Natural Feeding Rabbits

[EarthView]

Hello, I was looking up information on naturally feeding rabbits and everything seems to conflict. I was thinking of feeding a wild bird mix but I cannot find if white millet is safe for rabbits? It would be fed with mineral/salt blocks and hay. I know the other ingridents are safe (BOSS, wheat, corn, milo), but for some reason I cant find anything on millet. I know rabbits can technically survive on free choice hay and mineral/salt blocks but I'd like to add a bit more.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/value-wild-bird-seed-mix-20-lb

 

[HKG]

@EverythingDucks @ChocolateMouse

 

[EverythingDucks]

Do you mean wild rabbits, pet rabbits, or meat rabbits?

Seeds are really quite bad for rabbits.
The best and most natural thing for them to eat is a diet of unlimited fresh hay along with about a handful of fresh spring mix veggies for breakfast and dinner. Adding ¼ cup of pellets to their diet for extra nutrients is good.

I don't know anything about white millet for rabbits.

A lot of people say that salt licks are unnecessary for rabbits, since the hay, veggies, and pellets provide them with everything they need. But, you could try to see what the individual rabbit(s) like.

 

[EarthView]

Do you mean wild rabbits, pet rabbits, or meat rabbits?

Seeds are really quite bad for rabbits.
The best and most natural thing for them to eat is a diet of unlimited fresh hay along with about a handful of fresh spring mix veggies for breakfast and dinner. Adding ¼ cup of pellets to their diet for extra nutrients is good.

I don't know anything about white millet for rabbits.

A lot of people say that salt licks are unnecessary for rabbits, since the hay, veggies, and pellets provide them with everything they need. But, you could try to see what the individual rabbit(s) like.

My purpose is to get them off of pellets if possible. I have a few sorces where I've read about feeding seeds, and I feed BOSS myself during the winter. They would need a salt mineral block as they would be lacking, as that is typically in pellets. I have 8 rabbits at the moment with plans to expand in the future, I'm looking to add show quality britannia petites and Mini Rex in the next year or two. I'll be breeding a litter or two this summer as well, of meat mutt rabbits. I might consider adding some arch type rabbits to my meat mutts as I've read a few things that mention that they would do better on a natural diet. We currently feed pellets, alfalfa cubes, and other assorted foods (oats, BOSS, and veggies/fruits).

 

[AOrchard]

A natural diet for rabbits would be more plant based than seed based. Have you considered adding more types of plants and branches to your hay, rather than seeds?

Here's a link about plants and branches for rabbits:

https://www.dairygoatinfo.com/threads/feeding-weeds-for-feed.19175/

Many can be collected and stored like hay for winter, or collected in winter. Branches and bark are usually very easy to get year round and fantastic for their teeth. Mine go nuts over apple branches and mulberry branches. They also enjoy some young thistles, which I'm delighted to collect for them! A lot of plants people spend time trying to kill are actually great rabbit food (like thistles, some invasives, some creepers).

 

[EarthView]

A natural diet for rabbits would be more plant based than seed based. Have you considered adding more types of plants and branches to your hay, rather than seeds?

Here's a link about plants and branches for rabbits:

https://www.dairygoatinfo.com/threads/feeding-weeds-for-feed.19175/

Many can be collected and stored like hay for winter, or collected in winter. Branches and bark are usually very easy to get year round and fantastic for their teeth. Mine go nuts over apple branches and mulberry branches. They also enjoy some young thistles, which I'm delighted to collect for them! A lot of plants people spend time trying to kill are actually great rabbit food (like thistles, some invasives, some creepers).

The things I can forage are limited to weeds, yard grass and maple trees/leaves. I live in town so there isnt a huge variety. I'm looking to plant as much as I can though, herbs, squash/pumpkins, root vegetables, fresh veggies. Especially things that can be stored over winter for the rabbits, when there isnt much grass, weeds, and fresh things. At the moment they're getting leftover veggies, a small amount of oats, free choice mineral blocks and alfalfa hay.

 

[AOrchard]

The things I can forage are limited to weeds, yard grass and maple trees/leaves.

Perfect! Sugar and silver maples are good rabbit food. You can collect branches and leaves. In winter, you can snip off branches and bring them inside. Place in a little water, a few weeks later they will sprout leaves and you can feed the whole branch to the rabbits, they'll pull off the leaves and buds and most of the bark for a good meal.

Many weeds are good too, do some googling (assuming you don't spray pesticides). Seriously. Dandelion, thistle, goose grass, ragweed, plantain, nettle, violet leaves, and queen anne's lace are all weeds that are good rabbit food. There's lots more.

What just looks like "another green plant" to us is not for them. The different plants taste different to the rabbits and have different composition, so including weeds adds a ton of variety and nutrition to the diet. A dandelion leaf and a clover leaf are as different to a rabbit as a dandelion leaf and a potato are to us.

Collect weeds in an open bin all summer to make your own rabbit salad hay for use in the winter.

Leafy tops from radishes are great, and I've been told (haven't personally tried) that you can grow these indoors from seed very easily in winter. You can also keep a dandelion plant in a pot over winter and harvest leaves for the rabbit.

Most of the things you listed (squash, root veggies) are best as rabbit treats, not rabbit dinners, so growing them to store won't do much good for cutting down on pellets. Think green, think stems and leaves, think the plants and parts of plants that we humans don't eat.

 

[cassie]

Hello, I was looking up information on naturally feeding rabbits and everything seems to conflict. I was thinking of feeding a wild bird mix but I cannot find if white millet is safe for rabbits? It would be fed with mineral/salt blocks and hay. I know the other ingridents are safe (BOSS, wheat, corn, milo), but for some reason I cant find anything on millet. I know rabbits can technically survive on free choice hay and mineral/salt blocks but I'd like to add a bit more.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/value-wild-bird-seed-mix-20-lb

Feed companies have spent thousands of dollars to come up with rations that contain everything a given animal could need. That said, a "natural" diet for rabbits would consist largely of hay, probably alfalfa plus maybe some BOSS and other stuff. If you look you ought to be able to find some antique rabbit books that tell what people fed their rabbits before pellets became available. Try eBay or some used book sellers. You can never tell what you can find there.