raising rabbits organically

[SquashNut]

we just bought some rabbits and brought home 50 pounds of prepared rabbit food. I would like to convert them to organic feed as soon as I can.
I have a organic garden so they can have the veggies from that, but I need to know what kind of organic grain would be good for them. And if possible, I need to know how much grain to give a buck, doe and various growing rabbits. Can I sprout whole grains as part of their food?
Thanks for any help.

[chamoisee]

I know a gal who feeds her rabbits nothing at all but alfalfa hay. If you can locate some, one or two bales would probably go a long way.

[SquashNut]

finding organic hay would be the problem.
I thought does esspecially needed some grain to breed and make milk.
I wanted to get organic grain for them from azure standard. I think I can get rye berries for $10.50. Would that work?

[MaggieJ]

Originally Posted by SquashNut

finding organic hay would be the problem.
I thought does esspecially needed some grain to breed and make milk.
I wanted to get organic grain for them from azure standard. I think I can get rye berries for $10.50. Would that work?

I think oats would be a better choice, if you can get them - or even blend of several grains. There is a lot of controversy about feeding grain to rabbits. Too much is definitely a problem, especially in summer.

Have you been following the current threads on feeding greens and gardening for rabbits? You will find some useful tips there and a link to a good British website with tons of good rabbit links as well as plant lists etc.

I am in the process of weaning my rabbits from pelleted food. My rabbits are well accustomed to greens and hay as supplements, but this year I am trying to make the transition to all natural food... which is almost the same in this case as organic since we do not use chemicals on our land.

The most important thing is to go slowly - VERY SLOWLY - introducing greens and grains. Keep the normal amount of pelleted food before them and add just a few bits of greens and perhaps a tablespoon of grain. In my experience, once rabbits get accustomed to other foods, they will eat the pellets ONLY if hungry.

The safest greens are likely the ones that regulate their poops: raspberry leaves, strawberry leaves, blackberry leaves, plantain and shepherd's purse. Dandelions, clover and fresh alfalfa may or may not cause problems... so go easy on them at first. One or two leaves of each is plenty to start.... and then gradually increase. My buns are to the point where they are eating mainly greens and grass hay. But tonight I noticed that one of them had rather soft poops - not diarrhoe, but not quite normal either. So instead of giving the usual assortment of greens, I picked out the plants I mentioned above and gave her those. The other two rabbits are fine and received the usual assortment but with less of the regulators because they went to the one that had the problem. I'm not sure at this point whether this little problem was caused by QUANTITY or by one of the new greens I introduced, but vigilance on my part will soon tell me and I will adjust her diet accordingly. You have to feel your way and say alert to possible problems while you are making changes to the rabbits' diet.

If you can grow even a small alfalfa patch, that will be a big help to you. I do not consider alfalfa hay a complete diet for rabbits, but certainly some dried alfalfa will be excellent for them, especially as they eat fewer pellets. Alfalfa is very high in protein but it is also high in calcium... and rabbits need a good balance of phosphorus to calcium if you are to avoid "bladder sludge".

You have a lot to learn if you want to feed your rabbits organically (don't we all?!?) but it can be done. Just go very slowly, read all you can (there are excellent threads from several months ago as well as the links I mentioned) and be extremely attuned to your rabbits. Especially watch their poops... the best indication of digestive health or digestive problems. Your current rabbits may never make the complete transition... but their kits will if you manage them carefully.

Rabbit feeding before pellets was considered to be divided into three "food groups": fresh foods, concentrates (grain) and fibre (hay etc.) Keep this in mind when you are formulating the ideal diet for your buns... and please post your findings as you gain experience. We all need to share what we have learned.

[rabbitgal]

You'd better sit down - I just picked up 300# of prepared rabbit food a couple of weeks ago! My wallet groans every time we pass the feed store. (My feed store guys don't though... )

Anyway, I did find a recipe for homemade rabbit food the other day (http://pan-am.uniserve.com/pg000062.htm ). It's designed to be baked in an oven and crumbled, but I really don't see any reason why you couldn't feed the hay separately and just make a grain/vitamin supplement. (?) (I think the reasoning behind making a doughy substance and baking it is to prevent the rabbits from picking out their favorite foods.)

I did study the ingredients in my feed and it's basically just alfalfa, some grain products (protein and fiber source), and vitamin/mineral supplements. Once I discovered that, I was like, "Hey, why on earth am I paying $11 a bag for HAY when I could mix up my own stuff!?"

There was an interesting post on an Angora yahoo list a few weeks ago. Apparently, many German breeders feed little, if any, prepared pellets. Hay, grains, and garden stuff make up a large portion of the rabbits' diets. When they CAN get pellets, they usually feed them like we'd feed a protein supplement like Calf Manna or Sunshine Plus . (I guess some American breeders have run into problems after importing German Angoras because the rabbits often have a hard time adjusting to the pelleted feeds we use here.) What's even more interesting is that German Angora rabbits on both sides of the pond often produce these crazy amounts of wool, rivalling mega sheep wool producers like Merinos. (measuring the ratio of body weight compared to pounds of wool produced in a year)

It will be interesting to see how everyone's natural feeding projects go! We are gradually introducing non-pelleted stuff here...mainly just hay right now.

