Is there any reason not to feed goats rabbit food?

[freedomfrom4]

My rabbit pellets are mostly alfalfa, so is there any reason I can not use that as a supplement instead of buying alfalfa pelets? I'm so tired of buying all this variety of stuff for all the different animals because of the increased feed bill cost. If I can buy 1 bag more often instead of 2 bags at a time it helps me.
Right now my goats are looking good. They get to wander around and eat whatever they want of vegitation and hay, so they don't live strictly off thier feed bowl I feed them once a day in the evening to pen them in the barn. I mix 2 cups medicated meat goat feed, 1/3 cup boss, and fill the rest of the cottage cheese container with rabbit food. They seem to be growing good. I just got to wondering about any reason to not feed them the rabbit pellets?
Oh they also torture the horse and steal her feed. Poor horse. 3 goats against 1 horse is not fair.
Oh all the goats are young and still growing boer girls.

[Kshobbit]

How big is the cottage cheese container? Is that one carton for each goat? Rabbit pellets cost more than alfalfa pellets here, so it may not be cost effective.

[hillbillly]

i know you should not feed it to bucks,
causes urinary tract problems [mineral deposits / stones]
and can permanently damage reproduction.
i'd also check the various minerals to see if they match up exactly.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Let's see, can you eat pig food instead of human food and still be healthy?

If you are tired of getting the right food for each animal, sell a couple of the varieties of animals. Most likely the horses, unless they are draft animals. They consume the most and contribute the least.

That solves two problems. Less expense, less to take care of.

[stanb999]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

Let's see, can you eat pig food instead of human food and still be healthy?

Actually you gave a really bad example... People are "long pork".

But I agree with what you say about the rabbit feed. Give your livestock the best you can and they will do the best for you.

[freedomfrom4]

I would love to sell the horse but she is my husbands and he won't let me. Yes it is one cottage cheese container per goat per day. I know of rabbit people who feed thier rabbits alfalfa pellets as rabbit pellets are mostly alfalfa so that is what lead to wondering about feeding the goats rabbit pellets.
Right now I buy
Cat food for the cat
Dog food for the dog
start and grow chick food for the younger chicks
2 grain scratch feed for the bigger chickens
oats
Rabbit pellets for the rabbits
Meat goat feed for the goats
boss
high protien horse nuggets
and hay

Thay is not counting all the wormers, minerals and such
It just adds up when I'm at the store.
I have had a bunny, dog, and cat for years. My son sold his bottle calf and bought chickens, so that is how we got chicks. My husbands friend gave him the horse in exchange for some work, and I choose to try my hand at goats instead of more bottle calves. That is how we came to have all our animals and the only thing I can say goes is the goats.

I asked my daughter if I could get rid of her goat called cutie that is always sick and she said "yes if you get a pig we can eat cause I like bacon".

[deetu]

You going to name it Bacon?

Sounds like you haven't decided what animal fits your family best yet.

[marvella]

i've done it without problems. when i asked for goat alfalfa pellets at the feed store they told me they are the same thing as rabbit pellets.

however, check into the price of both, check out mineral content, then buy whatever is cheapest for both. it's not good as a sole source of food, but mixed with hay and browse it should be fine.

if you have too many animals, decide what to keep based on how much you are getting back from them. rabbits for meat? keep. goats for milk? keep. etc.

unfortunatley, hubby's horse may come out on the short end of it. horses are expensive to keep.

[Backfourty,MI.]

In my girls feed that I mix up I do use rabbit pellets instead of alfafa pellets. One we have rabbits also but the most important reason for me is they like the rabbit pellets & won't eat the alfafa pellets. I've tried them from all different feed store's & mill's & all I do is end up with alfafa pellets to put in my wild critter feeders. I've been doing it with rabbit pellets over a year & have had no problems.

[freedomfrom4]

Originally Posted by deetu

You going to name it Bacon?

Sounds like you haven't decided what animal fits your family best yet.

Our bottle calves were named veal and chuck (for chuck roast).
We like our animals and don't really want to part with anybody. I just would really like to simplify feed buying and storage. We buy 50 lbs bags of pretty much every thing. I think the boss is 40, but still that is also alot to buy, drag home, and store. So far they haven't died and love it. If anyone doesn't know of a reason to feed it I guess I'll keep on. They are looking healthier and it has to be an improvment over the sweet feed that the goats and horse was eating as a feed all food.
Thanks
(Iknow gramatical and speling errors abound, sory)

Ohh and alice just because it says goat feed doesn't mean it is best for goats, so just because it doesn't say goat feed doesn't automatically mean it is not best for goats. Have you ever looked at the contents and compared?

[Alice In TX/MO]

Actually, yet. And I tried reading the rabbit pellets label, too.

We feed free choice alfalfa, oats, BOSS, loose mineral, kelp, and beet pulp.

Sometimes a bit of corn chops or sweet feed if it's REALLY cold.

[Minelson]

Now you have me thinking...
3 dogs...dog food for 2 and home made for 1
8 cats...dry food, one kind for 3 indoor and another kind for the outdoor
3 goats...hay, boss and alfalfa pellets (frosted mini wheats for treats)
10 chickens...layer pellets, boss, corn
2 horses...hay, boss, biotin supplement
1 dh...he is getting a bowl of cereal tonight lol!!!

