In the latest issue of Countryside Magazine, there is an article written by a gal who had formerly had a commercial rabbitry, and she mentions using Alfalfa pellets, like those for horses, instead of rabbit pellets for feed, with the addition of grain for lactating does. Now, my rabbit pellets have all types of additives in them, do they need these, or is she right? Any thoughts? Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), April 14, 2002

Answers

Rabbit pellets are specifically formulated for the nutritional requirements of *rabbits!" Alfalfa cubes are not! Likewise, many rabbits are unable to even eat the cubes, as they are too hard. As a result, we consider them mostly as "toys" for the rabbits to play with.

Just because the rabbit pellets are green and are comprised mostly of alfalfa, this does not mean that they are ONLY made of alfalfa! Actually, I believe the alfalfa content is only around 56%.

Give unto cows that which is made for cows, and give unto rabbits that which is made FOR rabbits! LOL

-- Pat Lamar (fuzyfarm@3-cities.com), April 14, 2002.

I read the same article & got real excited over the idea of cheaper feed. Is there any alternative to commercial feed that is both healthy & cheap? I read in You Can Farm about feeding mangels for part of the diet. What's your opinion on that?

-- Bonnie (stichart@plix.com), April 17, 2002.

Yes and no... again, you would need to be a nutritionist in order to know exactly how much to give to the rabbits in conjunction with whatever else you are feeding them! Remember, the key statement was "for *part* of the diet." How much is a "part?" Any supplements given will naturally upset the nutritional balance of the pelleted feed and you won't know how much protein and crude fiber they are getting... along with additional Vitamin A and other vitamins.

Mangels are sometimes used in the making of pelleted feed. Each ingredient in the feed has several different alternative ingredients, which mills will use according to season, availability and price. As a result, all you would be doing is eventually feeding the same stuff as what's in the pelleted feed, but in its crude form! LOL If you have a sizable herd, this could be truly labor intensive and again... not knowing how much is too much of each item? Are we having fun, yet? LOL

I don't mean to be an old stick-in-the-mud, but there will always be growers who think they know more than the scientists and nutritionists. As such, you *will* hear and read about many different "theories." For example, a bunch of Canadians recently thought they were onto a really good thing by feeding inexpensive cattle feed to their rabbits. Those were the sorriest bunch of fryers I ever saw!

I'd surely give it a lot of serious thought before proceeding.

-- Pat Lamar (fuzyfarm@3-cities.com), April 17, 2002.