Here's a list of toxic plants:
http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-d...poisonous.html
http://www.3bunnies.org/poisonous_plants.htm

Non-toxic plants (Whether or not these are good *food* plants, I don't know.):
http://www.3bunnies.org/non_toxic_plants.htm

[Spinner]

I have the opposite problem. My rabbits have been eating organic all summer. I've been wondering what I'll feed them in the winter when there is nothing in the yard for them to munch on. I don't want to start feeding them "store bought" feed. Wild rabbits find food in the winter so I'm sure there is something out there for them. Any ideas on what it might be?

[MaggieJ]

Originally Posted by Spinner

I have the opposite problem. My rabbits have been eating organic all summer. I've been wondering what I'll feed them in the winter when there is nothing in the yard for them to munch on. I don't want to start feeding them "store bought" feed. Wild rabbits find food in the winter so I'm sure there is something out there for them. Any ideas on what it might be?

Spinner, if you start now drying the same greens you are feeding them and store them for winter, you'll be able to eke out their ration with small amounts of grain and lots of good hay - alfalfa and timothy work well.

The other thread that I started recently on natural feeding has a lot of information on what plants members have fed successfully. These should all dry well: dandelion, pea vines, clover, alfalfa, plantain, grape vines with leaves, raspberry canes with leaves, maple, apple and willow branches with leaves, strawberry leaves, round-leaf mallow, shepherd's purse, comfrey, grasses with seed heads... and no doubt there are lots I have missed. You can also grow grain grasses in pots or tubs indoors and give them the cut grass as a fresh green. Carrots, apples etc. are also great for winter treats.

[Beaniemom]

How exactly do you dry them? Lay them out in the sun, use a dehydrator? And how do you store it?

What do plantain and shepherds purse look like??? It would be funny if I went and bought some seeds and found I already had some growing in the back yard!

Dawn

[MaggieJ]

Here's a great link with photos and write ups on lots of weeds.

http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/weeds.htm

PLEASE NOTE: This is a resource for identifying weeds and NOT a list of plants that are necessarily good for rabbits.

[Spinner]

Originally Posted by Beaniemom

What do plantain and shepherds purse look like??? It would be funny if I went and bought some seeds and found I already had some growing in the back yard!

Dawn

Plantain looks like a banana, here's a pic of shepherds purse. You probably won't have plantain, but there's a good chance you might have shepherds purse.

[MaggieJ]

Originally Posted by Spinner

Plantain looks like a banana, here's a pic of shepherds purse. You probably won't have plantain, but there's a good chance you might have shepherds purse.

YIKES! No, Spinner, that's not the kind of plantain we are talking about! Don't give THAT to your buns!

Here is the plantain you are looking for!
http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/plantain.htm

This is an excellent example of the problems that can arise from using common names for plants instead of the Latin/botanical names.

PLEASE, anyone who is not confident that they know what plants they are looking for, ask for clarification.

[Spinner]

My bunnies like to eat a little bit of banana. I didn't know there was a broad-leaf plantain plant. The only kind of plantain I knew of was the banana type. Learn something new every day. Thanks for the link.

[MaggieJ]

Originally Posted by Spinner

My bunnies like to eat a little bit of banana. I didn't know there was a broad-leaf plantain plant. The only kind of plantain I knew of was the banana type. Learn something new every day. Thanks for the link.

Actually, Spinner, for all I know your kind of plantain may be fine for buns. I'm familiar with it, of course, as people food. My ex is a Bajan so I can cook West Indian food very competently... and have often fried plantain - the banana relative.

Perhaps you don't have broad-leafed plantain in your area. Here it is a common weed growing just about anywhere... and very good for the buns!

[Beaniemom]

The farm and garden store had something called plantain, but it was a lily! Boy it sure can get confusing!

Dawn

[MaggieJ]

Okay folks, this is where we need to start a list with both common and botanical names... before one of us gives our buns something that can harm them. I'll try to spend some time on getting a start this evening and will post it soon.

[Beaniemom]

Yeah, that sounds good! I have lots of various weeds growing here (if it weren't for weeds, I'd have no lawn at all) and would love to know what they are and if they're safe! About the only thing I recognize is dandelion! (And I have loads of that)

Dawn

[MaggieJ]

Originally Posted by Beaniemom

Yeah, that sounds good! I have lots of various weeds growing here (if it weren't for weeds, I'd have no lawn at all) and would love to know what they are and if they're safe! About the only thing I recognize is dandelion! (And I have loads of that)

Dawn

Whereabouts are you, Dawn? (It is really helpful when people give their location, or at least the state or province they live in.) I might be able to give you a short-list of good plants for your area to start you off. Once you have that, you could check them out on-line so you know what they look like and proceed from there.

[Beaniemom]

I'm in Upstate NY (near rochester)

Dawn

[MaggieJ]

I'll wave to you across the Lake! LOL.

You should have pretty much the same plants as we do here... which simplifies things.

I'm trying to find time to make a list with both common and botanical names and perhaps a link to a website that has a photgraph. Actually it is good to use both a photo and a drawing because the drawing will draw your attention to little things that might not show in a photo. When I get the list together I will start it as a new post and hope other people will add to it.

[Beaniemom]

Thanks, I appreciate it! I'm one of these people who lets weeds come up every year thinking they're a flower!

Dawn