[DQ]

I feed alfalfa and corn to our bunny. I can pay 7$ for 50lbs of that or I can pay 9$ for 20lbs of rabbit feed. the bunny feed has alfalfa and "grain products" and very minimal mineral levels. whats the difference?

i say read labels, know what your requirements are and see what you can do to fit your convenience and pocket book. there is no magic species feed. horse feed, cow feed, goat feed, rabbit feed, sheep feed, chicken feed.....they all can be and often are made up of the same products. that doesn't mean you can you use them all the same but you can't use everything labeled for goats the same either there are complete rations and there are grain supplements or dairy rations...... for some products they just change the bag at the feed mill and call it something else. the more expensive feeds have more quality ingredients, the less expensive tend to have the "grain/forage products" and molasses etc..... mineral levels change, protein and fiber levels change, but they change between different kinds of feed within the same animal category too because they are designed to be fed in different situations. ie as a full feed, as energy supplement only, as hay replacers or fed with or without additional minerals. imo few mineralized feeds contain enough of any one mineral to be a problem or push your limits one way or the other if you have a good loose mineral out.

this reminds me of people who freak out when someone worms their dog with a horse wormer.... "OMG its a horse wormer"....its usually the same wormers just different labels and dosages. its often the same with feed stuffs.

[mygoat]

Rabbit pellets are likely to be more expensive than plain alfalfa pellets.

As for feeds, goats (especially meat goats) don't need grain all the time. Free choice hay is adequate for most goats unless they're lactating or in very late pregnancy. I just offer a teeny amount of the 18% chicken feed (which is soybean meal, alfalfa meal, oats, and corn) to my meat does late in pregnancy and for a couple weeks after kidding. Bucks and wethers never get grain.

I have most people beat for the animal list, if not in number than variety.

75 or so chickens and chicks - 18% custom grain mix
12 muscovies - 18% custom grain mix
12 meat rabbits - 17% pellets
2 dogs
6 cats
24 rats (or so) - Pig feed + cat food
40 mice (or so) - Pig feed + cat food
4 snakes
1 leopard tortoise
1 Iguana

All fed, watered, and properly housed... Though I do it as economically as possible! Just means I don't get a new pair of shoes as often as I'd like.

I might feed extra rabbit feed to goats or chickens. I wouldn't do it regularly, however - too expensive. I feed all my poultry the same mix which is very handy. I also supplement some of my meat goats with the 18% poultry mix, like to does a couple weeks before and after kidding.

[Way Out West]

I love feeding all our animals! Though I have to admit we are never without alfalfa pellets and they feed the cow, horse, bun, goats and for some reason the dogs like to chew on them too. they're our all-purpose feed.

But I still have to buy:

goat food
dog food
cat food
laying pellets
scratch grains/corn
Senior horse feed for the old horses
parakeet feed
fish food
salt blocks
potatoes
pancake syrup

OH wait, I lapsed into the household feed bill! LOL

I just love buying feed for all our critters-I always did want to have a feed store...

and yes, alfalfa pellets are cheaper than rabbit food. find out what the "binder" is to know more about what you're feeding out... BTW that horse can have alfalfa pellets too...

[jil101ca]

I buy:
rabbit food- meat rabbits
duck food - ducks and geese
laying mash - chickens
scratch - chickens, ducks & geese
cracked corn - pig, Boer buck (he also gets 16%)
16% dairy ration, all goats
cat food
2 different types of dog food

I have found that feeding animals food meant for others results in a stunted growth rate, although more economical to feed only one or 2 types of feed, each feed is specially formulated for that species to promote optimal growth and production.

[MissyMoo]

feed-wise, I have to buy only.......

Alfalfa hay
Grain (corn, oats, barley w/molasses)
Milk Replacer formula for when I have bottle calves
and of course the dogs get dog food

these are the only things I need to buy at the feed store to feed my dogs, goats, pigs, 1 small chubby horse, older calves, chickens, and rabbits. (however I give scraps, treats, and veggies and fruits as I have them available).

[Bricheze]

I would feed rabbits goat feed... seems to me that they don't need as special of food as goats and it would most likely be less expensive. Can't you just feed them all regular alfalfa?

[Feathers-N-Fur]

I buy alfalfa for the goats. Then I buy a ton of corn, a ton of barley (cheaper than corn here) and soy meal, and sometimes oats for the goats. Then it gets mixed in different formulations depending on whether it is going to the pigs or goats or chickens. Pigs and goats also get minerals, goats free choice and pigs get it mixed in their feed.
Of course I also buy dog food for 3 dogs and cat food for 6 cats and macaw food for 3 macaws, parrot food for 4 parrots and parakeet food for 1 cockatiel (the oddball doesn't like sunflower or safflower seed). I feed 6 kinds of feed to my pet birds.
The feed store guy loves us. He even offered to let us put our paychecks direct deposit into his bank account.

[mygoat]

Originally Posted by Bricheze

I would feed rabbits goat feed... seems to me that they don't need as special of food as goats and it would most likely be less expensive. Can't you just feed them all regular alfalfa?

regular alfalfa would be OK as a base - but if you fed JUST alfalfa pellets they would get mineral/vitamin deficiencies quick. Rabbit pellets are formulated to be a complete diet. Also, certain percentages of protein are better for different age rabbits - feeding just alfalfa pellets would probably result in very slow growing kits, and they'd need vitamin/mineral supplementation too.