feeding rabbits

[PurpleCArTires]

What do you all feed your rabbits daily?

We are new to meat rabbits and looking to minimize feed costs.

Right now they are getting unlimited 2nd cut orchard grass, about 1 cup of wheat fodder (grass, seeds, and roots), and approx 1/2 cup pellets. They also have mineral and salt wheels (but only 1 rabbit eats from the wheels)

We would like to eventually only feed them hay and fresh grasses in the summer and hay/fodder in the winter.

How much fodder do you recommend feeding them? or how do you guys do it? Ideas are appreciated! thanks!

 

[NatJ]

It's been quite some time since I raised meat rabbits, so feed options may have changed.

I fed pellets almost exclusively, partly for convenience and partly because I lived in an area that did not grow hay-- so any hay was trucked in from far away and would have cost about as much as the pellets while being less convenient and less predictable.

I would give small amounts of grass from the yard as occasional treats, but not enough to make much difference nutritionally.

For a few years, I gave the rabbits as much as I could find of dandelion greens and a few other specific plants, because the pellets had insufficient Vitamin A (this was based on a book of rabbit problems/diseases/solutions. The main symptom was does having their bunnies all over the floor of the cage, rather than in the nestbox. This included experienced does with a former history of kindling properly in the nestbox. With the supplements of dandelions, the problem went away and the does went back to their former good habits.)

 

[PurpleCArTires]

It's been quite some time since I raised meat rabbits, so feed options may have changed.

I fed pellets almost exclusively, partly for convenience and partly because I lived in an area that did not grow hay-- so any hay was trucked in from far away and would have cost about as much as the pellets while being less convenient and less predictable.

I would give small amounts of grass from the yard as occasional treats, but not enough to make much difference nutritionally.

For a few years, I gave the rabbits as much as I could find of dandelion greens and a few other specific plants, because the pellets had insufficient Vitamin A (this was based on a book of rabbit problems/diseases/solutions. The main symptom was does having their bunnies all over the floor of the cage, rather than in the nestbox. This included experienced does with a former history of kindling properly in the nestbox. With the supplements of dandelions, the problem went away and the does went back to their former good habits.)

It's good to know about dandelion and vitamin a! I have billions of dandelions for summer. But I'd need to figure something out for winter. Thank you for the input!

 

[NatJ]

It's good to know about dandelion and vitamin a! I have billions of dandelions for summer. But I'd need to figure something out for winter. Thank you for the input!

I think hay can sometimes be a source of vitamin A as well. I've seen references to storing the hay properly, and maybe getting it tested (I usually see these mentions on sites about horses or cows, probably because they eat so much hay.)