Rabbit pellets as a greens supplement?

[Canadian Wind]

My ducks LOVE the pellets I feed my rabbits. When I'm going around their cages, I am stalked by quacking, trilling, and hissing hordes. So I was wondering, since the pellets are basically ground up dried grass, is it okay to use them as supplemental green food for the birds?

 

[Kiki]

Which rabbit pellets do you buy?
Picture of the bag?

 

[Canadian Wind]

Shur Gain Homestead Rabbit Pellets. Local farm feed company. Big 25 kg bag, non-descript. 16% protein.

 

[Kiki]

Shur Gain Homestead Rabbit Pellets. Local farm feed company. Big 25 kg bag, non-descript. 16% protein.

This?
https://settlerssupplies.ca/products/homestead-rabbit-25kg-shur-gain. It doesn't come with a feed analysis tag on it?

 

[Canadian Wind]

Yes. The tag that comes with it is tossed when I open the feed bag, so I don't have it right now. They don't include a list of ingredients on the tag, just the analysis. Most feed stores around here carry only this brand.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Bumping this up as I never got an answer.

 

[Thriftymama]

I was just wondering thr same thing. My chicken feed is 16 or so percent protein, just like my rabbit pellets. I bet I could feed both, but I would need to supplement calcium to the chickens frnegg laying.

 

[Percheron chick]

Rabbit pellets are predominantly ground alfalfa. After that grass hays and wheat middlings are the 2 most common feed ingredients. All perfectly good feeds for ducks, chickens and geese. Without knowing the analysis of this product, the problem will arise when fed in large quantities as they are formulated specifically for a different species. It might throw off the vitamin and mineral balance. If you have laying ducks, it is very low in calcium. Your ducks are probably craving something green to eat. Do you offer any alfalfa and grass hays when there is nothing to graze on? You can also give them straight alfalfa pellets or cubes if those are an option.
Me personally, I wouldn't think twice about giving them rabbit chow as a treat. If however you are trying to up their forage uptake, I would add baled hay. They will eat it slower, have something to pick at, cheaper and its more natural. I have hay feeders for my geese and keep them filled in the winter.

 

[Canadian Wind]

I didn't realize you could feed hay to ducks. I would have thought it would be too dry for them to manage without being chopped into teeny tiny pieces. I'll have to give that a try!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I would be worried about getting crop issues.