I don't know the rules here for posting links to other forums, but since there are several here who want info on a production rabbit forum go here, in fact, here's a thread on rabbit feeding.
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=377916
Yes, it is possible to raise rabbits without pellets. I've done it.
Grass from your lawn is fine. Cut it when it's about 6 inches. You want any hay to be green and leafy. Your grass will get stemmy by the time it is 12 inches and the nutritional value goes down. Or you can just rig up a "bunny tractor" and let them harvest it themselves.
It is hard to get the production strains to reach their 5 pounds in 8 weeks. Possible, but I've never done it myself. (Actually I've never kept a production strain. Standard and Mini Rex and lots of mutts and raised them till they had a good pelt)From what I understand from those who have is that pellets are very fast and easy for them to eat. They have to spend more time eating hay and grains, so you have more calories being spent on chewing and digesting and have to make up for that.
Don't forget a good mineral! Those little colored salt discs aren't great, but I've heard of good results chipping a chunk off a big deer block.
I am transferring my garden to raised beds and one bed will be for alfalfa. You can grow it small scale, harvest with scissors and stuff it in an empty rabbit cage to dry. I believe it is one of those things that you can feed fresh or dried but not in the withered stage. I'll also be growing comfrey and oats for them, on a very small scale.
I found that if you're going to try a system like this it is best with not too many rabbits, like a trio and their offspring and to keep the buns either right near/in the garden or right outside your kitchen door. Pull weeds - into the rabbit cages. Peel apples for pie - into the rabbit cages. So naturally the less rabbits you have, the easier it is for all of them to get a good variety. It's actually pretty easy to manage if you just have enough rabbits to feed your family, but hard once you get to about 6+ adult breeders (at least this was my personal experience)
About winter, get in the habit of keeping a couple of empty cages and put any extra weeds or carrot tops and things like that in there. When they get full, lay some twine down in a milk crate, put in your dried greens and stomp them down, put in more and stomp them down until you can't get any more in, then tie it into a tight little bundle with the twine. Your mini weed bales will be a good supplement to your alfalfa mix hay. Along with whole grains, kitchen scraps (I always boiled all potato peels before feeding them - don't know if you have to for rabbits but they always cleaned them up), pumpkins, if you eat corn on the cob there is plenty of good left on there for the bunnies and if you grow it you can also do a little plot of feed corn, they'll eat it dry right off the cob. There are lots of things to feed them, it just takes more work and possibly more storage space then pellets.
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=377916
Yes, it is possible to raise rabbits without pellets. I've done it.
Grass from your lawn is fine. Cut it when it's about 6 inches. You want any hay to be green and leafy. Your grass will get stemmy by the time it is 12 inches and the nutritional value goes down. Or you can just rig up a "bunny tractor" and let them harvest it themselves.
It is hard to get the production strains to reach their 5 pounds in 8 weeks. Possible, but I've never done it myself. (Actually I've never kept a production strain. Standard and Mini Rex and lots of mutts and raised them till they had a good pelt)From what I understand from those who have is that pellets are very fast and easy for them to eat. They have to spend more time eating hay and grains, so you have more calories being spent on chewing and digesting and have to make up for that.
Don't forget a good mineral! Those little colored salt discs aren't great, but I've heard of good results chipping a chunk off a big deer block.
I am transferring my garden to raised beds and one bed will be for alfalfa. You can grow it small scale, harvest with scissors and stuff it in an empty rabbit cage to dry. I believe it is one of those things that you can feed fresh or dried but not in the withered stage. I'll also be growing comfrey and oats for them, on a very small scale.
I found that if you're going to try a system like this it is best with not too many rabbits, like a trio and their offspring and to keep the buns either right near/in the garden or right outside your kitchen door. Pull weeds - into the rabbit cages. Peel apples for pie - into the rabbit cages. So naturally the less rabbits you have, the easier it is for all of them to get a good variety. It's actually pretty easy to manage if you just have enough rabbits to feed your family, but hard once you get to about 6+ adult breeders (at least this was my personal experience)
About winter, get in the habit of keeping a couple of empty cages and put any extra weeds or carrot tops and things like that in there. When they get full, lay some twine down in a milk crate, put in your dried greens and stomp them down, put in more and stomp them down until you can't get any more in, then tie it into a tight little bundle with the twine. Your mini weed bales will be a good supplement to your alfalfa mix hay. Along with whole grains, kitchen scraps (I always boiled all potato peels before feeding them - don't know if you have to for rabbits but they always cleaned them up), pumpkins, if you eat corn on the cob there is plenty of good left on there for the bunnies and if you grow it you can also do a little plot of feed corn, they'll eat it dry right off the cob. There are lots of things to feed them, it just takes more work and possibly more storage space then pellets.
