...ron
-- ron in ny (ronmister@hotmail.com), February 14, 2002.
ron,Thank you very much for your quick response and wonderful tip. Mixture of dry and fresh foods for balancing! I will keep your advice in my mind all the time.I raise rabbits for 2 years (Flemish Giant 4does&2bucks) All of them look healthy. My 3 does usually have 6-8 babies at one time, they grow well. One doe had 4 big babies but she stanp on them and died a month ago, I don't know the reason.
-- Hiroe Arimizu (arimizuh@tcp-ip.or.jp), February 14, 2002.
Found two web sites, that may be helpful: American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA), (http://www.arba.net/) The AMERICAN RABBIT BREEDERS ASSOCIATION, INC. is an organization dedicated to the promotion, development and improvement of the domestic rabbit and cavy. With over 30,000 members throughout the United States, Canada, and abroad,our members range from the pet owner with one rabbit or cavy to the breeder or commercial raiser with several hundred animals. Each aspect of the rabbit and cavy industry, whether it be fancy (for exhibition),as a pet, or for commercial value, is encouraged by our organization.The Rabbit Web, (http://www.rabbitweb.net/) Get advice on how to raise your rabbits and bunnies on Rabbit Web. We have informative articles, cute bunny pics, and lots of savvy bunny owners on the discussion board and in chat groups.
-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), February 14, 2002.
Can you provide hay for the rabbits? They do well to have long, fibrous plant materials to eat. It's necessary for their digestion.
-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), February 14, 2002.
Sometimes the doe will kill them if she's stressed or doesn't like something. Try to breed her again. You will probably have good luck the next time! Put the doe box in with her at least a week before she kindles (has babies). Good Luck!
-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 14, 2002.
My cousins in Croatia raise rabbits for their freezer with no purchased feed. See the article, "Raising Rabbits the Crotian Way" under the Rabbits category.
-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 14, 2002.
Hiroe,here is a list you might want to join, MeatRabbits at Yahoo
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Meatrabbits/?yguid=70332850
There are over 400 people there sharing information on raising meat rabbits.
-- westbrook (westbrook_farms@yahoo.com), February 14, 2002.
They don't need the pellets at all! I raised rabbits practically all my life. Until my daughter developed an allergy against them. And most of the time it bother me to buy expensive pellets, for them that most of the time they even wont eat all the bowl, and guess what will spill them to the floor!!!, the good thing about rabbits is they eat everything. I used to buy bread (the old stale bread from a bread maker) and give that to them, grass, potatoes, potatoes peels, turnips etc. I always kept in their cages two or three potatoes, or two grain, corn, frijoles, beans,pigeons bean etc, just in case they "ran out" of grass in the middle of the night. One thing I learn with my rabbits was they love to eat and they do so all day. Also some branches from trees they will love them too, so when I was trimming my garden I gave them the leaves, and branches they also love the woody part of the branches, remmember they need to use those teeth, if they don't use the teeth the teeth will continue growing, until you would need to take them to the vet, to trim them. Good luck I think you are very intelligent keeping rabbits in Japan where food its so expensive. Good Luck to you. God Bless. Ralph.
-- Ralph (rroces1@yahoo.com), February 14, 2002.
We feed ours sweet feed and alfalfa, and grass hay.
-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), February 14, 2002.
Remember that cherry trees, and all members of the prunus family (cherry, plum, apple(?), etc) contain poisonous cyanide compounds in their bark. Be sure that you're not giving them cuttings from these types of trees. Stick with known hardwoods such as oak, elm, hickory, etc.
-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), February 14, 2002.
Thank you very much everybody! Not giving me wonderful informations but your warm hearts. I feel like I find friends who can talk about rabbits.
-- Hiroe Arimizu (arimizuh@tcp-ip.or.jp), February 14, 2002.
If you have brocolli or brassicas feed to the rabbits. The only time I can raise little ones is to feed it to them. I raise Angoras whom I am sure need more protein to grow their wool and brocolli has protein.Your diet does sound good though and proof is Are they producing meat and little ones? Good Luck, Terry
-- Terry Lipe (elipe@fidnet.com), February 14, 2002.
WHOA- Broccoli IS NOT GOOD FOR RABBITS!!! nor lettuce, radishes (in quanity), cabbage, califlower, turnips. stick to drier feeds, and things will work out better. If you do give "wet" vegetables, stay away from the cabbage family (which includes broccoli and others on the list, plus a few not mentioned) and feed in small quanities. Stale bread is better than fresh. Diareah will kill a health rabbit fast- if your rabbit does get wet tail, feed hay and nothing but hay and it should clear up with in a few hours.
-- Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), February 15, 2002.
Someone used the term 'sweet feed' and you may not be familiar with it. Basically it is a horse feed. It contains corn, oats, etc. with molasses (which makes it sweet). Most livestock love it.
-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 15, 2002.
I was under the impression (and so is my rabbit, who has eaten the bark and buds for years) that prunings from apple trees were good for rabbits. My goats also enjoy them. Of course, I do not spray my apple trees. I have always heard that wilted cherry leaves are toxic to many types of livestock so I have never offered cherry branches.
-- Sheryl in ME (radams@sacoriver.net), February 15, 2002.
I couldn't remember whether or not apples fell into that catagory, but remembered that they have cyanide (in small amounts) in their seeds, so I added them just in case. It may be that a larger animal would be less affected, or maybe apple limbs are okay and it's just their seeds that are bad. i do know that the cherry and plum, et al, contain levels of cyanide in their bark, but not how much. And definately, no leaves allowed!
-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), February 15, 2002.
Soni: I think you are right however the wild rabbits around my house could care less, I can show you my poor apple tree after winter they always hit it very much. I don't spray my plants I allow the rabbits to do what they want to do. But my neighoor advised me to and (this sound terrible) to urinate the trees once in a while, my boys are taking care of this with plasure, and guess what? It works!! I am trying to get the information but I am 80% sure that you are right. Ralph.
-- Ralph (rroces1@yahoo.com), February 16, 2002.
Hiroe, not many people in Japan raise rabbits for meat purposes because eating rabbits is just disgusting. Rabbits are for pets, not food. There are plenty of other foods that I'm sure you can get without killing ANY animals. Your life depends more on vegetables than meat, so you should think about it. Your family will not starve if they don't eat meat.
-- Patricia (twoloveone@aol.com), April 06, 2002.
Patricia, I want to respectfully say that what you stated is your opinion, not fact. If you want to debate veganism for reasons of cruelty to animals, please start a separate thread. Many people who raise meat rabbits treat them and care for them as well or better than many who have pet rabbits. Then if they are quickly butchered they have lived a happy life, and are never aware it was cut short, unlike a wild rabbit hunted, say, by a fox, knowing mortal terror. People who raise rabbits for meat for their family often do so because they don't want to eat supermarket meat, which comes from animals raised commercially under awful conditions, and which go through the even much more awful slaughter houses. Compared to the average cow turned into hamburger, a meat rabbit lives and dies under wonderful conditions.Hiroe, I wish you the best of luck!
-- Elizabeth in E TX (kimprice@peoplescom.net), April 06, 2002.